(Robert Redford, US 1992, 123 min., 35mm)
Robert Redford’s third directorial effort was also the breakout film for a young Brad Pitt. Based on Norman Maclean’s semi-autobiographical novella, the film relates the early-twentieth century story of the Montana-based Maclean family: Reverend and Mrs. Maclean (Tom Skerritt and Brenda Blethyn), Norman (Craig Sheffer) and younger brother Paul (Pitt). Their lives revolve around the church, lumber, and fly-fishing, but as the war and Prohibition arrive and the Macleans’ world expands, the brothers find themselves growing apart, with Norman following his father’s plans but finding himself less-favored in comparison to his rebellious, hard-drinking brother. One of the most beautifully-photographed films of the decade, by French cinematographer Philippe Rousselot, A River Runs Through It is a story of both the legacy of nature and the nature of man.