Jeremiah Johnson (DVD, 1997)

Robert Redford plays Jeremiah Johnson, who is a loner that travels West
to see the Rockie Mountains and become a Mountain Man. As he goes through
the trials of learning the skills, he is befriended by an Indian and
later takes an Indian wife, who teaches him additional skills. He also
finds a boy whose family has been killed by Indians and takes him in like
his own son. As they build a life together-they are approached by a
Cavalry detachment to help them and Jeremiah makes a mistake by doing it
resulting in his wife & boy being killed. Johnson then seeks revenge, and
the Indians do likewise, and he is forced to battle both nature and the
Indians of the tribe to survive-and become a legend to the Indians as he
kills all that are sent against him. A classic movie-in which Redford
actually speaks very little- this is a movie will more than fill a nights
entertainment-and you will want to watch it over and over. Sydney Pollack
is the master director here and his films ( Michael Clayton, Made of Honor,
A Civil Action, The Firm, etc) more than speak for his directing abilities.
Filmed in Utah, you are ensured of a breathtaking backdrop in almost every
scene.

OK, so a young Robert Redford stars in this film; but this is really where he reveals his gift for acting. The character Jeremiah, a loner who's decided that "civilization" isn't for him, decides to trade it for nature; so he makes his way alone as a "mountain man," developing instincts and knowledge and skill as he goes. The film has some humorous moments and some poignant ones as well, as he becomes a fixture whose relationship with the many native american indians there changes over time. This is Redford at his very best, and the story and direction are top-notch. A film of humour and strength, where it all gets very real. I love this film!!!









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This saga, starring Robert Redford, is based on the mountain man Jeremiah Johnson who actually lived in the Rocky Mountains during the mid 1800's. It will produce a feeling of purity with man and nature, but you must put yourself in the position of Johnson to experience the pleasure of nature and God that surrounds us. The endless venue of the Rocky Mountain area in Utah and Colorado will definately cause you to see and feel "God's sculpturing". This movie will make you feel the friendships you have created in your life with those that appreciate the endless value of history and freedom and ruggedness of the individual that lives one with nature and natures inhabitants. May God bless the beauty around us and those that appreciate it.

Though technically, this movie is a western, having taken place in the unsettled western United States, there are no cowboys. Luckily, there are many Native Americans. This frontier movie follows "Liver-Eater" Johnson's life in the wilds. Though not historically accurate, the film is one of the best in American cinema history. It is one of the many great movies Robert Redford has starred in. It is a "man" movie if there ever was one, right up there with spaghetti westerns and historical war epics. Enjoy.

The period verisimillitude is unrivaled. Really communicates the beauty and brutality of mid-19th Century Rocky mountain wilderness. I bought the DVD because I gave my last DVD to a friend as a gift and this is a movie I have to own, whatever the format evolves into, I will own this film.