เรื่องราวของสามหนุ่มพี่น้อง (แบรด พิตต์ ,  ไอแดน ควินน์ และ เฮนรี่ โธมัส) และหนึ่งสาวสวย (จูเลีย ออร์มอน) ที่ความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างพวกเขาและเธอ ได้เปลี่ยนแปลงชีวิตซึ่งกันและกันไปตลอดกาล

A box-office hit when released in 1994  this sprawling  frequently overwrought familial melodrama may get sillier as its plot progresses  but it s the kind of lusty  character-based epic that Hollywood should attempt more often. It s also an unabashedly flattering star vehicle for Brad Pitt as Tristan--the rebellious middle son of a fiercely independent Montana rancher and military veteran (Anthony Hopkins)--who is routinely at odds with his more responsible older brother  Alfred (Aidan Quinn)  and younger brother  Samuel (Henry Thomas). From the battlefields of World War I to his adventures as an oceangoing sailor  Tristan s life is full of personal torment  especially when he returns to Montana and finds himself competing with Alfred over Samuel s beautiful widow (Julia Ormond)  whose passion for Tristan disrupts the already turbulent Ludlow clan. Under the wide-open canopy of Big Sky country  this operatic tale unfolds with all the bloodlust  tragedy  and scenery-chewing performances you d expect to find in a hokey bestselling novel (in fact  it s based on the acclaimed novella by Jim Harrison)  but it s a potent mix that s highly entertaining. Not surprisingly  John Toll won an Academy Award for his breathtaking outdoor cinematography. --Jeff Shannon