Beautiful, yes, but overdone and absurdly epic to the point of embarrassment...

Rating: 6/10 (26 March 2015)

Legends of the Fall (1994)
This movie looks and feels good, and it goes far. However...
It ends up being an overblown, simplistic epic sprawl, redeemed by Brad Pitt. It is filled with scenes of high drama, and some of them are truly moving—mostly sad and tragic. But there is a long string of clichés here, as if real human depth is reached through excess and borrowed ideas.
The war scenes (WWI) are so fake it's painful. Yes, there are bombs and terrific lighting, but the acting, and the reactions to fighting and dying, are stripped of any truth and honesty. Likewise, the conflicts between the brothers are oversimplified, and the one young woman in the movie, the siren, is admirable (and the actress is terrific) but so symbolic it's just pure sexism.
Anthony Hopkins plays the patriarch of this family with three sons and this newcomer woman. The local Native Americans add a "Dances with Wolves" element that sometimes is a relief from the overdone drama, but often it too fulfills clichés. WWI intervenes. More clichés.
Okay, I hated this movie and yet—trying hard—I liked the look of it. The director, relatively inexperienced Edward Zwick, seems to know movies better than life. It reminds me (in this way among others) of "Shawshank Redemption" which I also found filled with simplistic solutions to interesting human problems. (I'm sure this will get some thumbs downs for this review—go for it.)
Put it like this—if you like sentiment, if you like to feel more than think (which is not a bad thing), and if you don't really analyze movies but prefer to just experience them uncritically, this might really be a moving and terrific experience. And Brad Pitt is terrific.
Final note—the music is overbearing. I suppose this fits the grandiose themes overall, but it was so saccharine and heavy it pushes the emotional aspects very hard. Hey, look, this is an emotional film and filled with heartache and unbelievable tragedy. If you can turn a blind eye to all the contrivances that make it happen, you'll be okay. If not, run fast.