Wonderful Westerns: ‘Jeremiah Johnson’ (1972)
We here at REBEAT are dedicating this week to the wonderful work of the Beach Boys and the massive impact that they had on pop culture. So what am I going to talk about on Wonderful Westerns? A movie about a mountain man, of course. Yeah, I sadly couldn’t find anything that fit the mold for this week, sorry to say.
I’d like to take this opportunity and ask you readers something involving this genre: What comes to your mind when you think of a Western film? I’m sure most of you automatically think of stuff like cowboys, Native Americans, gunfights, an avenging loner, and maybe themes of expansion and community, all which while taking place somewhere west of the Ohio River during the mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century. A lot of these tropes pop up in the 1972 Robert Redford movie Jeremiah Johnson.
Based around the life of famous mountain man John “Liver-Eating” Johnson (the backstory behind his nickname is just as gross and jaw-dropping as it seems), the movie tells the story of jaded Mexican War veteran Jeremiah Johnson (Redford) who decides to retreat to the mountains of Colorado after his service in hopes of finding solace and refuge from humanity as a trapper and mountain man.
While this may not be everyone’s perception of a Western, or at least the tradition Western, it does fall into line with several Western ideals and stay consistent to themes of the more revolutionary films of the time. The movie also consists what has become one of my favorite reaction GIFs/clips of all time.
The most obvious plotline is Jeremiah’s motivation for moving to the remote wilderness of Colorado. During his military service, he grows very cynical, and when he’s done with the Army, he leaves and decides to make a living as a trapper and hunter. This could be seen as how many young American males were viewing society after their service in Vietnam and how cynically they may have viewed society as a whole. This trope would pop up in the Clint Eastwood film The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), but while in that film, Wales develops a makeshift family in his journey thus regaining a faith in humanity, Johnson’s story is a bit more tragic. I won’t delve too deep into the backstory, but the film begins with Jeremiah wanting nothing but isolation and refuge, and that’s what he gets.
Much like Josey Wales, this film tackles the issues of Native American relations between settlers and the Natives. In the early stages of Johnson’s mountain-man life, he runs into a chief of the Crow tribe named Paints-His-Shirt-Red (Joaquin Martinez). During this first of many encounters, it’s obvious that the chief doesn’t view Johnson as a worthy man. Throughout the film, the relations between Johnson and the Crow tribe go through many trials and tribulations which escalates to a violent feud despite Johnson trying his hardest to keep things from reaching this level. The ending of this arc is more than fitting, and I won’t ruin it for you.
The film has a more episodic feel instead of a typical three-act structure. In the first half of the movie, we see Johnson’s beginnings as a mountain man and him meeting several characters, each having an impact. Then, in the second half, he becomes more isolated as he encounters the same characters or similar situations. My favorite part is his adventures with a crazy, bear-hunting mountain man and mentor named “Bear Claw” Chris Lapp (played by Grandpa Walton himself, Will Geer). I positively love this guy; he’s almost like what Yoda would be like in a Western. He also plays a massive role in Johnson’s life and makes a huge impact on him.
The last positive aspect I want to talk about is a big one. Through the excellent direction of Sydney Pollack, the cinematography of Duke Callaghan, the costume designs by Wesley Jeffries, the screenplay by John Milius and Edward Anhald, and the performances of the cast, the audience is told Johnson’s story through the art of filmmaking in its purest form. Without drowning the film in a bog of expository dialogue that grinds the film to a halt, we’re clued into the emotions and motivations of the character and what’s going on through storytelling, relationships, and character development. To get the full aspect of this, one has to, of course, see the film and get the real experience.
