Rent Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

Frontier Western. - Jeremiah Johnson review by Steve

Hollywood biopic of a real life mountain trapper in the time of the Frontier Wars. A look around the internet suggests this is a fairly approximate account; there’s no suggestion of his cannibalism of Native Americans! Robert Redford represents a very ‘70s idea of the old west which is liberal and inclusive.

So it’s a revisionist western. What we get is a tribute to the stoic resilience of the isolated pioneers who endured the cold of the Rockies, gloriously photographed on location around snowy Utah. And though the politics are updated, the impression of their hardship and native tribal customs is persuasive.

There’s a rugged star performance from Redford who leads a strong ensemble cast of unfamiliar character actors playing the sort of eccentrics who can’t tolerate human society and so seek out the most inhospitable surroundings. It focuses on the psychology of those living on the edge of the extreme frontier.

Occasionally it gets a bit whimsical, particularly the soundtrack of acoustic ballads and the folksy voice over. But mostly, this an intelligent and fascinating insight into a very alien existence. There was a minor wave of frontier survival westerns in the early '70s- like A Man Called Horse (1970)- and this as good as any.