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Legends Of The Fall: Special Edition
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
"Legends Of the Fall" would best be described as good "old-fashioned" entertainment. Melodramatic - but not overly so - the film has good performances and an enjoyable screenplay with solid dialogue and fully-written characters. The three main characters are the Ludlow brothers, the oldest (Adian Quinn); the middle, wild one (Brad Pitt) and the youngest (Henry Thomas). They are looked over by their father Col. Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins), who raises them since their mother has left.
In enters Susannah(Julia Ormond - whatever happened to her?), a woman who enters the picture engaged to one of the sons, but ends up having the others fall in love with her as well. The war becomes a main part of the opening half of the story and when one of the brothers does not make it back, the main body of the tale begins. Although the pace begins to pick up, the story sometimes doesn't always work as well in the later half.
The film begins to ramble a bit during the second half as Tristan goes on a journey among other events, but it's the film's look and tone that allow it to manage to get by even during the slower moments. John Toll's cinematography makes every frame almost shockingly postcard-perfect, and although James Horner's score gets a bit thick and heavy at times, it manages to be just enough to pull the viewer along without trying to push for emotions.
The film is literally a romance novel on-screen, and a pretty decent one at that. What I enjoyed is that the film seems to understand what it is, and the performances and tone are right without taking itself way too seriously or regarding itself too highly. Performances across the board are very good, with Pitt, Ormond and Hopkins between the standouts. Not an outstanding movie, but an often entertaining one.
The DVD
VIDEO: Like the rest of the Tristar special edition re-releases, the picture quality is the same as the already good previous "movie-only" edition. Here, aside from some small artifacts, the rest of the picture quality is so beautiful (especially with John Toll's remarkably gorgeous cinematography) that the small problems are not too distracting. A brief instance of pixelation, a slight bit of shimmer a couple of times, and some minor marks on the print used at times throughout the movie are all that take away from the presentation. There are a few more print flaws than I'd like to see, but overall, they don't take away too much from the viewing experience. Here, we get an anamorphic transfer in the film's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
Although sometimes the film seems intentionally to have that "slightly soft" look, it seems natural here and not overly done to the point of distraction. The majority of the film though, has excellent sharpness and fine detail. Colors are rich and natural, looking well-saturated and bold. There are some minor problems with this presentation from Tristar, but the majority of it does do justice to the outstanding cinematography of John Toll.
SOUND: The film's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is a very pleasing audio presentation that occasionally becomes more agressive - most noticably in the battle scenes early on the film, where the sounds of battle explode all around the viewer. Surrounds are used agressively here, and add to the scene quite a bit. These scenes don't take on the intensity in sound of some of the more recent war films, but they are successful in putting the viewer effectively in the middle of it.
The rest of the film is certainly more quiet in terms of sound. The James Horner score rises up from all sides and fills the listening space, sounding rich, full and often wonderfully clear. Dialogue is also clear and easily heard.
MENUS:: The main menus are great looking, with clips from the film and Horner's score in the background. Although sub-menus are not animated, they are beautiful looking and very well done.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: The first commentary is a discussion between director Ed Zwick and actor Brad Pitt. Pitt contributes often here, and although there are some pauses throughout the discussion, the two seem like very good friends and keep the energy going throughout the track. Pitt's comments really are quite good, and although not quite as good (still, a very different movie) as what he contributed to the "Fight Club" commentary, his comments really add humor and insight. The two go back and forth in an engaging chat about the movie's scenes as they go by - recalling stories from the days during shooting, moments that they enjoyed, problems, and analysis of the intentions and actions of the characters.
Zwick is well-spoken also, able to really talk in detail about the story's emotions and details without simply going into saying what's on-screen. He peels back the layers of the story well, and I found what he had to say very interesting. Again, there are some pauses as the track goes on, but Pitt's good-natured humor and Zwick's insight into the story and production make for a very entertaining and enjoyable commentary.
