Rating: 
Summary: A Fishermans Dream
Review: A movie filled with some of the most spectacular scenery a film could wish to deliver. The sweeping valleys of Montana and the beautiful rivers that flow through them leaves one breathless many times throughout the film. Robert Redford's direction and narration in this film is a postage stamp of this mans ability. Norman Maclean (whose autobiography serves as a basis for the film) leads an amazing and complex life; in what could be the considered an ideal life for any would be fisherman around the world. A must see.
Rating: 
Summary: A rare pleasure
Review: A rare and special movie. There is an ineffable, poetic quality about this movie that touches deeply. Few movies capture so well the bittersweet passing of youth to maturity, constrained love, the wonder of the moment. This is a masterful work by Redford. The understated performance from Tom Skerritt as the preacher father is right on. Brad Pitt and Craig Sheffer play of each other well. Watch and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: a cinematic sucess
Review: A River Runs Through It fits into the elite category of movies that can be enjoyed by audiences ranging from pubescent boys and girls to nursing home residents.
The movie owes much of its success to two eye-catching elements: the cinematography and Brad Pitt.
Set on the banks of Montana's Blackfoot River around World War I, A River Runs Through It tracks two brothers' coming of age. Norman the poet (Craig Sheffer) and Pauley the playboy (Pitt) grow from playful youngsters into scheming teenagers and then become individual adults with only one thing to keep them connected to each other: fly fishing. It is based on Norman Maclean's autobiographical novel of the same name and was released in late 1992.
Unlike many of other movies, A River Runs Through It exists with only an ounce of cheesy romance. Richard Friedenberg's writing revolves around a simple plot and sticks to it. The story focuses on the metamorphosing relationship of siblings from childhood to adulthood and the narration gives it a "The Wonder Years" sort of feel. Each character, no matter how minor, is well-developed. They lead happy-go-lucky lives where everything is fine and dandy, unless you break the golden rule. "In Montana there's three things we're never late for: church, work and fishing," says Paul.
As much a part of this story as the script and characters is the setting. Sunbeams streaming past lush clouds, through tall trees and falling onto crashing waters are the backdrop of the film. Philippe Rousselot, who won an Oscar for this film's cinematography, captures the simple beauty of nature in the arc of fish leaping over water and a fiery, red-orange sun washing over neverending plains of tall grain.
While most of the people in A River Runs Through It are customary and not very memorable, Pitt's Paul Maclean stands out as the beautiful sore thumb of Missoula, Montana. Aside from the repeated image of his sun-washed chest wading above the clear waters, he transforms to dancing a jig, brawling inside a speak-easy and drowning his worries away over shots of whiskey, to being a mama's boy for a brief second. This is the film that well-deservedly gave Pitt's acting credibility.
It is no coincidence that Pitt bears a striking resemblance to a young Robert Redford throughout the film. Redford, who directed and co-produced A River Runs Through It, cast himself as the ever-present narrator and, undoubtedly, wants his presence felt in every aspect of the film that is now a classic.
A River Runs Through It utilizes the best of each film element - from acting to writing to cinematography - to produce a piece enjoyable to a wide audience.
Rating:
Summary: a cinematic sucess
Review: A River Runs Through It fits into the elite category of movies that can be enjoyed by audiences ranging from pubescent boys and girls to nursing home residents.
The movie owes much of its success to two eye-catching elements: the cinematography and Brad Pitt.
Set on the banks of Montana's Blackfoot River around World War I, A River Runs Through It tracks two brothers' coming of age. Norman the poet (Craig Sheffer) and Pauley the playboy (Pitt) grow from playful youngsters into scheming teenagers and then become individual adults with only one thing to keep them connected to each other: fly fishing. It is based on Norman Maclean's autobiographical novel of the same name and was released in late 1992.
Unlike many of other movies, A River Runs Through It exists with only an ounce of cheesy romance. Richard Friedenberg's writing revolves around a simple plot and sticks to it. The story focuses on the metamorphosing relationship of siblings from childhood to adulthood and the narration gives it a "The Wonder Years" sort of feel. Each character, no matter how minor, is well-developed. They lead happy-go-lucky lives where everything is fine and dandy, unless you break the golden rule. "In Montana there's three things we're never late for: church, work and fishing," says Paul.
As much a part of this story as the script and characters is the setting. Sunbeams streaming past lush clouds, through tall trees and falling onto crashing waters are the backdrop of the film. Philippe Rousselot, who won an Oscar for this film's cinematography, captures the simple beauty of nature in the arc of fish leaping over water and a fiery, red-orange sun washing over neverending plains of tall grain.
While most of the people in A River Runs Through It are customary and not very memorable, Pitt's Paul Maclean stands out as the beautiful sore thumb of Missoula, Montana. Aside from the repeated image of his sun-washed chest wading above the clear waters, he transforms to dancing a jig, brawling inside a speak-easy and drowning his worries away over shots of whiskey, to being a mama's boy for a brief second. This is the film that well-deservedly gave Pitt's acting credibility.
