Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

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  • JEREMIAH JOHNSON


    DIRECTED BY SYDNEY POLLACK
    SANFORD PRODUCTIONS
    WARNER BROS.



    INFORMATION FROM IMDb


    Plot Summary
    During the mid-nineteenth century, Jeremiah Johnson, after a stint in the US Army,
    decides that he would prefer a life of solitude and more importantly peace
    by living with nature in the mountains of the frontier of the American west.
    This plan entails finding a piece of land upon which to build a house.
    This quest ends up being not quite what he envisioned as he does require
    the assistance of others to find his footing, and in turn he amasses friends
    and acquaintances along the way, some who become more a part of his life
    than he would have imagined.
    Perhaps most importantly, some of those people provide him with the knowledge
    of how to co-exist with some of the many Indian tribes, most importantly the Crow,
    on whose land in Colorado Jeremiah ultimately decides to build his home.
    But an act by Jeremiah upon a request by the US Cavalry leads to a chain of events
    that may forever change the peaceful relationship
    he worked so hard to achieve with his neighbors and their land.
    Written by Huggo


    Cast
    Robert Redford ... Jeremiah Johnson
    Will Geer ... Bear Claw
    Delle Bolton ... Swan
    Josh Albee ... Caleb
    Joaquín Martínez ... Paints His Shirt Red (as Joaquin Martinez)
    Allyn Ann McLerie ... Crazy Woman
    Stefan Gierasch ... Del Gue
    Richard Angarola ... Chief Two-Tongues Lebeaux
    Paul Benedict ... Reverend Lindquist
    Charles Tyner ... Robidoux
    Jack Colvin ... Lieutenant Mulvey
    Matt Clark ... Qualen
    Tanya Tucker ... Qualen's daughter (uncredited)

    Directed
    Sydney Pollack


    Writing Credits
    Vardis Fisher ... (novel)
    Raymond W. Thorp ... (story "Crow Killer") and
    Robert Bunker ... (story "Crow Killer")
    John Milius ... (screenplay) and
    Edward Anhalt ... (screenplay)
    David Rayfiel ... (uncredited)


    Produced
    John R. Coonan ... associate producer
    Mike Moder ... associate producer
    Joe Wizan ... producer


    Music
    Tim McIntire
    John Rubinstein


    Cinematography
    Duke Callaghan ... director of photography


    Trivia
    Liver Eatin' Johnston's wife (who was pregnant at the time) was actually killed by a
    random raiding party of Blackfeet, not as revenge for a violation of their burial grounds.
    She was killed in the spring while Johnston was off trapping and he didn't return to find her body
    until several months later.
    He identified the band that had killed her because he recognized a Tennessee rifle
    he had given her in the possession of a Blackfeet warrior.
    Also, rather than isolated incidents as shown in the movie,
    Johnston often recruited other mountain men as well as Indians (particularly Flatheads)
    to help him with his vendetta.
    The part about the warriors sent to kill him and told not to return without his scalp was true.


    Based upon a real-life trapper named John Johnston, nicknamed "Crow Killer"
    and "Liver Eater Johnston" for his penchant for cutting out and eating the livers of Crow Indian
    s he had killed (several Crows had murdered his wife and he swore vengeance against the entire tribe).


    Trapper John Johnston's body was buried in the Veterans Administration
    cemetery in Los Angeles, CA.
    After the movie came out, Johnston's body was reburied at Old Trail Town in Cody, WY.
    Robert Redford was a pallbearer in the reburial ceremony attended by 2,000 people.


    One of seven pictures director Sydney Pollack made with actor Robert Redford.


    The picture was based on two published sources: the non-fiction
    "Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson" by Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker (1958)
    and the fictional "Mountain Man: A Novel of Male and Female in the Early American West' (1965) by Vardis Fisher.


    Reportedly, Robert Redford did many of his own stunts.
    Redford also apparently paid the stunt guild accordingly so as to not put any stuntman out of work.


    Many of the locations for the film were shot on or near Robert Redford's property in Utah
    (he owned approximately 600 acres there at the time), although some locations were as much as 600 miles away.


    For complete Trivia please see:-
    Trivia


    Goofs
    Anachronisms
    The time period is around the 1830s, yet when Johnson is guiding the soldiers
    to rescue the civilians stuck in the snow, he asks the lieutenant
    in charge how "the war with the president of Mexico is going.
    " The lieutenant says, "It's over." Johnson asks, "Who won?"
    The war with Mexico was from 1845 to 1847. The trade in beaver pelts was over by 1840.


    After burying her murdered family, Crazy Woman begins singing "Shall We Gather at the River"
    and Jeremiah joins in.
    This song was written by Robert Lowry in 1864 and first published in 1865,
    long after the time of the mountain men.


