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Plot Based partly on the adventures of real-life trapper John 'Liver-Eating' Johnston, this film tells the tale of Jeremiah Johnson, a man frustrated with life amongst humanity and the wars they rage, who heads west into the mountains. After his initial struggles at adapting to this harsh life he is taken under the wing of an old, experienced trapper who teaches him how to survive. When he has sufficiently learned enough he heads out on his own, experiencing numerous adventures along the way
In a number of ways this Pollack/Redford effort feels very much like a prototype Dances With Wolves, both in terms of structure (a lone man learning to survive in a great frontier while developing a respect and a relationship with the Native American indians who populate the area) and style (deliberate, ponderous and poetic). It's a film that shows both the mythological nature of the mountain man, as well as showing some of its realities. It's a harsh and brutal depiction of the life Jeremiah has chosen and what it takes to survive in such an unforgiving environment. It opens in quite a documentary-style fashion as it shows the realities of this life, before moving down a more picturesque adventure route. It's also a film that I found to be surprisingly humorous, certainly early on, in large part thanks to the eccentric characters Jeremiah meets along the way, and the colourful dialogue and wisdom that they spout.
If I was to give just one reason as to why I would recommend this to someone it would definitely have to be the stunning cinematography. Filmed entirely on location in Utah and covering the wilderness across the four seasons it is a thing of pure beauty; the scenes where the land is covered in snow are particularly arresting. It captures both the sheer majesty and the incredible harshness of the desolate landscape. The cinematography of Duke Callaghan is a pure marvel. Pretty much every second of the film I could have paused the film and the image on screen would have been worthy of being up on the wall or as the wallpaper on my laptop.
Redford, sporting a fantastically wild beard, gives a strong, unshowy performance as the titular Johnson. It was actually quite reminiscent of Tom Hanks in Cast Away, and not just because they share the epic beards! Both men pretty much carry the film and are more than capable of doing so. Though with it being quite a quiet restrained showing (apparently he says less than 100 words) the performances that stand out and are most memorable probably come from some of the entertaining supporting cast Will Geer and Stefan Gierasch in particular.
While on his travels Jeremiah comes into 'possession' of a wife and son of sorts. He comes across a family who have been slaughtered by Blackfoot indians, leaving only a mother and her apparently mute son alive. At the behest of the mother, Jeremiah agrees to take her son with him. And then later he is gifted a wife by the leader of the Flathead tribe in return for horses and scalps. Despite being unable to communicate with either of them (a wife who doesn't speak English and a son who doesn't speak at all) a bond slowly develops between this unlikely trio. And watching this most unconventional of families coming together is really quite touching; so when tragedy strikes later on it does have quite a sobering effect on the viewer.
I noted earlier how the film switches from a documentary-style depiction of this life to a more common adventure film. Well the film takes another turn and for its final stretch becomes a bit of a revenge flick. At war with the Crow nation he hunts down and kills a group of them. After that they send one warrior after another to take him out. This however is given an interesting wrinkle in that the Crow Indians measure their strength and greatness by who their enemies are, so while they may hate Johnson they also revere and in a way worship them. Though none of the violence is of the sensationalised variety; instead being quite down and dirty, and brutal.
There are perhaps a couple of minor flaws I could level at the film. It does have a tendency to feel quite episodic as it details piece by piece all the little details and minutiae it takes to survive. It actually brought to mind the kind of stories I used to write as a young kid in my first years at school - This happened. And this happened. And then the guy did this. And then he did something else. and on and on in that manner. And the pacing may also be an issue for some; it even has an introduction and a intermission where the film pauses for a few minutes with music playing over a still image. Throughout the film we see characters, and in particular their horses, trudging and stumbling slowly through the snow and it could easily be seen as a metaphor for the film's pace at times.
Conclusion A terrific Western from the prolific partnership of Redford and Pollack (they made a total of seven films together). Their may not be a great deal of plot, playing more like a collection of incidents, but led by Redford it's a wonderful, poetic experience that revels in the beauty of nature.