It is no coincidence that Pitt bears a striking resemblance to a young Robert Redford throughout the film. Redford, who directed and co-produced A River Runs Through It, cast himself as the ever-present narrator and, undoubtedly, wants his presence felt in every aspect of the film that is now a classic.
A River Runs Through It utilizes the best of each film element - from acting to writing to cinematography - to produce a piece enjoyable to a wide audience.
Rating:
Summary: The ONLY Movie I Have Ever Cried To !
Review: A River Runs Through It is a stunning accomplishment for Robert Redford. The story is captivating, and yet one of the saddest movies I've ever seen. This movie will produce feelings that will linger with you long after the ending credits !
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Picture
Review: A River Runs Through It is one of those films that can be watched over and over. The movie focases on the lives of two brothers(Brad Pitt and Craig Sheffer) growing up in Montana and the different paths they take. The sons of a minister(played well by Tom Skerrit) they are brought up religiously with two faiths, the church and fishing. Eventually Normon(Scheffer) goes away to school and Paul(Pitt) stays at home and becomes a newspaper reporter. Years later, after finishing his degree, Normon returns to Montana to decide what he wants to do with the rest of his life. While he was away Paul has developed some bad habbits, namely gambling. Everyone in the family is aware of the problem but doesn't seem to want to confront it. Instead they go fishing and catch up on old times. Normon meets a local girl at a dance and begins courting her. This leads to a hillarious incident involving her brother, who is a compulsive liar and a drunk. Eventually Normon settles on what he wants to do and Paul's problems come back to haunt him. Robert Redford's excellent directing, along with strong performances, and breathtaking cinematography make this a very charming film. It is worth seeing, again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Really, 4 and 1/2 stars!
Review: A truly memorable film featuring superb direction, acting, and writing. Redford, the film's director, also is its narrator and does a wonderfully at both jobs! Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful to look at, graceful to listen to
Review: Amazingly, A River Runs Through It stays dead-on true to the novella by Norman MacLean. Unlike so many books based on movies, they didn't change the ending, the characters, the feel, or even many of the words. Instead, the film makers only added to the story by setting it to the incredible scenery MacLean was reduced to describing in words, and by a great job of casting (no, Brad Pitt isn't just eye candy here). Of course, staying close to the original story wouldn't be any great bonus if the original story weren't something special. MacLean managed to write prose redolent of the mountains and streams of his past, creating something that's very much a 'guy' story yet still curiously sensitive in its view of a thoughtful young Norman and his wilder younger brother, in a family whose men bond over their casting rods. You don't have to fly-fish to enjoy this, but you may find yourself wanting to learn how afterwards.
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting
Review: Any director can fill a screen with pretty things and call it beautiful, just as any writer can fill a page with words and call it poetry. Those who have not yet been deluded into believing in total relativism know, however, how difficult true beauty and true poetry are to create. Greatness in film, like greatness in poetry, requires hard work, and that work comes to little unless it is inflamed with a divine light.
A River Runs Through it is a work of great beauty and true poetry. It is a film that I believe is destined to become a significant part of our national heritage, and in the long run I also believe that it is the most significant work for which Robert Redford will be remembered (not to take anything away from his other excellent work.) During his time here on earth, it would appear that he has been fortunate enough to attain something resembling wisdom, and all of it is communicated in the exquisitely simple, yet divinely inspired, way in which this film gives us these characters and this story.
Having also read Norman MacLean's books, I will mention that this film is an "adaptation" of his story of the same title. It is, however, that rarest of adaptations in that it gives up nothing to the original, and does it full and complete justice in every way that matters.
With each viewing of this film over the years, its profound use of symbolism and metaphor becomes ever more apparent to me. It is truly a family story in that it revolves around the universal themes of sibling rivalry, parental tribulation, the tenuous beginnings (and deep foundations) of love and the seemingly random but somehow inevitable movements of the hand of fate. You don't need to be a fisherman or have any interest in fly fishing to be deeply moved by this film; you simply need to be a human being.
In closing, I would like to beg Mr. Redford for a digitally remastered and restored director's cut in widescreen on DVD with an interview with him as a special feature. This film deserves the royal treatment, and it's about time it got it, don't you think?
Rating:
Summary: Phenominal!
Review: At once beautiful, touching, and deeply moving, A River Runs Though It is the story of two boys who charistically different, retain a close bond through their love of fishing in their homtown of Missoula, Montana. Brad Pitt(legends of the fall) does an exceptional job as Paul Maclean, a carefree, daredevil type who has a gambling problem. this performance shows that Brad is not just a pretty boy but also an superb actor. Craig Sheffer gives a spellbinding performance as Norman Maclean, Paul's serious, level headed brother. He seems to radiate an auroa of light that is rare in a acting performance. I love this movie because it shows Montana's natural beauty and the love of two brothers that can never be broken. It also potrays the message; "it's a nice day out, let's go fishing" One more thing to fully appriciate this movie you have to see it!
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