Spectacular scenary, moving

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2003)

Many people find fault with this film... plot too convoluted, trying too hard to be epic, everyone dies, etc... but if you simply sit back and do no more than take in the majestic cinematography and enjoy the moving soundtrack by James Horner, you can consider it an enjoyable two hours.
The mountain scenery is the most spectacular I've ever seen in a film, and probably did a lot for the Montana tourism industry even though it wasn't actually filmed there. For the curious, those incredible mountain vistas and Ludlow ranch were all shot in the Canadian Rocky Mountains half an hour west of Calgary, Alberta. Other recent movies movies shot in the vicinity were Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, and Jackie Chan's Shanghai Noon.
The film takes you through a series of emotional ups and downs as members of the Ludlow clan and their loved ones deal with their demons and die tragic, almost Shakespearean deaths in several cases. To many viewers, this qualifies it as a bad film. Well guess what? Life is like that in many cases, and I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed the fact this film wasn't a lame, saccharin, feel good excuse of a movie. The real majesty of this film is that it shows the reality of life. It isn't easy and it isn't fair. You have to deal with it with dignity and move on. That's what I liked about the film, and viewed to be a nice change from the typical drivel that plays in theaters. That, and the incredibly beautiful Canadian scenery.