In the early 1900s, three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of Montana are affected by betrayal, history, love, nature, and war.
Death, who takes the form of a young man, asks a media mogul to act as a guide to teach him about life on Earth, and in the process, he falls in love with his guide's daughter.
A man tries to transport an ancient gun called The Mexican, believed to carry a curse, back across the border, while his girlfriend pressures him to give up his criminal ways.
After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, they get their chance for revenge.
Robert Ford, who's idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the reforming gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.
When Billy returns from reform school he has to attend a different high school at the other side of town. He tries to start with a clean slate but his old rival doesn't make it easy on him ... See full summary »
In early twentieth century Montana, Colonel William Ludlow (Sir Anthony Hopkins) lives in the wilderness with his sons, Tristan (Brad Pitt), Alfred (Aidan Quinn), and Samuel (Henry Thomas). Eventually, the unconventional, but close-knit, family encounters tragedy when Samuel is killed in World War I. Tristan and Alfred survive their tours of duty, but, soon after they return home, both men fall for Samuel's gorgeous fiancée, Susannah (Julia Ormond), and their intense rivalry begins to destroy the family.Written by
Jwelch5742
Johnny Depp was offered, and turned down, the role of Tristan Ludlow. See more »
Goofs
Tristan's bare upper left arm is shown in a scene which displays the distinctive dime sized scar of a smallpox inoculation. This scar is common to those of us (including Brad Pitt) living through the 1960s-'70s, but not for Tristan in the 1910s-20s. See more »
Quotes
Tristan:
You know when Samuel died... when Samuel died, I cursed God. Did I damn everybody around me as well as myself?
Colonel Ludlow:
No. You are not damned, Tristan... I won't allow that.
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Alternate Versions
The new special edition contains 3 new scenes. See more »
Normally love dramas don't interest me, since I find them boring and predictable. This film, while being more than "just" a good love drama, really impressed me. Many of the scenes are quite visually beautiful, some in cinematography, others in content. As a love drama, it's moving, and at times almost poetically beautiful. It involves three men, brothers, who are all in love with the same woman. She has a relationship with each of them, but ultimately realizes that she only loves one of them. The plot is very good, and evolves at the right pace for this type of story. Not terribly fast, but never stands still either. The actors all portray their respective characters well, nearly all of them giving a perfect performance. Anthony Hopkins is great, as always. There was not really anything in this movie that disappointed me. The ending scene involves some of the best cinematography I've ever seen. There is a very emotional scene near the end which is also one of the most visually beautiful I've ever seen in a movie. I recommend this to most fans of love dramas, and, to a lesser extent, fans of war dramas. 8/10
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Normally love dramas don't interest me, since I find them boring and predictable. This film, while being more than "just" a good love drama, really impressed me. Many of the scenes are quite visually beautiful, some in cinematography, others in content. As a love drama, it's moving, and at times almost poetically beautiful. It involves three men, brothers, who are all in love with the same woman. She has a relationship with each of them, but ultimately realizes that she only loves one of them. The plot is very good, and evolves at the right pace for this type of story. Not terribly fast, but never stands still either. The actors all portray their respective characters well, nearly all of them giving a perfect performance. Anthony Hopkins is great, as always. There was not really anything in this movie that disappointed me. The ending scene involves some of the best cinematography I've ever seen. There is a very emotional scene near the end which is also one of the most visually beautiful I've ever seen in a movie. I recommend this to most fans of love dramas, and, to a lesser extent, fans of war dramas. 8/10