Commentary: This is a commentary from cinematographer John Toll and production designer Lilly Kilvert. This track isn't as "fun" as the previous track and tends to be a little dry and technical at times, but the big thing for me was to be able to hear comments from Toll, whose work I've really admired on films like "The Thin Red Line", which I'm glad to see won best cinematography for many awards that year - his work for "Legends" won an Oscar. Here, the two are recorded together and are able to share their memories of working on the film and opinions on the final product.
Anyways, the two of them talk in-depth with only a few pauses about their experiences with their roles in the picture, and about the conditions that the production had to go through while shooting the movie. It's a good commentary track for those who are interested in exploring the more technical side of the movie.
Deleted Scenes: 3 deleted scenes are included here with commentary from director Ed Zwick. These scenes are an enjoyable addition to the material on the DVD, but the final movie itself is already a bit on the long side as it is, so in my humble opinion they are rightly left out. I really liked listening to the comments by Zwick, some of which talk about his feelings about cutting scenes.
Production Design Featurette: A very interesting and informative short featurette that offers the viewer a look at how the crew of the film went about creating the film's sets and look. Footage from the set shows the production at work and what they were able to accomplish. Also, with narration mostly from production designer Lilly Kilvert, we get an even more detailed idea of what inspired her in her work and the problems that she faced during the movie. A very good featurette and it's unfortunate that it only runs 4 minutes and 30 seconds or so.
Trailers: Oooh, lots of trailers! Teaser and theatrical trailer for "Legends of the Fall"; trailers for "Seven Years In Tibet", "The Devil's Own", "A River Runs Through It", "The Mask Of Zorro" and "Bram Stoker's Dracula". The "Zorro" trailer has particularly good Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Also: The film's original promotional featurette, production notes, cast and crew bios and the film's isolated score (Dolby 5.0) - which even has a highlight menu.
Final Thoughts: "Legends of the Fall" is one of those films that I can find enjoyable when I return to it every once in a while. As for Tristar's DVD, they've done a great job putting together some strong extras and pairing it with the already good presentation. Although the picture quality has a few flaws, the sound quality is very good. Recommended.
"Legends Of the Fall" would best be described as good "old-fashioned" entertainment. Melodramatic - but not overly so - the film has good performances and an enjoyable screenplay with solid dialogue and fully-written characters. The three main characters are the Ludlow brothers, the oldest (Adian Quinn); the middle, wild one (Brad Pitt) and the youngest (Henry Thomas). They are looked over by their father Col. Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins), who raises them since their mother has left.
In enters Susannah(Julia Ormond - whatever happened to her?), a woman who enters the picture engaged to one of the sons, but ends up having the others fall in love with her as well. The war becomes a main part of the opening half of the story and when one of the brothers does not make it back, the main body of the tale begins. Although the pace begins to pick up, the story sometimes doesn't always work as well in the later half.
The film begins to ramble a bit during the second half as Tristan goes on a journey among other events, but it's the film's look and tone that allow it to manage to get by even during the slower moments. John Toll's cinematography makes every frame almost shockingly postcard-perfect, and although James Horner's score gets a bit thick and heavy at times, it manages to be just enough to pull the viewer along without trying to push for emotions.
The film is literally a romance novel on-screen, and a pretty decent one at that. What I enjoyed is that the film seems to understand what it is, and the performances and tone are right without taking itself way too seriously or regarding itself too highly. Performances across the board are very good, with Pitt, Ormond and Hopkins between the standouts. Not an outstanding movie, but an often entertaining one.
The DVD
VIDEO: Like the rest of the Tristar special edition re-releases, the picture quality is the same as the already good previous "movie-only" edition. Here, aside from some small artifacts, the rest of the picture quality is so beautiful (especially with John Toll's remarkably gorgeous cinematography) that the small problems are not too distracting. A brief instance of pixelation, a slight bit of shimmer a couple of times, and some minor marks on the print used at times throughout the movie are all that take away from the presentation. There are a few more print flaws than I'd like to see, but overall, they don't take away too much from the viewing experience. Here, we get an anamorphic transfer in the film's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
Although sometimes the film seems intentionally to have that "slightly soft" look, it seems natural here and not overly done to the point of distraction. The majority of the film though, has excellent sharpness and fine detail. Colors are rich and natural, looking well-saturated and bold. There are some minor problems with this presentation from Tristar, but the majority of it does do justice to the outstanding cinematography of John Toll.
