Jeremiah Johnson has sparked more interest in the western trapper and hunter than probably any other movie. Robert Redford played the titular character, a disillusioned Mexican War veteran looking to escape civilization and live among the Rocky Mountains. Johnson learned to trap, hunt, and live in peace with neighboring Native Americans, until civilization came knocking again and ruined his version of paradise.
Jeremiah Johnson was based off the real-life “Liver-Eating Johnson,” a mountain man who was rumored to have fought with Crow Indians after his wife was killed by a band of braves. The movie debutted in 1972 and has remained the mountain man movie ever since.
That could change with a new film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The Revenant is a similarly-themed western featuring DiCaprio as a betrayed fur trapper and explorer named Hugh Glass. Legend has it that the real Glass was mauled by a bear and unable to travel with his companions. Two men were left to care for him, but when they concluded he was beyond saving, they stole his goods and left him to die alone in the wilderness.
Glass miraculously survived and dragged his mutilated body to a distant fort. After a long recuperation, he set out to find his deserters and enact revenge.
The film brings modern stars to the tale, much like Johnson did with Robert Redford and Will Geer, the grizzly hunter who trains Johnson to live off the land. DiCaprio is joined by Tom Hardy, the actor who played Bane in The Dark Knight Rises with Christian Bale. Whether it will live up to the mountain man standard Jeremiah Johnson set remains to be seen, but hunters and lovers of western films should enjoy the movie if early previews are any indication.
Video courtesy of 20th Century Fox via YouTube
Subscribe to the free daily newsletter to receive Sporting Classics content directly to your inbox!
Cover image courtesy of Screen Review