Sony Pictures | 1992 | 124 mins | Rated PG
Directed by Robert Redford (Ordinary People, Quiz Show), A River Runs Through It is a largely faithful telling of the 1976 novella by Norman Maclean. Known for his keen sense of prose and his willingness to weave autobiographical tidbits into his stories, A River Runs Through It follows that trend. Born in Iowa, when Norman was seven in 1909, his family moved to Missoula, Montana where there were there was a mix of Old West style brothels and gambling, as well as plenty of wide open spaces for him and his brother to explore. Norman, left to study at Dartmouth and eventually landed a job teaching at the University of Chicago, where he retired in 1973. Three years later his first fiction was published, and two years after Maclean died, this 1992 movie–whose script he personally approved–was made.
Recognizing Maclean’s gift for prose, Robert Redford made the smart decision to make the author’s novella a part of the story; Redford acts as the narrator, allowing us to see the events as they happen but also be reminded that these are events based on a real person’s life, from nearly a century ago.
Loving but stern Presbyterian Reverend Maclean (Tom Skerritt), raises his sons Norman (Craig Sheffer) and Paul (Brad Pitt) to have a strong love for the Bible and passion for fly-fishing on the Blackfoot River; he home schools his sons and expects them to become upstanding young men. As the boys head out on their own, they take very different paths; Norman heads to Dartmouth College in faraway New Hampshire and Paul to a local school that leads him to a career in journalism in neighboring Helena. In the spring of 1926, Norman returns home with an uncertain future, much to the chagrin of his father.
Though Norman is the narrator of the film, much of the story revolves around Paul. Though Paul becomes a star reporter for a local paper, he is also impetuous and self destructive. Similar to the stereotypical newspaper man of the thirties and forties portrayed in films, Paul is a tough “man’s man:” he drinks excessively, gambles and gets into frequent brawls. Norman is the polar opposite of his brother; smart and reserved, he falls in love with a pretty Montana girl named Jessie Burns (Emily Lloyd) and starts a successful career as a professor and a writer of serious fiction.
Though the two sons couldn’t be more different, the one thing that binds them and their father is fly-fishing. Norman is a competent fisherman but Paul is a truly gifted angler. For him, fishing is an art form; he seems to know instinctively how to cast his line into the immense river. No matter how much Missoula changes, with the industrial revolution helping to build towns throughout the once wide open landscape, they can always find solace on the Blackfoot river.
Philippe Rousselot earned a well deserved Academy Award for his inspired cinematography and Robert Redford received a Golden Globe nomination for best director for what is probably his second best effort behind the camera after Ordinary People. A River Runs Through It is part nature lesson and part tragedy. Running through it all is this beautiful river that acts as a unifier; it’s beautiful, it’s sentimental it’s the Old West. Perfect.
A River Runs Through It was transferred to a BD-50 disc using AVC/MPEG-4 technology, and the transfer is a sharp one. The picturesque scenery looks fabulous on Blu-ray. Detail is extraordinary throughout. No ghosts, no halos, no artifacts.The film looks clear as the river the men fish. It’s presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio, “enhanced” so that the picture completely fills a 16×9 monitor.
The English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 does a great job. It’s a clear and precise soundtrack that has a nice balance and a wide spread across the front speakers, with just enough rear-speaker action to contribute ambience. The TrueHD is also available in French, with additional sound options in Spanish or Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles are in English, English SDH, French, Spanish, or Portuguese.
A River Runs Through It has a solid slate of special features:
• This digi-book edition has a 33-page full-color book built into the packaging which features the essay “Exploring A River Runs Through It, Thoughts on the Filmed Adaptation of A River Runs Through It” by Jean Maclean Snyder, “A Summer on the River: Memories From the Movie Set by Dennis Aig,” “An Interview With Robert Redford” by John Randolph, an excerpt from the original shooting script, and cast and crew biographies.
• Deep Currents: Making A River Runs Through It (1080i, 29:59), a piece that looks back at life of Norman Maclean, his novella, and the process of bringing the story to the silver screen. Included are interview clips with cast, crew and others.
• The Blackfoot Challenge: Rescuing a River (1080i, 15:12) looks at the difficulties of restoring the Blackfoot River that served as the real-life setting for the story.
• Casting a Line: A Beginner’s Guide to Fly Fishing (1080i, 6:06) is a short instructional piece on fly-fishing.
• On the Blackfoot River in Hi-Def allows viewers to “sit back and relax to the sights and sounds of Montana’s wilderness in full HD with 5.1 surround sound.” Viewers may choose from “Rocky Mountains,” “Big Sky Country,” “Forest Bend,” and “Rushing River,” all available with optional music from the film.
• Deleted Scenes (1080i, 16:25) 17 in all.
• BD-Live functionality.
[xrrgroup][xrr label=”Video:” rating=”4.50/5″ group=”s1″ ] [xrr label=”Audio:” rating=”4.0/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Extras:” rating=”4.5/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Film Value:” rating=”4.5/5″ group=”s1″] [/xrrgroup]