    When first showing Johnson setting or checking a trap, you can clearly see the "V" logo
    on the pan of the trap, meaning this was a Victor-brand trap
    (widely used in the 1960s and 70s during the fur trapping boom of that period).
    Victor traps were not in existence during the setting of this movie.


    When he runs into Del Gue late in the movie Johnson tells Del that he may head to Canada.
    In the 1830's? the country of Canada was not yet formed,
    and while there was a region with the name it was far to the east of the Crow and Flathead territories.
    The territory Johnson was most likely referring to would be Rupert's Land
    or possibly the territory of British Columbia, those would be the non US territories
    closest to the Crow Nation.


    Audio/visual unsynchronised
    Throughout the film gunshots are heard as a modern high velocity
    (crack sound as the bullet is supersonic) rather than the boom of a subsonic blackpowder firearm.
    Also, the firearm smoke is minimal (modern smokeless powder) modern smokless powder
    wasn't available until about 1890.


    Character error
    As the newlyweds ride along, Jeremiah Johnson turns around in his saddle,
    revealing a contemporary plain, gold, wedding band on his right hand,
    which is how wedding bands are worn in Germany,
    where I was stationed as a soldier in the United States Army.


    Continuity
    Del Gue buried in the sand is at first soaked with perspiration.
    A minute later his head is almost dry.


    When Jeremiah Johnson first finds Hatchet Jack's frozen body holding the .50 caliber Hawkens,
    the gun is held with the barrel tilted slightly upward.
    In subsequent shots, the angle of the rifle barrel changes several times
    to slightly different downward- or upward-tilting angles, never the same twice.


    In the last close-up shot of Hatchet Jack, his chest is moving up and down.


    Near the end of the film when Johnson startles the stranger in the cabin,
    you hear the sound of a single shot but there is no smoke or recoil from his gun.


    When Jeremiah shares a rabbit with Chris, one shot shows no smoke from the fire,
    but in the other shots much smoke was visible.


    In the last close-up shot of Hatchet Jack you can see his chest moving up and down after he's supposedly dead.


    Crew or equipment visible
    Just after Jeremiah leaves bear claw, he stops and shoots a small deer.
    When the deer is shot, you can, for a split second, see the arm of a person
    that throws the deer onto the ground.


    Errors in geography
    The rescue party tells Johnson they have been watched all the way from the Gila River.
    The Gila is 400 miles south of the Colorado border.


    The Crow, Blackfoot and Flathead Indian tribes were up around what later became Montana.
    The Colorado territory, where Johnson is supposed to be, had the Arapaho and the Cheyenne.


    Factual errors
    The wedding song is actually a song the Salish people sing at funerals.
    The producers wanted a song during the wedding and the Salish don't have one.
    So the technical adviser, Johnny Arlee, gave them three songs to choose from
    and they liked "Coming Home", a death song.


    Early in the film during the winter a grizzly bear is shown chasing a
    Not likely since in the winter grizzly bears hibernate 5 to 7 months.


    When Jeremiah leaves the trading post at the beginning of the film,
    he states that his rifle is "only a .30 caliber, but it is still a Hawken".
    Soon after he takes a shot at a running deer (before finding Hatchet Jack's .50 cal. Hawken),
    and it can be clearly seen that the bore of his rifle is large - .50 cal. or larger.


    Miscellaneous
    Del Gue clothes are pristine with the bright colors unaffected after being buried in the sand.


    Memorable Quotes


    Filming Locations
    Ashley National Forest, Vernal, Utah, USA
    Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah, USA
    St. George, Utah, USA
    Leeds, Utah, USA
    Snow Canyon State Park - 1002 Snow Canyon Drive, Ivins, Utah, USA
    Uinta National Forest, Provo, Utah, USA
    Kayenta, Arizona, USA
    Mexican Water, Arizona, USA
    Alpine Loop, Utah, USA
    Sundance Ski Resort - State Highway 92, Sundance, Utah, USA
    Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
    Sundance, Utah, USA
    Timpanogos, Utah, USA

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • Jeremiah Johnson is a 1972 American western film
    directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Redford as the title character
    and Will Geer as "Bear Claw" Chris Lapp.


    It is said to have been based partly on the life of the
    legendary mountain man Liver-Eating Johnson, based on Raymond Thorp
    and Robert Bunker's book Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson and Vardis Fisher's Mountain Man.


    The script was by John Milius and Edward Anhalt; the film was shot at various locations
    in Redford's adopted home state of Utah.


    It was entered into the 1972 Cannes Film Festival.



    User Review


    One of Redford's two or three best films
    19 January 2003 | by Keith F. Hatcher (La Rioja, Spain)

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • This was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. I watched it whenever it came on TV. Now, I have it on DVD and can watch it anytime I want. :) Loved the character Del Gue.


    Mark

    "I couldn't go to sleep at night if the director didn't call 'cut'. "