Jeremiah Johnson
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| Jeremiah Johnson | |
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| Directed by | Sydney Pollack |
| Produced by | Joe Wizan |
| Written by | Vardis Fisher (novel, Mountain Man) Raymond W. Thorp & Robert Bunker (story, "Crow Killer") Edward Anhalt & John Milius (screenplay) David Rayfiel (uncredited) |
| Starring | Robert Redford Will Geer |
| Music by | Tim McIntire John Rubinstein |
| Cinematography | Duke Callaghan |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | September 10, 1972 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 108 min. (long version: 116 min.) |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Jeremiah Johnson is a 1972 western film about a man of that name, a disenchanted ex-soldier entering the realm of the mountain men, infamous for eating the livers of Crow warriors. It was directed by Sydney Pollack, and starred Robert Redford as Jeremiah Johnson and Will Geer as "Bear Claw" Chris Lapp. The movie is said to have been based in-part on the life of the legendary mountain man Liver-Eating Johnson. Based on Raymond Thorp/Robert Bunker's "Crow Killer" and Vardis Fisher's Mountain Man and scripted by John Milius and Edward Anhalt. The movie was filmed in Utah at various locations.[1]
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[edit] Plot
A veteran of the Mexican-American War (1846-48), Jeremiah Johnson seeks refuge in the West. He aims to take up the life of a mountain man, supporting himself in the western mountains as a trapper. In the winter he has difficulty surviving, and has a brief run in with Paints His Shirt Red, a Native American chief of the Crow tribe. Johnson soon finds a .50 caliber Hawken rifle on the frozen body of Hatchet Jack, another mountain man, replacing his inadequate .30 caliber Hawken. He then inadvertently disrupts the grizzly bear hunt of the elderly and eccentric "Bear Claw" Chris Lapp. After meeting at gunpoint ("I know who you are; you're the same dumb pilgrim I've been hearin' for twenty days and smellin' for three!"), Lapp takes him in and mentors him on how to live in the high country. Johnson claims he can skin most anything, so the first lesson is the delivery of a live grizzly bear into Lapp's cabin for Johnson to skin. After a brush with Crow Indians, including Paints His Shirt Red, (a friend of Lapp's) and learning the skills required to survive in the mountains, Johnson sets off on his own.
In his travels he comes across a small cabin, whose inhabitants apparently were attacked by Blackfoot warriors, and only a woman and her uncommunicative son survived. The woman, maddened with grief, forces Johnson to adopt her son. He and the boy, whom Johnson dubs "Caleb," come across Del Gue ("With an E"!), a mountain man with a severe dislike of several local Indian tribes. The bald-headed Gue had been robbed and buried up to his neck in the sand by the Blackfoot tribe. Del Gue travels with Johnson and Caleb, and they eventually come across a Blackfoot camp.
The group revisits the camp in the middle of the night to claim Del Gue's possessions, but Del Gue fires upon them. Johnson and Del Gue are victorious, and Del take the Blackfeet's horses and scalps; Johnson, disgusted with the loss of life and Del Gue's actions, turns and goes back to Caleb. They are soon accosted by the Christianized Flathead Indians, who take them in as guests of honor for their brave deeds. When Johnson gives the chief the Blackfoot scalps (their mortal enemies), he must give him an even greater gift according to Flathead custom, so the tribe's chief gives an unwilling Johnson his daughter (Swan) in marriage. Following the wedding ceremony, which appeared to be a mixture of a traditional Native American and Catholic service, Del Gue goes off on his own way, and Johnson, Caleb, and Swan travel on into the wilderness.
Johnson, with the help of the boy and his new wife, picks a suitable location to build a cabin and settle in as a family. They develop fondness for each other and Johnson and Swan become lovers.
Just when his life seems to be turning around, Johnson is pressed into service by the Army and required to pass through a Crow burial ground to help save a stranded wagon train. Because of his trespassing on the sacred ground, The Crow tribe sends a group to kill Swan and Caleb. In an iconic scene, Johnson spots Swan's blue pack in the moldering remains of a raised Crow burial stand. He rushes back to the cabin to find his family slaughtered.
Johnson sets off to find the group that killed his family, and ambushes them, killing all but one, a heavier warrior who starts to sing his own death song when he realizes he can't outrun Johnson. Johnson leaves him alive, and he relates the tale of the wild killer, which soon spreads throughout the region. Johnson is now thrown into a bloody feud with the Crow people. The tribe sends its best warriors, one at a time, to do battle with Johnson, and he repeatedly defeats them. His legend grows and the Crows come to respect him for his skill, bravery and tenacity, as well as his honor.
He meets up with Del Gue, now with a full head of hair, who informs Johnson of his renown. Johnson revisits Caleb's family's old cabin, to find Caleb's mother dead and a new family of settlers living there. Near the cabin the Crow have established a monument of sorts to Johnson's bravery and prowess as a fighter, leaving trinkets and symbolic talismans in tribute.
Jeremiah Johnson and Chris Lapp meet for a final time, in late winter, or early spring, as neither man is quite sure of what month it is. A weary Johnson shares the rabbit he is roasting, and Lapp observes, "You've come far, pilgrim," to which Johnson replies "Feels like far." Lapp queries, "Were it worth the trouble?" Johnson's ironic yet enigmatic reply defines his character - "Ah, what trouble?" - with both mountain men knowing the struggle and loss of the path they have chosen. Lapp affirms his preference for life as a mountain man and congratulates Johnson on keeping his head of hair, because so many are after it. Lapp's parting words to Johnson - "I hope that you will fare well" - are the last of the film.
The final scene is an encounter with Paints His Shirt Red, Johnson's avowed enemy since mid-film and the presumptive force behind the attacks on Johnson. Several hundred yards apart, Johnson reaches for his rifle for what he thinks will be a final duel. Paints His Shirt Red raises his arm, open-palmed, in a gesture of peace that Johnson returns, closing the film.
Taglines: His Mountain. His Peace. His Great Hunts. His Young Bride. With All That, It Should Have Been Different.
Some say he's dead...some say he never will be.
[edit] Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Robert Redford | Jeremiah Johnson |
| Will Geer | Bear Claw Chris Lapp |
| Stefan Gierasch | Del Gue |
| Delle Bolton | Swan |
| Josh Albee | Caleb |
| Joaquín Martínez | Paints His Shirt Red |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Jeremiah Johnson at the Internet Movie Database
- Jeremiah Johnson at Allmovie
- Jeremiah Johnson at Rotten Tomatoes
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