Legends of the Fall
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Edward Zwick
Brad Pitt
Anthony Hopkins
Julia Ormond
Aidan Quinn
Henry Thomas
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Tiring of the brutality of cavalry life, Colonel William Ludlow starts a new life with his family in the majestic mountains of Montana. While growing up, his three sons are inseparable, but as young men, passion, the butchery of WWI and personal tragedy intervene in their lives and shake the foundations of their family.
Cast
Brad Pitt
Anthony Hopkins
Julia Ormond
Aidan Quinn
Henry Thomas
Karina Lombard
Bill Croft
Brian Stollery
Bill Dow
Sam Sarkar
Doug Carnegie
Randall Slavin
Sekwan Auger
Winnie Hung
John D Cameron
Ray Godshall Sr.
Rob Hrdlicka
Robert Wisden
Marc Levy
Weston Mcmillan
David A Kaye
Christine Harder
Channing Knull
Charles Andre
Nigel Bennett
Stephen A Schwartz
Christina Pickles
Eric Johnson
Ken Wills
Susan Henzell
Paul Desmond
Simon Sherwood
Gordon Tootoosis
John Novak
Aaron Goettel
Kenneth Welsh
Paul Arthur Hartman
Doug Hughes
Ken Kirzinger
Tantoo Cardinal
Keegan Macintosh
Crew
Brian Aebly
Stuart Aikins
Stuart Aikins
Carl Aldana
Willy Allen
Christopher Assells
Stuart Auld
Karen M. Baker
Ani Baravyan
Jane Bartelme
Lon Bender
Bonnie Benwick
Chrissie Beveridge
Guy Bews
Matthew Binns
Jean Black
Monica Blades
Jed Blaugrund
Toni Blay
Dave Borley
Robert Brown
Kathie Broyles
Bryon Callaghan
David E Campbell
Sarah Caplan
Carol Case
Joseph Cerami
Bette Chadwick
Harry Cheney
Kirk Chiswell
Jimmy Chow
John Clothier
Harley Cohen
Mary Colquhoun
Gary Combs
Gil Combs
Dorree Cooper
Ciaran Copelin
Gavin B Craig
Patrick Crowley
John Cucci
Chris David
Valerie Davidson
Dino Dimuro
Joe A Dodds
Joe A Dodds
John Dodds
John Dodds
Harold Dubland
Jim R Dunn
Richard Dwan
John Eckert
Norman Edge
Tom Eirikson
Bruce Epke
Les Erskine
Jennifer Feurer
Ed Fincher
Jim Finkbeiner
Jim Finkbeiner
Iloe Flewelling
Patrick J. Foley
Lara Fox
Mark Francis
Carmen Franczyk
Robert Frazen
Douglas Ganton
Baylis Glascock
Jason Glass
Tom Glass
Jeff Gomillion
Dean Goodine
Mark S Gordon
Jim Green
Lori Greenberg
Mary Esther Griffith
George Griffiths
Tony Guerin
Layne Guise
Sheila Haley
Per Hallberg
Joanne Hansen
Caroline Hardon
Jim Harrison
Kerry Hayes
Gary Hecker
Jim Henrikson
Marshall Herskovitz
David Holden
James Horner
Bobby Huber
Robert Jezsik
Rose Johnson
Ciaran Kavanagh
Peter J Kelly
Randy Kelly
Gail Kennedy
Lilly Kilvert
Jan Kobylka
Lorelei Kuchera
Matthew Lammerich
Mark Lapointe
Christopher Large
Mark Larry
Catt Lebaigue
Catherine Leighton
David Levey
John Lind
Lauren Lindsay
Dawn Line
Mick Lipohar
Sara Macdonald
J.j. Makaro
Peter D Marshall
Franz Marzouca
Rick Mason
Paul Massey
Armin Matter
Joe Mayer
B J Mcclean
Tim Mclean
Neil Mcleod
Frank Mejerski
Sigrid Mekkinosson
Mike Mitchell
Brad Moerke
Lillian Montalvo
Tony Morelli
Andy Mulcany
Paul Mulder
Alan Munro
Shawn Murphy
Ariel Nachman
Marty Naucler
Echo Noyes
Pat O'connor
Jeffrey A. Okun
Murray Ord
Ron Orieux
Ron Orieux
Nilo Otero
Chris Ott
Rino Pace
Matt Palmer
Greg Papalia
Alison Parraco
Fred W Peck
Bryce Perrin
Fred Perron
Michael Debra Petro
Kathy Petty
Craig Phang Sang
Kate Pierpoint
James Plannette
Andrew Precht
Jane Raab
Denise Rackett
Jay B Richardson
Rick Roberts
Gail Foreman Rose
Steven Rosenblum
Roberto Santucci
Greg Schlosser
Deborah Scott
John D Scott
John Scott
Doug Seus
Lynne Seus
Simon Sherwood
Susan Shilliday
Randy Singer
Gordon J Smith
Karen Ann Smith
Scott J Smith
Geoffrey Smither
Wendi Stewart
Suzanne Stokes-munton
Catherine Sutherland
Cynthia Thornton
Connie Todd
John Toll
John Toll
Carey Toner
Reynald Trudel
James W. Tyson
Bruno Vanzeebroeck
Roger J. Vernon
Michael Vezina
Ron Von Blomberg
Thaddeus Wadleigh
David Wagreich
Maxine Walters
Lewin Webb
William D Wittliff
William D Wittliff
Brent Woolsey
Brent Woolsey
Deborah Yates
Clint Youngreen
Edward Zwick
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Wins
Best Cinematography
Award Nominations
Best Art Direction
Best Sound
Articles
Legends Of The Fall
