Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

Jeremiah Johnson (Robert Redford) wants nothing more than to be a mountain man. Frustrated with life down ‘on the ground’, he longs for much more of a hand-to-mouth existence, relying on nature for his survival.

But, of course, the mountains have dangers that don’t exist down in the town. Dangers like grizzly bears, Indians, and of course, other people who have chosen to live in seclusion for one reason or another, and as such, have begun to lose touch with reality.

Meeting up with one such person, a man who calls himself Bear Claw (Will Geer) because of his love for collecting the claws of the many bears he has skinned, Jeremiah learns much about what the mountains hold, and how to get by in this vast wilderness.

He also comes to take guardianship of a young boy (in reasonably peculiar circumstances) known as Caleb (Josh Albee), and the two face the many dangers of the mountains together.

Based on a novel called ‘Mountain Man’ by Vardis Fisher, the script by John Milius and Edward Anhalt tends to drag a lot. I don’t know if the novel was the same – I have not read it – but the film is very slow and takes a long time for anyone to get anywhere. Even other films in this genre seem to manage a few more thrills than this film seems to.

The music by Tim McIntire and John Rubinstein is good, however. Predominantly orchestral scoring, it serves to represent the sweeping majesty of the environment all the characters inhabit.

And what an environment it is. The scenery and locations in this film are breathtaking; the landscape is so vast, and different locations used to maximum effect and purpose. Beautifully captured by Duke Callaghan (cinematographer), every shot is filled with beautiful scenery and landscape.

Director Sydney Pollack works well with the script he has, but again, the film seems to drag along in parts, making you feel every moment of its two hour running time. If it were not for the scenery, and Redford’s performance, there would be little to recommend this film at all.

And Redford’s performance is very good. Not many actors (particularly in the era this film was made) can carry a film on their own. There are long sections of this film in which Redford is the only performer on screen, and he carries it well; already a professional through and through.

Unfortunately, I don’t think these two points are enough to make this film worth a re-watch.

4 out of 10.