FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Legends Of The Fall 

By my own empirical estimate, about 70% of our Generation X girls had a schoolyard crush on Brad Pitt in 1994, largely because of his performance in this late western. An epic western saga set in "Big Sky Country" about a beautiful Eastern woman and a rancher's three sons who love and fight for her. The First World War rages in the background. Classic Hollywood material, born from a cheap paperback edition, so that it can really unfold in the big cinema! Enter Anthony Hopkins as Col. Ludlow, who is so disgusted with the cavalry's treatment of Native Americans that he starts his own empire in Montana. His wife has retired to the East Coast, leaving Ludlow to fend for himself. The upbringing of his three sons now falls to him. The oldest and most responsible is Alfred (Aidan Quinn). Tristan (Brad Pitt), the middle one, on the other hand, is also busy waking bears from hibernation to cut out their hearts. And then there is the youngest; Samuel (Henry Thomas).... It all begins with an ominous tale from One Stab (Gordon Tootoosis), Ludlow's friend. As the Indian speaks in a steady, almost sing-song voice (this is how almost all native Americans in Hollywood films speak) we wait for the film title to be mentioned in his speech. Soon Samuel returns home, accompanied by Susannah (Julia Ormond), his fiancée. Susannah is strong and capable and spirited. She can ride and shoot. And when Tristan walks in, her looks express that she can do more than ride and shoot. Ludlow hates war. He wants his boys to live in Montana. Samuel, however, wants to go to Canada, volunteer for the war. What will happen then? Will Tristan also be forced to cut off his flowing locks for the war? A big role, not only in Tristan's life, will be played by Susannah... Legends Of The Fall is set at the cusp, as the West is changing. The old west is history, the cities are growing, prohibition is playing into the hands of the wealthy class in particular. If you feel like it, you will rediscover a few constellations and characters from classic westerns of the 50s. But Legends Of The Fall is not a serious film, even though it is full of profound emotions and a touch of irony. Legends Of The Fall is more like an operetta with pointed coincidences and heartbreaking soliloquies. A western reminiscent of the classic age of Hollywood when there was no need to apologise for passionate stories.