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Year of release
1972
1972
Directed by
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack
Written by
John Milius and Edward Anhalt (script)
Vardis Fisher (novel - Mountain Man)
Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker (book - Crow Killer)
John Milius and Edward Anhalt (script)
Vardis Fisher (novel - Mountain Man)
Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker (book - Crow Killer)
Starring
Robert Redford
Will Geer
Stefan Gierasch
Delle Bolton
Robert Redford
Will Geer
Stefan Gierasch
Delle Bolton
Jeremiah Johnson
Plot Based partly on the adventures of real-life trapper John 'Liver-Eating' Johnston, this film tells the tale of Jeremiah Johnson, a man frustrated with life amongst humanity and the wars they rage, who heads west into the mountains. After his initial struggles at adapting to this harsh life he is taken under the wing of an old, experienced trapper who teaches him how to survive. When he has sufficiently learned enough he heads out on his own, experiencing numerous adventures along the way
In a number of ways this Pollack/Redford effort feels very much like a prototype Dances With Wolves, both in terms of structure (a lone man learning to survive in a great frontier while developing a respect and a relationship with the Native American indians who populate the area) and style (deliberate, ponderous and poetic). It's a film that shows both the mythological nature of the mountain man, as well as showing some of its realities. It's a harsh and brutal depiction of the life Jeremiah has chosen and what it takes to survive in such an unforgiving environment. It opens in quite a documentary-style fashion as it shows the realities of this life, before moving down a more picturesque adventure route. It's also a film that I found to be surprisingly humorous, certainly early on, in large part thanks to the eccentric characters Jeremiah meets along the way, and the colourful dialogue and wisdom that they spout.
If I was to give just one reason as to why I would recommend this to someone it would definitely have to be the stunning cinematography. Filmed entirely on location in Utah and covering the wilderness across the four seasons it is a thing of pure beauty; the scenes where the land is covered in snow are particularly arresting. It captures both the sheer majesty and the incredible harshness of the desolate landscape. The cinematography of Duke Callaghan is a pure marvel. Pretty much every second of the film I could have paused the film and the image on screen would have been worthy of being up on the wall or as the wallpaper on my laptop.
Film trivia The film was based on a real-life trapped named John Johnston. His body was buried in the Veteran's Cemetery in Los Angeles. After the release of the movie, his body was reburied at Old Trail Town in Cody, Wyoming. The reburial ceremony was attended by 2000 people and Robert Redford was actually a pallbearer.
While on his travels Jeremiah comes into 'possession' of a wife and son of sorts. He comes across a family who have been slaughtered by Blackfoot indians, leaving only a mother and her apparently mute son alive. At the behest of the mother, Jeremiah agrees to take her son with him. And then later he is gifted a wife by the leader of the Flathead tribe in return for horses and scalps. Despite being unable to communicate with either of them (a wife who doesn't speak English and a son who doesn't speak at all) a bond slowly develops between this unlikely trio. And watching this most unconventional of families coming together is really quite touching; so when tragedy strikes later on it does have quite a sobering effect on the viewer.
Film trivia Two little snippets for you. In Italy the film was released with the fantastic alternative title, "Red Crow You Will Not Have My Scalp". // Originally the film was to star Clint Eastwood in the role of Jeremiah Johnson, and be directed by Sam Peckinpah.
There are perhaps a couple of minor flaws I could level at the film. It does have a tendency to feel quite episodic as it details piece by piece all the little details and minutiae it takes to survive. It actually brought to mind the kind of stories I used to write as a young kid in my first years at school - This happened. And this happened. And then the guy did this. And then he did something else. and on and on in that manner. And the pacing may also be an issue for some; it even has an introduction and a intermission where the film pauses for a few minutes with music playing over a still image. Throughout the film we see characters, and in particular their horses, trudging and stumbling slowly through the snow and it could easily be seen as a metaphor for the film's pace at times.
Conclusion A terrific Western from the prolific partnership of Redford and Pollack (they made a total of seven films together). Their may not be a great deal of plot, playing more like a collection of incidents, but led by Redford it's a wonderful, poetic experience that revels in the beauty of nature.