Rating: 
Summary: ROUGHING IT
Review: As a lone wolf who dislikes civilization, Redford has a personal triumph in his playing the title role. Johnson moves to the unforgiving Rockies; he can barely stay alive until an old trapper he meets (Will Geer) takes him under his wing. For a year, Johnson learns all the basic neccessities of staying alive in the wilderness, and he eventually goes off on his own. Marauding Indians wipe out a settlement in which only a mother and son survive; Johnson buries the dead and adopts the boy! A later tribe of Indians turn out to be friendly and when they discover their enemy scalps in Redford's possession, he turns out to be their hero and is hailed as a Great Warrior....... Based on a real-life person; the acting of Redford is brilliant in every respect while the photography of wild Utah is breathtaking. Well-directed, the movie was an enormous hit when it was originally released theatrically in 1972; it grossed over 22 million dollars.
Rating: 
Summary: The film is so rich in everyting that makes a human being
Review: One of the few films of the western genre which are not mythical depictions of speculative history which was so prevalent right up to the last 30 years or so. Forget the usual films such as "Shane", most John Wayne films, the spaghetti westerns etc etc, this is a great film. There is so much to recommend it not least of which the acting of Robert Redford in the lead role as the mountain man. There is so much more : the soundtrack which is often bleak and minimalist, this is done for a reason, and then the occasional songs sung by a man seemingly lonely and in the wilderness far from any help or sanctuary. The photography is like Ansell Adams did it, just sublime, I can only remember "Legends of the Fall" doing this as well. In my view the best western I've seen with only "Dances with Wolves" better but then that is an experience rather than a film. Robert Redford plays the man attempting a new life in the mountains through trapping and hunting which he plays in a very understated fashion, his trials and tribulations are seen on his face and they are real, the violence is real; no fake fights in saloons here. His confrontation with other highly suspect characters is excellent and his building a cabin in the secluded area of the Rockies. He marries the daughter of a chief but against his better judgement leads a party of troops, who need to get to a group of stranded settlers, through a Crow burial ground. Of course the movements were witnessed by the Crow and his wife is murdered, on his return which he hurries along because of an internal feeling for what has happened, he undergoes tragic suffering and the terrible desire for revenge. He tracks the responsible warriors, about 5 or 6 of them, and massacres the lot. This is when his life really becomes hard, the Crow send a warrior to hunt him down, each time a single man. Through desperation and a need for survival he defeats each man in turn, not without being severely wounded. In one incredible scene he meets an old friend who taught him the ways of a trapper and as they are sitting down to eat he is surprised by a warrior hidden in leaves right next to the camp. A short battle ensues which he survives and his friend asks him something like : "you are in a lot of trouble", he answers in those now epic words : "trouble, what trouble". The film is so rich in everyting that makes a human being that no other words than "see this movie" need be said.
Rating:
Summary: A Misanthropist
Review: The character of Jeremiah Johnson removes himself from civilization. The human entanglements that become part of his life are purely accidental and, intiailly, entirely unappealing to Johnson. As the movie progresses, he acquires friends, a wife, and even an orphaned child. What he discovers, or rather what he creates, is his own civilization. But while the civilization he left behind in the east had its own kind of inherent alienation, Johnson discovers that the western world he has entered is so young that the men that inhabit it are subject to the most basic of brutalities that man and nature can inflict. Still, the story is about the discovery of one's self, and the acceptance of the uncertainty of life. The western scenery of Utah is as much of a character in the movie as any of those who speak. The vast experience of nature brings home the movie's central idea. For a modern take on the westard journey (the west being notable in ancient Egypt as symbolic of death, the direction of the setting sun), I recommend Dead Man. Dead Man tells the story of a man who involuntarily finds himself exiled from civilization. Whereas Jeremiah Johnson is about a man finding himself in the wild west, Dead Man is about one losing himself.
Rating:
Summary: The Trapper's West
Review: Jeremiah Johnson was one of the first westerns to look at its subject matter minus the mythic notions that usually surround the genre. It's also interesting for not being about Cowboys and Indians or Range Wars or Outlaws on the Run, but about the singular experiences of the trapper, often lost in the Popular West and who more than any other western archetype defined the ideal of the loner leading a life free of European civilization and law. The film is sympathetic to this and relies more on its suggestion than any blatant statements of individuality. For its subtlety it is all the more powerful: the landscape itself becomes a lead, and the stoicism of the relationships between characters is broken by Will Geer's hell-for-leather rascality and the eruption of Redford's quiet rage. Based on Vardis Fisher's masterpiece novel Mountain Man, which in turn was based on the real experiences of John "Liver-Eating" Johnston, Jeremiah Johnson could be loosely categorized with films like McCabe and Mrs. Miller and The Gray Fox, or even those films that achieve clarity through humor or satire (although some would say these are not satires at all) like Little Big Man, Buffalo Bill and the Indians, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The action is visceral, the hero is also a villain, and the end is oddly uplifting.
Rating:
Summary: One of my all time top 10.
Review: Great Utah scenery, and Robert Redford too! A good story sprinkled with humor, adventure and a touch of sadness. Two scenes stand out for me: 1) the "you skin Grizz pilgrim?", and 2)at the end, when they Jeremiah Johnson and his mentor are talking while eating some rabbit, "what month of the year do you figure it is, March, maybe April?" - a very moving part of the movie.
