Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

In the mid 19th century, a greenhorn by the name of Jeremiah Johnson (Robert Redford) goes up to the Rocky Mountains to become a trapper and mountain man. He's mentored by a grizzly hunter (Will Geer in a performance that defines ham) until he's confident enough to set off on his own. The film steers dangerously close to a vanity project for Redford as the title hero. Johnson becomes a folk hero of almost mythological proportions among the Indians and the settlers and Redford lets it rest on his shoulders as if it were his due. In beard and bearskins, he's more a movie star than ever and at the final freeze frame on his face, I couldn't help but break out into a grin. In the film's quest for authenticity, it's almost sadistic in its depiction of killing both humans and animals and co-screenwriter John Milius' hand is quite apparent. The first part of the film, however, is quite persuasive but after the film's intermission, it becomes an uninteresting revenge piece. This is one sensational looking movie though. The cinematography by Duke Callaghan is stunning. The folksy score is by Tim McIntire and John Rubenstein. Directed by Sydney Pollack. With Allyn Ann McLerie, Matt Clark, Stefan Gierasch and Tanya Tucker.