In Legends of the Fall, Anthony Hopkins plays Colonel Ludlow, an ex-Cavalry officer living with his three handsome sons in the wilds of Montana. Alfred (Aidan Quinn), the oldest one, is a level-headed businessman with political leanings, and the youngest, Samuel (Henry Thomas), has a hot temper that is sometimes ignited by his political interests. Colonel Ludlow loves Alfred and Samuel, but he keeps a special place in his heart for Tristan (Pitt), his sleek, long-haired middle son. Like his father, Tristan, who was schooled by a Cree Indian named One Stab (Gordon Tootoosis), shows deep respect for Indian culture.
When Samuel returns from college, he is accompanied by his girlfriend, Susannah (Julia Ormond, in one of her first films). Her presence begins to create tension between the three brothers, all of whom fall in love with her. Then World War I is declared. Samuel enlists in the Army and is soon followed by Tristan and Alfred. Before leaving for the front, Tristan and Susannah share a romantic exchange that Samuel secretly watches, further complicating the relationship between the brothers.
[Spoiler Alert] After witnessing Samuel's death on the battlefield, Tristan clings to Indian spirituality as a sort of psychic salve. But, like his brother Alfred, he eventually returns to his Montana home where they both proclaim their love for Susannah. The film culminates in a political showdown involving the annihilation of the Indian nation, as well as Tristan making his way to Africa to hunt for ivory, a stroke for the Colonel, and one son's late-blooming career as a bootlegger.
Critics weren't particularly kind to Legends of the Fall when it opened and noted its unwieldy narrative and bombastic direction. Even a world-class actor like Anthony Hopkins wasn't able to resist some scenery chewing antics in the course of the film. Nevertheless, Legends of the Fall was a box office hit, mainly due to Brad Pitt, who was at the peak of his fame. Critic Tom Charity of TimeOut said it best when he wrote, "...the entire film plays like a commercial for Brad Pitt. You can imagine half the audience wondering, "Where can I get one of those?" Every young male star should have a role like this: cowboy, soldier, adventurer, bootlegger, vigilante."
As for Academy Award recognition, John Toll won an Oscar for his gorgeous cinematography and he would also win the following year for shooting Mel Gibson's Braveheart (1995), making him the first cinematographer in movie history to manage such a coup. He would later photograph Terrence Malick's strange, dreamlike World War II drama, The Thin Red Line (1998), making him one of the indisputable masters of the art.
Director Zwick has gone on to even greater success as a producer, having been responsible (along with several other people) for Best Picture winner Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Steven Soderbergh's hard-hitting drug expose, Traffic (2000).
Director/Producer: Edward Zwick
Screenplay: Susan Shilliday and Bill Wittliff
Based on the novella by Jim Harrison Art Designer: Rick Roberts and Andrew Precht
Editing: Steven Rosenblum
Cinematography: John Toll
Costume Design: Deborah Scott
Principal Cast: Brad Pitt (Tristan Ludlow), Anthony Hopkins (Colonel William Ludlow), Aidan Quinn (Alfred Ludlow), Julia Ormond (Susannah Finncannon), Henry Thomas (Samuel Ludlow), Gordon Tootoosis (One Stab).
C-133m. Letterboxed.
By Paul Tatara
Legends Of The Fall
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
John Toll was nominated in the feature film category of the Outstanding Achievement Awards (1994) sponsored by the American Society of Cinematographers.
Released in United States Winter December 25, 1994
Wide Release in United States January 13, 1995
Released in United States on Video May 31, 1995
Completed shooting September 23, 1993.
Began shooting June 14, 1993.
The fourth feature for Edward Zwick, whose previous credits include "About Last Night" (USA/1986), "Glory" (USA/1989) and "Leaving Normal" (USA/1992).
Released in United States Winter December 25, 1994
Wide Release in United States January 13, 1995
Released in United States on Video May 31, 1995