Legends of the Fall is a 1994 American epic western movie directed by Edward Zwick and starring Brad Pitt, Aidan Quinn, Anthony Hopkins, Julia Ormond, and Henry Thomas. Based on Jim Harrison’s 1979 novel of the same name, the movie is about three brothers and their father who lived in the wilds and plains of Montana in the early 20th century and how nature, history, war, and love affected their lives.
The film’s time frame spans from the early 20th century, World War I, through the Prohibition era, and ends with a brief scene set in 1963. The movie was nominated for three Academy Awards and won Best Cinematography (John Toll). Both the film and the book contain occasional expressions in the Cornish language, the Ludlows are a family of Cornish immigrants.
The intense rivalry between the two siblings for the love of Susannah begins to destroy the family bond. So the story explores how history, war, and love can negatively affect a family as close-knit as the Ludlows. Additionally, the period drama’s historical setting and wartime background will probably make you wonder where “Legends of the Fall” was filmed.
Where Was Legends of the Fall Movie Filmed?
“Legends of the Fall” was filmed in Canada and Jamaica, specifically in British Columbia, Saint Ann, and Alberta. Filming for the western began in mid-September 1993 and ended in January 1994.
Although most of the story takes place in Helena, Montana, the production used locations in Canada to represent the town.
British Columbia
Many key sequences for “Legends of the Fall” were filmed in Vancouver, a major western Canadian city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. The historic port area of Gastown was used to record Alfred Ludlow’s store and some of the street scenes set in Helena, as several building facades were transformed accordingly.
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As for the hotel scenes, they were filmed at the Hotel Europe at 43 Powell Street in Vancouver. Maple Tree Square in Gastown also served as an important filming location for the Legends of the Fall movie.
Jamaica
To record several more episodes of ‘Legends of the Fall’, the production unit even traveled to Saint Ann, Jamaica’s largest parish. They especially used the location of the city of Ocho Rios, also referred to as Ochi by the locals, to double for Polynesia.
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Located on the north coast of Jamaica, it has served as a filming location for several movies and TV series such as Live and Let Die, Cocktail, and One Life to Live.
Alberta
To shoot some important scenes for the period drama, the cast and crew even camped out in Alberta, a province in western Canada that borders British Columbia to the west. World War I battlefield scenes were filmed around Morley, a First Nations settlement in southern Alberta, while several locals and actual soldiers were hired as extras.
On the other hand, scenes from the Ludlow Ranch and the trenches were recorded in the Ghost River Wilderness Area in the Canadian Rockies in Alberta.
The funeral and graveyard sequences, along with other outdoor scenes, were filmed at the Bow River near Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains. Additionally, the city of Calgary served as one of the key filming locations.
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