Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

A mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by Indians when he proves to be the match of their warriors in one-to-one combat on ... See full summary »

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

Vardis Fisher (novel), Raymond W. Thorp (story),

Stars:

Robert Redford, Will Geer, Delle Bolton

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

A mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by Indians when he proves to be the match of their warriors in one-to-one combat on the early frontier.

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Plot Keywords:

mountain | mountain man | trapper | frontier | respect | 

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Taglines:

some say he's dead...some say he never will be.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 1972 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Crow Killer

Filming Locations:

Alpine Loop, Utah, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 1,007,197 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sanford Productions (III), Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 116 min (long)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was originally to star Clint Eastwood in the title role and to be directed by Sam Peckinpah.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: His name was Jeremiah Johnson, and they say he wanted to be a mountain man. The story goes that he was a man of proper wit and adventurous spirit, suited to the mountains. Nobody knows whereabouts he come from and don't seem to matter much. He was a young man and ghosty stories about the tall hills didn't scare him none. He was looking for a Hawken gun, .50 caliber or better. He settled for a .30, but damn, it was a genuine Hawken, and you couldn't go no better. Bought him a good ...

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson (1997)

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Soundtracks

"An Indian Says"
(uncredited)
Written by John Rubinstein,Tim McIntire

User Reviews

To connect with nature and find your place in the world.

Jeremiah Johnson is unlike most films of its kind, which is a subgenre of the adventure film that follows a lone mountain man disillusioned by society who escapes to the frontier in order to become one with nature and reinvigorate himself. Strange how women never do this. Anyways, Robert Redford is surprisingly effective as the quiet, tough and determined title character who remains focused on his ultimate goal of remaining aloof and alone from all connections to anyone.

Unfortunately, he is bamboozled into a most peculiar family situation involving a mute son of a crazy pioneer woman and the daughter of a French-speaking Native American chief. In the end, what director Sydney Pollack is all about is showcasing how nature can indeed salve some of our pain and make us feel more comfortable with our situations. Nevertheless, true relationships with people cannot be substituted. Beautiful photography, strong performances and a most intriguing storyline all help create a very interesting film that is worth multiple views and considerable think time.