Amazon.com video review:
A box-office hit when released in 1994, this sprawling,
frequently overwrought familial melodrama may get sillier as its plot
progresses, but it's the kind of lusty, character-based epic that
Hollywood should attempt more often. It's also an unabashedly
flattering star vehicle for Brad Pitt as Tristan--the rebellious
middle son of a fiercely independent Montana rancher and military
veteran (Anthony Hopkins)--who is routinely at odds with his more
responsible older brother, Alfred (Aidan Quinn), and younger brother,
Samuel (Henry Thomas). From the battlefields of World War I to his
adventures as an oceangoing sailor, Tristan's life is full of personal
torment, especially when he returns to Montana and finds himself
competing with Alfred over Samuel's beautiful widow (Julia Ormond),
whose passion for Tristan disrupts the already turbulent Ludlow
clan. Under the wide-open canopy of Big Sky country, this operatic
tale unfolds with all the bloodlust, tragedy, and scenery-chewing
performances you'd expect to find in a hokey bestselling novel (in
fact, it's based on the acclaimed novella by Jim Harrison), but it's a
potent mix that's highly entertaining. Not surprisingly, John Toll won
an Academy Award for his breathtaking outdoor cinematography. --Jeff
Shannon
