Editing Legends of the Fall (section)

===Critical response===
[[Review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports that 61% of 61 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a [[Weighted arithmetic mean|rating average]] of 6/10. The site's consensus states: "Featuring a swoon-worthy star turn by Brad Pitt, ''Legends of the Fall''{{'}}s painterly photography and epic sweep often compensate for its lack of narrative momentum and glut of melodramatic twists."<ref>{{cite web|title=Legends of the Fall – Rotten Tomatoes|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/legends_of_the_fall/|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=4 January 2025}}</ref> [[Metacritic]], which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 45 based on 23 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.<ref>{{cite web|title=Legends of the Fall|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/legends-of-the-fall|work=[[CBS Interactive]]|publisher=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=11 December 2012}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' described the film as "pretty good ... with full-blooded performances and heartfelt [[melodrama]]".<ref name=":0">{{cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|title=Legends of the Fall|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/legends-of-the-fall-1995|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|access-date=15 April 2019|date=13 January 1995}}</ref> [[Peter Travers]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' particularly praised Pitt's performance saying: "Though the admirable Quinn has the toughest role, Pitt carries the picture. The blue-eyed boy who seemed a bit lost in ''[[Interview with the Vampire (film)|Interview with the Vampire]]'' proves himself a bona fide movie star, stealing every scene he's in."<ref name=":1">{{cite magazine |last=Travers |first=Peter |date=13 January 1995 |title=Legends of the Fall {{!}} Movie Reviews |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/legends-of-the-fall-19940101 |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107015358/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/legends-of-the-fall-190002/ |archive-date=January 7, 2023 |access-date=12 December 2012}}</ref> Comparatively, Chris Hicks of ''[[Deseret News]]'' noted: "Pitt is the hunk of the moment, and ''Legends of the Fall'' will only further cement his big-screen, romantic leading-man status. And he is satisfying as the internalized, rebellious Tristan (look for that name to be given to more than a few babies over the next few years). Even if the character seems only a slight twist on the similar role he played in ''[[A River Runs Through It (film)|A River Runs Through It]]''. (He even becomes a bootlegger!)"<ref name=deseret>{{cite news|last=Hicks|first=Chris|title=Film review: Legends of the Fall|url= https://www.deseret.com/1995/1/17/20087981/film-review-legends-of-the-fall |newspaper=[[Deseret News]]|access-date=19 July 2023|date=16 January 1995}}</ref> Multiple critics compared the plot of the Ludlow brothers to films like ''[[East of Eden (film)|East of Eden]]'' and ''[[Giant (1956 film)|Giant]].''<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Turan |first=Kenneth |date=1994-12-23 |title=MOVIE REVIEW : 'Legends of the Fall': A Giant Film, in More Ways Than One |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-12-23-ca-12097-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512012417/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-12-23/entertainment/ca-12097_1_a-giant-film |archive-date=2015-05-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Schickel |first=Richard |date=February 6, 1995 |title=East of Eden, South of Canada |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982469,00.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007232036/https://time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982469,00.html |archive-date=2010-10-07}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />

On the other hand, Rita Kempley of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' stated that the film's "yarn doesn't so much sweep as sprawl across the screen in all its panoramic idiocy".<ref>{{cite news|last=Kempley|first=Rita|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/legendsofthefallrkempley_c0049b.htm|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|title='Legends of the Fall' (R)|access-date=11 December 2012|date=13 January 1995}}</ref> While some critics praised the film's performances and cinematography, they also felt the plot takes on much more than it can handle and might be better suited for a [[miniseries]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Byrge |first=Duane |date=2019-01-13 |title='Legends of the Fall': THR's 1994 Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/legends-fall-review-1994-movie-1093776/ |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Thompson |first=Gary |date=1995-01-13 |title='Legends' Are Riding For A Fall |work=[[Philadelphia Inquirer]] |url=http://articles.philly.com/1995-01-13/news/25713822_1_tristan-susannah-alfred |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408023208/http://articles.philly.com/1995-01-13/news/25713822_1_tristan-susannah-alfred |archive-date=2014-04-08}}</ref> John Hartl of ''[[The Seattle Times]]'' wrote: "The actors fit their roles exceptionally well, but Zwick rarely allows them the kinds of crucial, intimate moments that establish how the characters feel about each other. Occasionally the story grips, suggesting what might have been if the actors had been playing people instead of archetypes."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hartl |first=John |date=1995-01-13 |title=Don't Fall For 'Legends' |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19950113&slug=2099197 |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=[[The Seattle Times]]}}</ref> The film's script and its propensity for melodrama was also critiqued, with some saying the story reaches [[soap opera]]-like heights and leaves its characters underdeveloped.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwarzbaum |first=Lisa |date=1995-01-13 |title=Legends of the Fall |url=https://ew.com/article/1995/01/13/legends-fall/ |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=[[EW.com]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Russell |first=Candice |date=1995-01-13 |title='Legends Of The Fall' Empty As The Big Sky |work=[[Sun-Sentinel]] |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1995-01-13/entertainment/9501110523_1_ludlow-susannah-alfred |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408123758/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1995-01-13/entertainment/9501110523_1_ludlow-susannah-alfred |archive-date=2014-04-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stack |first=Peter |date=1995-01-13 |title=Brad Pitt's 'Legends' Is an Epic Soap Opera |url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Brad-Pitt-s-Legends-Is-an-Epic-Soap-Opera-3048528.php |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |language=en-US}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "As densely plotted as ''Legends of the Fall'' is, it's to the credit of the performers and craftsmen that the film escapes the abyss of melodrama and sentimentality. Zwick imbues the story with an easy, poetic quality that mostly sidesteps the precious. The actors, working as an ensemble, are near perfect in the service of the material."<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1994-01-01 |title=Legends of the Fall |url=https://variety.com/1993/film/reviews/legends-of-the-fall-1200435517/ |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> In contrast, [[Terrence Rafferty]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' described the film as a "father-and-sons saga" that "gets sillier as it goes".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Rafferty |first=Terrence |title=Legends of the Fall |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |url=http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/legends_of_the_fall_zwick |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218132340/http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/legends_of_the_fall_zwick |archive-date=2008-12-18}}</ref>

[[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' commented: "Before it turns exhaustingly hollow, this film shows the potential for bringing Mr. Harrison's tough, brooding tale to life. And the actors may have captured the spirit of the story, but that's impossible to know."<ref name=":3" /> She concluded, "These are performances that lost too much in the editing room, smothered by music and overshadowed by a picture-postcard vision of the American West."<ref name=":3">{{cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|title=Grit vs. Good Looks In the American West|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/23/movies/film-review-grit-vs-good-looks-in-the-american-west.html |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=12 December 2012|date=23 December 1994}}</ref> In ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', [[Stephen Hunter]] wrote: "What ''Legends of the Fall'' lacks is any spirit of rigor. It buys into -- indeed, is selling -- the oldest of guff: the idea that the violence of banal men is beautiful and righteous. It honors male anger...[it] worships the red shift of men gone nuts on vengeance. It romanticizes gunplay. It's a big movie that's so small on the inside it's not there."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hunter |first=Stephen |date=1995-01-13 |title='Legends of the Fall' is hit-and-myth |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1995/01/13/legends-of-the-fall-is-hit-and-myth/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407220253/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-01-13/entertainment/1995013178_1_tristan-gordon-tootoosis-ludlow/2 |archive-date=2014-04-07}}</ref>