Around the beginning of this year, I started writing movie reviews for the Prime Life Times. PLT is one of those small, freebie publications you usually find in the waiting area of a restaurant or tire store. While this particular job is pro bono, it has compensated me in other ways. Not only am I getting to write about something I’m passionate about, but because I’m limited to 400 words or less, this gig has sharpened my writing skills by forcing me to cut the palaver and get to the point.
The idea behind these reviews is to introduce people to classic or overlooked movies that they may have missed. I don’t review new movies because there are plenty of people doing that already. Plus, this is a print publication that requires almost a month’s lead time for the articles. By the time someone read my review of a new movie, it might not even be in theaters anymore.
So, in an effort to introduce you to some great films you may have missed (and bring this blog’s stagnation to a halt), I’m going to start posting one of these “400 or Under” reviews each month. And I’m kicking it off with one my top-5 favorite films of all time, Jeremiah Johnson.
It’s been 46 years since Jeremiah Johnson was first released, yet it remains one of the finest American westerns ever made. The title character, played by a young Robert Redford, is a veteran of the Mexican-American war who is looking to start a new life amid the grandeur and solitude of the Rocky Mountains. You never learn why but it’s not important. As the narrator who introduces him explains, “Nobody knows where abouts 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.”
The story begins with Jeremiah’s arrival at a riverside trading post. Filled with the naive optimism of a flatlander fresh off the boat, he heads into the hills packing little more than some beef jerky and a Hawken rifle. Soon, however, he comes to realize that whatever he learned in his life “down below” has left him ill-prepared for survival in the Rockies. He struggles to hunt, fish, or even start a fire.
Luckily, Johnson stumbles across a veteran mountain man, “Bear Claw” Chris Lapp, played to grizzled perfection by Will Geer (The Waltons). Under Bear Claw’s tutelage, Jeremiah learns how to properly trap, hunt and, in one hilarious scene, how to skin a bear. It’s also during this time that Johnson becomes acquainted with Paints His Shirt Red – a mighty Crow warrior who plays a pivotal role in making Jeremiah the living legend he eventually becomes.
For me, though, what really sets this film apart is director Sydney Pollack’s deft use of pacing and the Spartan dialogue of screenwriter John Milius. Unlike so many of today’s adventure films, Pollack never rushes you from action sequence to action sequence. Instead he gives you time to breathe in the beauty of the Rockies as Jeremiah’s journey unfolds. In similar fashion, Milius doesn’t fill scenes with a lot of empty chatter. In fact, many of the movie’s most powerful moments have no dialogue at all.
I could go on but space constraints demand I leave you with this. Even if you’re not particularly fond of westerns, give Jeremiah Johnson a chance. It is so much more than another adventure film. It is a timeless story of perseverance, friendship, and the majesty of Creation; one you will want to lose yourself in again and again.