SOUND: The film's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is a very pleasing audio presentation that occasionally becomes more agressive - most noticably in the battle scenes early on the film, where the sounds of battle explode all around the viewer. Surrounds are used agressively here, and add to the scene quite a bit. These scenes don't take on the intensity in sound of some of the more recent war films, but they are successful in putting the viewer effectively in the middle of it.
The rest of the film is certainly more quiet in terms of sound. The James Horner score rises up from all sides and fills the listening space, sounding rich, full and often wonderfully clear. Dialogue is also clear and easily heard.
MENUS:: The main menus are great looking, with clips from the film and Horner's score in the background. Although sub-menus are not animated, they are beautiful looking and very well done.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: The first commentary is a discussion between director Ed Zwick and actor Brad Pitt. Pitt contributes often here, and although there are some pauses throughout the discussion, the two seem like very good friends and keep the energy going throughout the track. Pitt's comments really are quite good, and although not quite as good (still, a very different movie) as what he contributed to the "Fight Club" commentary, his comments really add humor and insight. The two go back and forth in an engaging chat about the movie's scenes as they go by - recalling stories from the days during shooting, moments that they enjoyed, problems, and analysis of the intentions and actions of the characters.
Zwick is well-spoken also, able to really talk in detail about the story's emotions and details without simply going into saying what's on-screen. He peels back the layers of the story well, and I found what he had to say very interesting. Again, there are some pauses as the track goes on, but Pitt's good-natured humor and Zwick's insight into the story and production make for a very entertaining and enjoyable commentary.
Commentary: This is a commentary from cinematographer John Toll and production designer Lilly Kilvert. This track isn't as "fun" as the previous track and tends to be a little dry and technical at times, but the big thing for me was to be able to hear comments from Toll, whose work I've really admired on films like "The Thin Red Line", which I'm glad to see won best cinematography for many awards that year - his work for "Legends" won an Oscar. Here, the two are recorded together and are able to share their memories of working on the film and opinions on the final product.
Anyways, the two of them talk in-depth with only a few pauses about their experiences with their roles in the picture, and about the conditions that the production had to go through while shooting the movie. It's a good commentary track for those who are interested in exploring the more technical side of the movie.
Deleted Scenes: 3 deleted scenes are included here with commentary from director Ed Zwick. These scenes are an enjoyable addition to the material on the DVD, but the final movie itself is already a bit on the long side as it is, so in my humble opinion they are rightly left out. I really liked listening to the comments by Zwick, some of which talk about his feelings about cutting scenes.
Production Design Featurette: A very interesting and informative short featurette that offers the viewer a look at how the crew of the film went about creating the film's sets and look. Footage from the set shows the production at work and what they were able to accomplish. Also, with narration mostly from production designer Lilly Kilvert, we get an even more detailed idea of what inspired her in her work and the problems that she faced during the movie. A very good featurette and it's unfortunate that it only runs 4 minutes and 30 seconds or so.
Trailers: Oooh, lots of trailers! Teaser and theatrical trailer for "Legends of the Fall"; trailers for "Seven Years In Tibet", "The Devil's Own", "A River Runs Through It", "The Mask Of Zorro" and "Bram Stoker's Dracula". The "Zorro" trailer has particularly good Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Also: The film's original promotional featurette, production notes, cast and crew bios and the film's isolated score (Dolby 5.0) - which even has a highlight menu.
Final Thoughts: "Legends of the Fall" is one of those films that I can find enjoyable when I return to it every once in a while. As for Tristar's DVD, they've done a great job putting together some strong extras and pairing it with the already good presentation. Although the picture quality has a few flaws, the sound quality is very good. Recommended.
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