JEREMIAH JOHNSON (DVD) DVD

Jeremiah Johnson
Years before Kevin Costner danced with wolves, Robert Redford headed to the mountains to escape civilization in Sydney Pollack's wilderness western. Around 1850, ex-soldier Johnson (Redford) decides that he would rather live alone as a mountain man in Colorado than deal with society's constraints. After a series of setbacks, he meets grizzled mountain veteran Bear Claws (Will Geer), who teaches him how to survive. Jeremiah strives to live as peaceably as possible in the rugged environment, trading with the native Crow tribe, adopting a boy (Josh Albee) after his family is massacred, and even marrying the daughter (Delle Bolton) of a Flathead chief in order to avoid confrontation. He settles into a mountain home with his family, but the U.S. cavalry, complete with a puritanical Reverend, interrupt the idyll to compel Jeremiah to lead them over the mountains and through a Crow burial ground to rescue white settlers. After the Crow kill his family in retaliation, Jeremiah's frenzied moment of payback precipitates a long-running vendetta, turning him into a legendary Indian killer at the expense of his original ideals, on the way to a final moment of grace. Spectacularly shot on location in Utah, the film captures both the appeal and the challenge of the landscape that Jeremiah chooses over civilization. With an unglamorous performance by Redford and a story that questioned white colonialism while mythologizing the man of nature, Jeremiah Johnson appealed to its 1972 audience and became one of the biggest hits of the year. Wavering between heroicizing Jeremiah for surviving and damning him for killing, Jeremiah Johnson took its place among the Vietnam-era cycle of critical westerns, like Arthur Penn's Little Big Man (1970) and Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), that condemned civilization for corrupting the wilderness and preventing individuals from going pacifistically native. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Cast Robert Redford as Jeremiah Johnson Will Geer as Bear Claws Stefan Gierasch as Del Gue Delle Bolton as Swan Allyn Ann McLerie as Crazy Woman Josh Albee as Caleb Charles Tyner as Robidoux Joaquin Martinez as Paints His Shirt Red

Crew Kenneth Lee - Consultant/advisor Sydney Pollack - Director Thomas G. Stanford - Editor Tim McIntire - Composer (Music Score) John Rubinstein - Composer (Music Score) Gary D. Liddiard - Makeup Ken Chase - Makeup Edward S. Haworth - Production Designer Andrew Callaghan - Cinematographer Duke Callaghan - Cinematographer Joe Wizan - Producer Mike Moder - Producer Ray Molyneaux - Set Designer Edward Anhalt - Screenwriter John Milius - Screenwriter Vardis Fisher - Book Author Raymond W. Thorp - Short Story Author Robert Bunker - Short Story Author

Jeremiah Johnson
Three years and four failures after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Jeremiah Johnson was the hit that Robert Redford needed. It had a man-against-society edge that would be a hallmark of many Redford pictures, including Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, Three Days of the Condor, and The Electric Horseman. In the context of early-1970s American culture, the film's environmental, anti-establishment, Henry David Thoreau-inspired message obviously struck a chord with audiences. Redford and director Sydney Pollack had worked together once before, on the woeful Tennessee Williams adaptation This Property is Condemned, but Johnson and the majority of their further collaborations would become successes (The Way We Were, Out of Africa). Pollack mortgaged his home to complete the film, which ran over-budget due to the extensive location shooting in Utah's Zion National Park. The mountain areas are wonderfully shot by cinematographer Duke Callaghan. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Featurette: "The Saga of Jeremiah Johnson" Interactive menus Production notes Scene access Theatrical trailer Languages: English, Français, Español DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 116 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1--STANDARD 0. Scene Index 1. Overture. [3:04] 2. His story. [4:50] 3. Unforgiving winter. [2:34] 4. Hatchet Jack. [2:37] 5. Bear Claw. [2:21] 6. To skin a grizzly. [2:28] 7. Survival tips. [4:01] 8. Paints shirt red. [5:28] 9. Graves to dig. [3:21] 10. Scarred souls. [4:44] 11. Del Gue's dilemma. [4:19] 12. Ambush in the dark. [1:58] 13. Reluctant groom. [7:41] 14. All you need know. [5:02] 15. Couple/family/home. [10:11] 16. Wolves attack. [4:04] 17. At work and play. [2:43] 18. A plea for help. [3:14] 19. Crow burial ground. [2:54] 20. Entr'Acte. [1:28] 21. Across sacred land. [4:08] 22. Tragedy at home. [4:32] 23. Bloody revenge. [9:41] 24. Del Gue was right. [5:34] 25. Ambush in light. [2:13] 26. A monument. [3:52] 27. Bear Claw blessing. [4:16] 28. Distant friends. [1:37] 29. Cast list. [:46] Side #2--WIDESCREEN 0. Scene Index 1. Overture. [3:04] 2. His story. [4:50] 3. Unforgiving winter. [2:34] 4. Hatchet Jack. [2:37] 5. Bear Claw. [2:21] 6. To skin a grizzly. [2:28] 7. Survival tips. [4:01] 8. Paints shirt red. [5:28] 9. Graves to dig. [3:21] 10. Scarred souls. [4:44] 11. Del Gue's dilemma. [4:19] 12. Ambush in the dark. [1:58] 13. Reluctant groom. [7:41] 14. All you need know. [5:02] 15. Couple/family/home. [10:11] 16. Wolves attack. [4:04] 17. At work and play. [2:43] 18. A plea for help. [3:14] 19. Crow burial ground. [2:54] 20. Entr'Acte. [1:28] 21. Across sacred land. [4:08] 22. Tragedy at home. [4:32] 23. Bloody revenge. [9:41] 24. Del Gue was right. [5:34] 25. Ambush in light. [2:13] 26. A monument. [3:52] 27. Bear Claw blessing. [4:16] 28. Distant friends. [1:37] 29. Cast list. [:46]