From bit parts to blockbuster hits, Brad Pitt's rise to stardom has been nothing short of meteoric. His iconic status means that anything he touches makes headlines. The news of his latest projects, including officially wrapping filming for the upcoming Formula One drama, F1, and the recent announcement that he is in talks for the making of Ocean's 14 as well as his starring role in Wolfs have excited his fans. On his way to acquiring this apex status, Brad Pitt made a movie playing a role in which he is at his most dramatic. In Edward Zwick's 1994 Oscar-winning Western epic Legends of the Fall, Brad Pitt portrays Tristan Ludlow, a rebellious cowboy who competes with his brothers for the love of a woman.
Despite being a star on the rise at the time of Legends of the Fall's filming, Brad Pitt wasn't the first choice for the role, and the movie's producers were not sure that his casting would bring it home. According to Vanity Fair, Tom Cruise was the first preference. Per director Edward Zwick, Cruiseturned down the role after learning that Tristan had no moral anchoring, which clashed with his personal beliefs. Sean Connery and Robert Duvall were reportedly considered, but they looked away as well. This paved the way for Brad Pitt, whose performance shows the depths the iconic star can go in dramatic roles. Legends of the Fall is available on Netflix, giving Pitt's fans a glimpse into his early, raw talent.
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Legends of the Fall, an adaptation of Jim Harrison's 1979 novella of the same title, is akin to the frontier-pioneering film How the West Was Wonwhich followed dreamers as they settled in the Old West. However, Legends of the Fall follows a similar family in the early 20th Century as it settles post World War I. The man at the center of the story is Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins), a dejected former soldier who has moved to the countryside of Montana and set up a ranch. The film delves into the life of William and his family, focusing on his three sons. Beginning at the onset of World War I, it explores interwoven themes, key among them being familial ties and how an attraction by the three sons to one woman threatens this bond. Alfred (Aidan Quinn), the most responsible and morally upright, yet least exciting of the three, is the eldest, while Brad Pitt's charming and free-spirited Tristan sits in the middle. Samuel (Henry Thomas), the vulnerable, Harvard-educated youngster with a point to prove, is the youngest.
Legends of the Fall is a tragic epic that takes off when Samuel returns from Harvard with his fiancée, Susannah (Julia Ormond) and Tristan's rugged, wild and untamed free-spirited nature contrasts and creates an attraction between him and Susannah. This inevitably creates conflict that becomes the springboard of the film. Meanwhile, World War I has begun, and the three young men enlist with fate ultimately playing its part, and an unexpected web of interactions taking place between the characters.
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Edward Zwick’s direction combined with John Toll's Oscar-winning cinematography captures the stunning Montana, making the setting a character in itself. The film's use of natural lighting further enhances the sweeping beauty of nature amid raw emotions that define the characters. This complements Legends of the Fall's exploration of themes like grief, loyalty, and the inevitability of change while striking a delicate balance between personal intimacy and epic scale.
'Legends of the Fall' Depicts War as a Harrowing Endeavor That Fractures Lives and Souls
While the film doesn't linger on the details of military strategy and expeditions of war, its epic battle sequences are phenomenal. Zwick offers a grim picture of the conflict that dismantles lives and relationships. He places the audience in the trenches alongside the three brothers and their counterparts to unflinchingly show the brutality and rawness of the battle. Samuel's graphic and tragic death shatters his family, particularly Brad Pitt's Tristan, who feels guilty that he couldn't protect his younger brother. It is an experience that Zwick uses to show how the psychological scars of war leave a mark on individuals, not just on soldiers, but on their families and relationships as well. Legends of the Fall is a film that highlights this far-reaching cost of war beyond the frontline.
Tristan is arguably Brad Pitt's most emotionally charged character. For an actor who is better known for stoic portrayals, Legends of the Fall provided Pitt with an opportunity to parade his chops as an actor capable of diving into complex, layered roles. Pitt's intensity in his delivery and raw vulnerability paint a relatable picture of the disturbed person that Tristan is. Tristan is a man at war with himself. He is filled with guilt, grief, and a primal need for an elusive romantic connection with Susannah. His shared romance with her puts him at odds with his brothers, whom he equally loves. Pitt's portrayal must convince the audience that Tristan is still the charming and likable brother even as he falls in love with his sibling's fiancée. His family's tragedies add to the misfortunes Tristan faces. Still, Pitt is expected to bring to the role a rugged charisma and an almost mythic quality that makes Tristan an unforgettable character in the film. Yet, Brad Pitt embodies him in a believable way. Tristan is a role that cements Pitt's reputation as a leading man who can balance blockbuster appeal with deeply affecting dramatic performances.
To show just how much effort was put into the performance, per Vanity Fair, during filming, Pitt disagreed with Zwick on the creative choices regarding Tristan, particularly the character's emotional depth. “Brad would get edgy whenever he was about to shoot a scene that required him to display deep emotion,” wrote Zwick in the Vanity Fair excerpt of hismemoir Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood. Ultimately, Pitt and Zwick's relationship on the film's set was marred by acrimonious disputes, and at some point, the actor wanted to quit the production.
Legends of the Fall is as much about the sweeping beauty of nature as it is about the raw emotions that define human relationships. Brad Pitt's portrayal of Tristan is a standout in Pitt’s legendary filmography.
Legends of the Fall is currently available on Netflix in the U.S.
Legends of the Fall is a drama film directed by Edward Zwick, starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Aidan Quinn. Set in the early 20th century, the movie follows the lives of the Ludlow family, focusing on the complex relationships between three brothers and their father against the backdrop of dramatic historical events. The film explores themes of love, betrayal, and the impacts of war on family dynamics.
Release Date
January 13, 1995
Director
Edward Zwick
Runtime
2h 13
Main Genre
Drama
Writers
Susan Shilliday
, William D. Wittliff
, Jim Harrison
Image by Jefferson Chacon
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
English (US) ·