MovieChat Forums > East of Eden (1955) Discussion > So THIS is where 'Legends of the Fall' c...

So THIS is where 'Legends of the Fall' came from!

posted 12 years ago by Tiberius27-1
6 replies | jump to latest

[SPOILER ALERT]

I'm a big fan of "Legends of the Fall" & after just watching "East of Eden" for the very first time I can see that "Legends of the Fall" was very clearly inspired by or ripped off from (Depending entirely upon how kind or cruel you wish to be in your assessment) this film.

Both films are set against the backdrop of World War 1 & feature brothers who couldn't be more opposite from each other & who both seek the approval of their stern but fair father while vying for the love of the same woman.(I'm focusing on the 2 main brothers in the case of "Legends".)

Both films even feature the patriarchal figure suffering a debilitating stroke which brings about closure to the sibling rivalry to a degree as well as an absentee mother who left the boys in the care of their father early on.

I'd never read anything about how "Legends" was inspired by this but seeing the famous James Dean introduction to film legends here it's clearly too similar to be a coincidence. The Brad Pitt character & his wild misunderstood ways is obviously inspired by Dean's classic portrayal.

Anyone else ever notice this?

"Be nice until it's time to NOT be nice."

[–] PrometheusTree64 12 years ago

It doesn't hurt that Brad Pitt looks just like him.

--
LBJ's mistress tells all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPdviZbk-XI&;

[–] OneWayFilms2000 12 years ago

And here I was thinking A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT was a direct knock-off of EAST OF EDEN.

[–] highschoolkiller 10 years ago

i thought the same thing after i watched this. legends of the fall is very similar to this.

I hated Jaws, it had too much shark, and dont get me started about King Kong, waaay too much gorilla

[–] moosefeathers 10 years ago

hm.....CAIN AND ABEL COME TO MIND? Which is where all these were based upon.

Swing away, Merrill....Merrill, swing away...

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] samnotsob-75765 9 years ago

never saw 'Legends of the Fall' but now I have to watch it after having seen East of Eden 3 times,

Chef Sam - the cook