I recently watched two films treating the subject of man against the wilderness: Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Jeremiah Johnson. I liked them both, but of the two admittedly very different films, I found Jeremiah Johnson more accessible and satisfying.

Jeremiah Johnson concerns itself with a man, a deserter from the Mexican War sometime in the 1840s, who heads to the Colorado Territory to become a mountain man. Johnson arrives at the frontier, looking for a "Hawken gun, the best there is," and asking where he can find "beaver, bear, and other critters that are worth cash money when skinned."

All fitted out with his traps, the greenhorn heads into the mountains, only to find that eking a living from the land is a lot harder than he imagined - a lot more dangerous, too. He learns quickly when trying to fish with his hands in a frozen stream, as a mounted Indian warrior comes between him and his gun. Luckily, the Indian was only fishing, too, as his long string of trout testify. Johnson goes hungry that night. He later meets up with a real mountain man Bear Claw (Will Geer) who asks if he knows how to skin a griz. When Johnson claims he can, Bear Claw brings back a live one that gives Johnson a good scare before he can dispatch it with his trusty Hawken! But Bear Claw proves a godsend to the rookie and teaches him pretty much everything he needs to know to survive in the brutal Rockies.

Later, on his own, Johnson finds a frozen mountain man, underscoring the tenuous existence afforded by the merciless mountains. His sparse encounters with living human beings provide him with a Flathead wife and an orphaned settler boy who join him in his travels. Johnson's life goes on until he unwisely guides a troop of cavalry back to their wagon train, carelessly crossing a Crow burial ground. By the time he returns home, his family has been massacred and he is persona non grata among the Crows. The rest of the film consists of horrific attacks on Johnson by the revenge seeking Crows.

Director Sydney Pollack did an excellent job of filming on location in the mountains of Utah and drawing the best out of the usually undemonstrative actor Robert Redford. I feel that this is the best performance I have seen of Redford's. Photography by Duke Callaghan fully revealed the majesty of the untamed wilderness. The location filming meant that the winter scenes were performed on snow rather than soap flakes as often seen in Hollywood productions. The actor's breath was visible in this movie where it is not on the typical Hollywood winter scene.

Acting by Redford, despite the sparse dialog, was wonderful. I think the lack of dialog worked in Redford's favor as he was depicted as a man of action and did most of his own stunts. Will Geer and other supporting cast were well-chosen and provided good support to Redford's Johnson. Sets and costuming appeared quite authentic and well done.

Altogether, Director Pollack made a haunting and fulfilling movie experience that I highly recommend as one of the very best wilderness pictures I have seen.

A similar movie that is endlessly entertaining is The Mountain Men, starring Charlton Heston and Brian Keith.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV