I like the episodic format of the film. In one scene Jeremiah fights for his life against a pack of wolves; in another, he struggles for hours to light a fire pit under a snow-covered tree, only to have a pile of snow fall right down on top of it. My favorite scene is the one where Jeremiah, with the help of a young orphan boy he meets along the way, builds a log cabin house. Other interesting characters he meets include a seasoned hermit who mentors him and a Native American who learns to trust him. There is even a wedding scene, but I won't give away too much if you haven't seen the film. Recognizable actors pop up, such as Will Geer, Paul Benedict, and Matt Clark.
According to the book Box Office Hits by Susan Sackett; Redford told a reporter "I wanted this film to be an antidote to the general feeling int he States today that getting away from civilization is such a terrific thing and is so romantic....I wanted to show the kids what it is really like going it on your own in the wilderness and thoroughly deromanticize it for them." Director Sydney Pollack agreed, and told the New York Times: "You cannot live totally selfishly and be completely independent of the world. You must adjust to the needs of nature or of man."
Jeremiah Johnson holds up very well after more than 40 years, I think. It has a good share of humorous moments. And I loved the mellow folk ballads of the film's soundtrack, including the song "The Ballad of Jeremiah Johnson". I did some research online to find out who wrote and sung these songs; the site FilmScore has a good write up about the composer John Rubinstein (b. 1946) and writer-singer Tim McIntire (1944-1986).
I watched this movie on DVD, and was delighted to see not only an "Overture", but also an "Intermission" title card and an "Entr'acte"! I could hardly believe it. An Intermission - this film actually had an intermission back in the day! And it was only a 2-hour film. Pure delight.
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