Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Text Link Below!
Legends of the Fall (Superbit Collection)
Stars:
Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond, and Henry Thomas
Writers:
Susan Shillday and Bill Wittliff
Based
On The Novella By: Jim Harrison
Director:
Edward Zwick
Feature
length: 133 minutes
Languages:
English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Chinese, French, Korean, Portuguese,
Spanish, and Thai Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 28
Sound:
DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1994/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: TriStar Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
I
have vague memories of reading “Legends Of The Fall” in a Modern American
Novel Since World War II class when I was earning my Masters Degree. Author Jim
Harrison’s story was published it in a trade paperback size book that included
“Revenge” and another story. My background in film as an undergraduate meant
for me that in some ways I was at a slight disadvantage with my fellow
classmates, most of whom were English majors when they were undergraduates and
half were either studying to be English teachers or hoping to transcend into a
doctorate program in English and become professors. An MFA or Master of Fine
Arts is a terminal degree, which means in a nutshell that with the exception of
a few areas like becoming a professor of rhetoric, the MFA is really a degree
that focuses more on the arts and the act of creation in particular than the
academic appreciation of such work though one cannot possibly hope to complete
their degree without some concentration on the academic and critical analysis of
fiction, drama, and poetry. Of course depending on the area of specialization
some might choose more drama than fiction, as it would be beneficial at the time
when their thesis and comprehensive examination that culminates in the
fulfillment of their graduate requirements along with the usual graduate credit
requirements of course. So it was in this class with my learning curve on
overdrive I found myself perhaps the only guy in the class judging Harrison’s
work by the amount of movie adaptations Hollywood has bought to the big screen
because that was where I felt most comfortable at in the beginning. What struck
me about the book was how much the film developed and manipulated the characters
to a point in part because of the star power and how they were able to change
what I think was three or four large chapters into a feature film that clocked
in over two hours on the big screen.
From
a film standpoint it was no shock to me that “Legends Of The Fall” was made
into a movie considering that fours years before it was released two western
dramas, “Dances With Wolves” and “Unforgiven” won Oscar® gold and I
think the revisionist historical perspective that “Dances With Wolves”
presented in particular fit in well with “Legends Of The Fall” because it
shared the same epic if not archetypal scale of storytelling with Brad Pitt
starring as “Tristan” the wilder of three brothers who charge themselves
with going to war to uphold a sense of duty and honor their own father, played
by Anthony Hopkins, has long become cynical of after seeing the swindling away
of the great west from the American Indians by the government and special
private interests. The youngest of the three brothers (Henry Thomas) is engaged
to marry (Julia Ormond), but is cut down before his brothers can save him. Upon
returning back to their father, who holds a certain resentment toward his other
sons for not watching out enough for the youngest, a love triangle between their
brother’s former fiancée and the two remaining brothers that threatens to
destroy the family as the corruption their father hoped to leave behind when he
left the army grows closer with the settling of what was once the American
western frontier. Aidan Quinn also stars as one of the three brothers the story
centers around.
The
film is best with the action sequences, in particular the World War I battle
scenes, which should be no surprise since the film was directed by Edward Zwick
(Glory), who has a gift for mixing brutal action without sacrificing the human
drama of the characters. “Legends Of The Fall” is a beautiful looking film
with sweeping vistas that capture the imagination and arouse the soul. So it is
no surprise that Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment has issued the film on DVD
for a third time as a part of their “Suprerbit” collection of films on DVD.
The source print appears to be the same used from the previous release because
one can see the occasional fleck here and there from the print source itself,
but the transfer process which encodes the film’s picture and soundtracks at
twice the bit rate with no compromises is a definite improvement with an
anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio that is beautifully detailed and
textured with no compression anomalies visible whatsoever. The English DTS
Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack is sublime with a very moving use of
the surround tracks to create a sweeping home theater listening experience that
equals if not surpasses the picture quality of this DVD release. An English
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is also included and English Captions and
Closed Captions and Chinese, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai
Language Subtitles are also encoded onto the dual layered DVD as options.
Like
nearly all “Superbit” releases there are no extra features, but you do get
the best possible picture and sound quality for this particular film and for me
that is more important than all the extra features in the world. “Legends Of
The Fall: Superbit” is available on DVD-Video now from Columbia TriStar Home
Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Text Link
Below!
Legends of the Fall (Superbit Collection)