Jeremiah Johnson

This extraordinary Western results to be a slice of life about a hermit man and a hostile environment .The picture narrates the odyssey of an adventurer that one time dreary of civilization goes to Rocky Mountains becoming into mountain man , a young who is part of the wildlife of the landscape.He early develops his senses from his first feeble and failed attempts at survival to an expert hunter who shoots efficiently his preys and turning into an exciting new myth , the great Jeremiah Johnson . When he trespasses holy land is continuously pursued by Indians and vice versa, because he seeks vengeance , going on a relentless chase. Meanwhile the Indians attack his farm. Crow Indians set out to track down the mountain man on savage raids until an inconclusive final .

Solid western with interesting events , violent fights , emotions , thrills and spectacular outdoors . From the initiation until the final are proceeded continuous battles against nature and a survival fighting versus wintry wilderness , enemy trappers and savage Indians, among others . The story is a crossover of various films, the battle against nature of ¨Man of a wilderness land¨ and Indians as ¨ Man called horse ¨ and the obstinacy and stubbornness of relentless enemies who fight with no rest such as ¨The duelists¨. The magnificent cast is starred by an excellent Robert Redford , a simple man who has no taste for cities and becomes a tough and two fisted mountain man obsessed a bloody revenge . Supporting cast is featured by various actors in brief performances as Jack Colvin , Matt Clark , Charles Tyner and special mention to Will Geer as feisty old trapper . Splendid cinematography in Panavision and glimmer Technicolor by Duke Callagham as is reflected on spectacular outdoors filmed in sighting, rousing natural parks from Rocky Mountains. Lively and evocative musical score by usual secondary actor John Rubinstein and beautiful songs by also actor Tim McIntire . The motion picture is stunningly directed by the recently deceased Sidney Pollack (Yazuka, Three days of the condor, Way we were, Out of Africa). Rating : Better than average . This outstanding film will appeal to Robert Redford fans and landscape lovers .

This one of a kind movie seems to be a love or 'not sure' experience - my audience thought it excellent. It's at times slightly off the wall but mostly on the money for depicting the vast challenges facing a war damaged city dweller (deserter), who's attempting to survive hiding away from 'civilization' in some of the worlds harshest country. Being based on two works (by different writers) it depicts a true-life legendary mountain dwelling character with a stark background - telling of a surprisingly gripping battle to survive - not just the challenging landscapes and animals, but some deadly Crow natives whose home this land was.

Its curious screenplay is the result of two vastly different writing styles (as were the original books) Semi-classicalist, Edward Anhalt (known for Becket '63) and young-gun of the time John Milius (collaborative writer on Apocalypse Now '79) J. J. is visually stunning all the way with striking Alberta location cinematography by Duke Callaghan. The accompanying music score is a result of the unique collaboration of Tim McIntire (also vocals) and actor/composer John Rubinstein (son of Arthur) capturing the drama, warmth, and humanity.

This is superior movie making that almost creates its own genre. It's different in a good way so, if you don't warm to this curious story the first time round, go back for another visit - the Christian Indian Tribe is another curious aside. WB has treated this to an excellent quality DVD release.

Jeremiah Johnson is directed by Sydney Pollack and is inspired by two books, Raymond Thorp and Robert Bunker's Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson and Vardis Fisher's Mountain Man. Script was written by John Millius and Edward Anhalt and cinematography is by Duke Callaghan. It stars Robert Redford, Will Geer, Stefan Gierasch, Delle Bolton and Josh Albee.

Hardened after the war with Mexico, and fed up with everyday life, American Jeremiah Johnson (Redford) leaves civilisation behind to live life as a mountain man. He intends to be self-sufficient as a trapper, but he finds that mother nature can be tough, and out here in the mountain wilderness he is not alone. There are others here, and Jeremiah must face many challenges if he is to truly survive.

Filmed entirely on location in the vast wilderness beauty of Utah, Jeremiah Johnson is light on plot but all the better for it. Film basically constitutes Redford's mountain man learning to survive up in them thar mountains, and, earning the right to do so. A number of issues will arise to test his metal, giving him a number of hardships and adventures to define his transformation from average Joe to a fully fledged mythical man of the Earth. Redford is wonderfully at ease in the title role, and very quickly he gets the audience on side to share in his journey. But ultimately it's the landscapes that you take away from this movie. Not only gorgeous, but also the critical character that frames Johnson during his isolation and battle for survival. 8/10

Jeremiah Johnson is a starkly simple story well told. It is the journey of a man who seeks to re-make himself. Johnson becomes disillusioned, like Thoreau and even Ulysses S. Grant, by the Mexican War and deserts to become a mountain man. There he finds the Rockies starkly beautiful and completely without mercy for him or anyone else. Will Geer plays the older trapper who teaches the 'Pilgrim,' a very solid performance by Redford, how to survive. The film's treatments of Whites and Native Americans is profoundly even handed, and Milious's fingerprints are noteworthy in the robust and calculated course of the narrative.

I have always considered this one of my favorite "rainy Saturday

afternoon" movies. The scenery is wonderful, Redford does one of his

best performances, the characters are colorful, and it is a wonderful

story of the pioneer spirit. Then, a few years ago, a good friend told me he had the book about the

real "Liver Eatin' Johnson", about whom this movie was made. He lent

me the book to read - and I highly recommend it for anyone interested

in a first- and second-hand story of the old west. The real story of Johnson is greatly removed from the movie, though

there are many parts in common as well. Most notably absent is the

fact that Johnson would remove and partially eat the liver (raw) of the

Crow braves he would kill. This was done by Johnson to scare the Crow,

who believed their soul would wander the earth forever if the body was

not buried intact. Johnson was also known to have eaten meat from the

leg of a Blackfoot indian, whose tribe had captured him to sell to the

Crow. This incident, however, appears to have been more for survival,

as Johnson had to travel for several days through snow on foot after

escaping the Blackfoot. Johnson was a well traveled man, friend to more than the movie

suggests, and finally died of old age in Los Angeles in 1899. His

actual age is subject to dispute, but he was at least 75 yeard old.

During his long life, he met up with many recognizable characters from

the old west. I leave the names for you to discover in your reading -

it is well worth the time!