FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Luecarou What begins as a feel-good-human-interest story turns into a mystery, then a tragedy, and ultimately an outrage.

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

beladornon2 I've always heard how great this film was, so I thought I'd give it a try. YIKES! This one is just awful. Great scenery —on the WRONG side of the Rockies— a boring and completely predictable script; relentless Hollywood-hairdos on a "mountain man"; a hideously hokey corny soundtrack; ultra- cheap production values, featuring orange blood and stuffed wolves {I am not lying} being hurled at Redford. So much to hate, so little to like. None of the story makes the slightest bit of sense, and the 'acting' ranges from stupid to awful, with the exception of THE WALTONS' Will Geer as a predictably crazy old coot. Want to enjoy this meadow muffin? Turn off the sound and skip through the scenes with people; you can enjoy five minutes of nice mountain scenery.

sol- Disillusioned by the horrors of war, a US soldier attempts to live alone in the mountains in this unusual western starring Robert Redford. The film is based on the true story of an 1840s fur trapper, however, the basic narrative has more in common with the 'dropping out of society' movies of circa 1970 with Redford rejecting the rules of the society that has raised him, only to have to contend with other (Amerindian) rules. Perhaps most pointedly though, Redford finds himself eventually saddled with all the accoutrements of society that he has tried to avoid, inadvertently making friends, given a surrogate son (after the boy's family is killed) and an Amerindian bride for a wife. One of the film's best aspects is how Redford gradually progresses from being resentful of the son and wife to actually caring deeply enough about them to take action at a pivotal point. Intelligent as all this might sound, 'Jeremiah Johnson' is certainly not a film for all tastes. It is very deliberately, almost lethargically paced and Redford's journeys are accompanied by a series of superfluous sentimental songs. The film also never really probes into Redford's past and all the reasons that culminated in his drop out of society. It is, however, his journey (rather than his motivation) that drives the film. He might look and sound the same by the end of the film, but he is indelibly changed. No matter how one dissects it, it is hard to deny that the film has a potent message to offer about the difficulty of actually avoiding society and the company of others altogether. The scenery is great too.

comps-784-38265 I recently saw 'The Revenant' with Leo DiCaprio and could not help but compare it to Jeremiah Johnson with Robert Redford.The comparison is not favourable. 'The Revenant' is not a patch on Jeremiah Johnson.Both are visually stunning. (Bear in mind that Jeremiah Johnson, circa 1972, is visually stunning without the benefit of CGI)Both have gritty realism.Both have very good acting.But only Jeremiah Johnson has a really really good story. Jeremiah Johnson, ex-soldier, tired of war goes up into the mountains to be a 'mountain man'. He has an exciting and dangerous life, learning how to survive, helped by an old mountain man. He finds survivors of Indian massacre and is force to adopt a mute boy. He then gets an Indian squaw as a present. He finally settles down with his new family. But comes back to find them killed by Indians. He tracks and kills all but one of the culprits. Thereafter the tribe, in a test of manhood, send warriors one at a time to try and kill him. It's a cracking film. A Sunday matinée classic. (The Revenant is not even close)

AaronCapenBanner Robert Redford plays Jeremiah Johnson in director Sydney Pollock's interesting, beautifully filmed story of how Johnson, soured by human civilization, flees into the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where he barely survives that first winter, but he is aided by an experienced old trapper(played by Will Geer) who teaches him what he knows, and is gradually impressed by how quickly he learns, eventually becoming an experienced mountain man himself. Later, he will find himself at odds with the local native American tribe, who have attacked his home after he transgressed on their ancient tribal burial ground.Fine acting by all, with an engrossing story that may well have influenced the(kinder and gentler) film "The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams" and subsequent TV series with Dan Haggerty. Johnson is not always an endearing person like Adams was, since his stubborn personality may well have alienated him from his fellow man(I sympathize!) Still, this fine film is quite worthwhile, and has a haunting ending.