JohnDoe
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BrentonJeremiah Johnson (1972) - Footage Included
April 9th 2009 23:11
The consequences of flight to where the wild things are.
DVD available in Australia
Director: Sydney Pollack
Cinematography by: Duke Callaghan
Screenplay by: John Milius and Edward Anhalt
Starring: Robert Redford, Will Geer, Paul Benedict, Delle Bolton, Jack Colvin, Josh Albee, Joaquin Martinez
“His name was Jeremiah Johnson, and they say he wanted to be a mountain man. The story goes that he was a man of proper wit and adventurous spirit, suited to the mountains. Nobody knows whereabouts he come from and don't seem to matter much. He was a young man and ghosty stories about the tall hills didn't scare him none. He was looking for a Hawken gun, .50 caliber or better. He settled for a .30, but damn, it was a genuine Hawken, and you couldn't go no better. Bought him a good horse, and traps, and other truck that went with being a mountain man, and said good-bye to whatever life was down there below.” – Narrator
Originally intended for Clint Eastwood and Sam Peckinpah, Jeremiah Johnson became the second collaboration between revered Director Sydney Pollack and the vigilant Robert Redford. (See- The Way We Were, 3 Days of the Condor, Havana, Out of Africa, The Electric Horseman, This Property is Condemned)
Shot in majestic Rocky mountain locations, this survivalist western is based on the book Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson.The silences of dislocated freedom and daunting vistas in the lens form the scalp pole character for this minimalist journey.
“Just where is it I could find bear, beaver, and other critters worth cash money when skinned?” – Jeremiah Johnson
This is the odyssey of a tenderfoot pioneer who seeks a balance with the wilderness and its indigenous inhabitants. Pure idealism shattered into primal violence.
Original cinema poster
Set in the mid 1800’s, Jeremiah is a disillusioned soldier who flees society to seek simple isolation as a grizzled mountain man trapper. Unskilled in the ways of the land, he must learn to survive in the unforgiving ranges where brutality and dysfunction are the price of escape.
Journeying deep into untamed badlands where predators, natives and other outcasts must be battled. Along the way Johnson meets victims of vile cruelty and is forced through circumstance to become a nurturing protector.
There is irony in a city man attempting to disconnect from human contact and being saddled with a pair of metaphorically mute companions. A catalyst for emotional awakening, In the words of Sydney Pollack “Jeremiah Johnson is almost a silent movie…It’s a movie in which nobody can talk to anybody. “
Contemplative, the film examines the paradox of abandoning a misdirected civilization and its laws in favor of a hermit’s territoriality to reveal the inevitable truth of existence, inflexible rules exist in a lone environment as much as a populated one.
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John Doe Says:
Powerful and cinematic, this is an authentic celluloid adventure that operates on a seemingly infinite canvas. Shaping a realism that’s laced with thoughtful observation, dialogue is used sparingly; subtle ambiguities result in a dissection of Actor/Director intention and vision.
Exquisitely shot by cinematographer Duke Callaghan (Conan the Barbarian) the story is told in moving pictures. The viewer is forced to assess their own beliefs on the romantic image of abandoning ties to an evolving artificial world. Despite concerted efforts not to romanticize Jeremiah’s self imposed exile, there are times when you can’t help but be enamored with the notion of leaving it all behind.
This is both, a strength and a weakness in evaluating the deeper purpose of its creators, fortunately it doesn’t undervalue the end result.
The scripting by proud gun powder enthusiast John Milius (Red Dawn , Magnum Force, Conan) and Edward Anhalt (The Boston Strangler, Panic in the Streets) sprinkles a spiritual essence to Johnson’s plight. Surprisingly there is also a comedy of inverted manners that arises from the wounded detachment of the central figures.
Pollack handles the task of balancing all these elements into coherency. Loosening the reigns enough so that by the time the much discussed final shot appears it is open to various interpretations. Peace or War?
Some have criticized the casting of pretty boy Redford, stating that his image of perfectly manicured features undermines our suspension of disbelief. Personally I think that he appropriately dirties himself up, happy to tarnish those handsome obstacles. More importantly, bearded and unwashed he silently communicates the angst, fear and rage of the part.
At the time of release a lot of attention was paid to the portrayal of the often vilified Native American Indians. Rather than being overly sympathetic there is honesty to the roles played by Will Geer as Bear Claw and Joaquin Martinez as Paints-His-Shirt-Red.
This was a timely revisit to the film for John Doe whose own personal adventure trading the city of Sydney for the Green Mountain purity of Vermont mirrors many of the core subjects tackled within. Sure JD hasn’t had to hunt down grizzly bears, or wage a personal vendetta of vengeance with the locals, but, he did shoot a .44 Magnum this morning. The first time he has ever fired a gun of any kind.
The gentle opening moments of Jeremiah Johnson
The death of Crow assassins, Jeremiah’s pivotal sequence of violence.
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