Rating:
Summary: From " Pilgrim" to "Legend"
Review: Reality can be brutal, and such is Jeremiah's start in becoming a man of the mountains. Forsaking a world he no longer cared to be a part of and retreating to the Rocky Mountains, Jeremiah Johnson's story is one of shaky beginnings, soulful passion, sadness, self-discovery and ultimate triumph. Robert Redford has yet to top this performance--it is an absolute masterpiece. And talk about a great supporting cast; Will Geer as Johnson's "tutor" Bear Claw and Stefan Gierasch as Del Gue, the wildman of the Rockies, give the performances of their careers! Brash, bold, and as believable as can be, these two add the perfect ingredients to the mix that makes this film so very good. In addition, Delle Bolton and Josh Albee are perfect as Johnson's make-shift family. And devotees of PBS's Sesame Street, watch for big-jawed Paul Benedict as the arrogant and truly unlikeable Reverend! Heartfelt portrayals, astoundingly beautiful locations, and an excellent storyline make this one of the best and most realistic of all period-piece movies. I still get cold whenever I think about poor Johnson desperately trying to catch fish in the freezing waters of the Rockies, or attempting to start a pitifully tiny fire in just the wrong place! Watch this gem and you'll see what I mean.
Rating:
Summary: Robert Redford's personal favorite film role
Review: I had the pleasure of seeing "Jeremiah Johnson" in the theatre soon after it first came out at Christmas 1972. On the big screen you could really appreciate the magnificent cinematography and the majestic scenery. It loses something when transferred to the small screen. So I recommend watching the letterboxed version on a larger screen TV(at least 27inches or larger.)It has fine direction by Sydney Pollack whom Robert Redford has worked with in more than a half dozen films. The movie takes place in Redford's own neck of the woods,the mountains of Utah.The late Will Geer,(the grandfather on the television series "The Walton's" back in the '70's),is very enjoyable as a bear trapping mountain man named Bear Claw. And,Delle Bolton is impressive in her movie debut as Jeremiah's young indian maiden bride named Swan. I don't believe I've seen Ms. Bolton in anything since this film.The film also has an atmospheric music score by John Rubinstein. I haven't read the two books this movie is based on "Crow Killer" by Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker and "Mountain Man" by Vardis Fisher and I hear the books are much more intense and graphic and if the screenplay had followed them more closely the film would have generated a more adult R rating instead of the family friendly PG rating that it has. Redford said in an interview back in the '80's that of all the films he has done that "Jeremiah Johnson" was his personal favorite. I think that's really saying something considering all the fine films Mr. Redford has done.This is one of his best along with "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" from 1969, "The Sting",(the OscarTM winner for Best Picture of 1973),"The Great Waldo Pepper" from 1975,"Three Days of The Condor",(also directed by Sydney Pollack),"All The President's Men" from 1976,"Brubaker" from 1980, "Ordinary People"(which was his directorial debut and was the OscarTM winner for Best Picture of 1980 and he won Best Director honors),"The Natural" from 1984,"A River Runs Through It" from 1992,which Redford directed and was the narrator,"Quiz Show" nominated for Best Picture of 1994,(it didn't win), and "The Horse Whisperer" from 1998(which he both directed and starred in. Among Director Sydney Pollack's best are "The Way We Were" from 1973,"The Yakuza" from 1975,"Tootsie" from 1982 and "Out of Africa",the OscarTM winner for Best Picture of 1985,with Mr.Pollack winning Best Director honors). Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack are two of America's finest filmmakers.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent film along the lines of Last of the Mohicans
Review: This is a very fine film and one of Robert Redford's better performances. He stars as Jeremiah Johnson, a man who leaves "civilized" America to find himself in the harsh and hostile area of the Rocky Mountains and becomes a mountain man. This film is far too short for my tastes and could have had an ending with more closure, and hence only the 4 stars. If the characters, action scenes and humor were not as stellar as they are, I would have rated it perhaps as a 2. Johnson, in his travels meets up with friendly and hostile Indians, sage and crazy mountain men, and even takes a wife and adopts a child; all of these events and "novel creations" truly "make" this film. The movie's strong suit, aside from Redford, is its thematic portrayal of how Johnson succeeds in becoming a legend in his own time amongst the tribes in the Rockies. There is a fine action-montage sequence near the end of the film that is truly stirring and exciting and should have been made longer. In all, a fine film which, despite pitfalls, more than makes up for its failings with fine acting, and excellent plot and characters. Check it out, and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: It's not up to real life, but it's a fine movie
Review: As referenced in another review, the real story of Johnson is even more interesting than this movie (which I believe is based on a novel by Vardis Fisher). Still, this is a film that I continue to enjoy both in spite of and because of "Crow Killer". I recommend both the book and the movie as worthy of your attention. Yes, it's too bad they made the wrong book into a movie, but what they did do is a fine piece of work.
Rating: 
Summary: 1% of this movie equals the TRUE story of Jeremiah Johnson!
Review: If you have never read the book "Crow Killer" by Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker, then you will probably enjoy this movie. I know I sure did every time I viewed it, until I read the aforementioned book. Jeremiah Johnson was known to the Native American Indians as Dapiek Absaroka, or in english "Killer of Crows". The reason he was called this is barely touched on in this movie, nor is even a percentage of this mans ferocity towards the Crows ever shown. Jeremiah was also known as, "Liver Eating Johnson" for his culinary tastes of cutting the liver out of the Crows he killed and eating them, to show his disdain for their tribe. In the later part of Jeremiah's life, he even became a reluctant friend to the Crow people, who felt that they must be a great race of people to have deserved such a great and powerful foe. Jeremiah also became a town marshall in Montana for a short period of time. He died on January 21st, 1900 and is buried near Los Angeles, California. Watch this movie and enjoy it, then find the book I mentioned above and read it, and learn the TRUE story of the greatest mountain man who ever lived.
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