A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It, motion picture released in 1992 and based on the best-selling novel by Norman MacLean. The film tells the story of a Montana father and his two sons. Paul (played by Brad Pitt) likes to drink, gamble, and fish, while Norman (Craig Sheffer) studies hard to become a professor of literature. Though they fight and grow apart, the brothers and their father share the common bond of fly-fishing, which is seen in the film as an allegory for life.

Director

• Robert Redford

Cast

• Robert Redford (Voice of the narrator)
• Craig Sheffer (Norman MacLean)
• Brad Pitt (Paul MacLean)
• Tom Skerritt (Reverend MacLean)
• Brenda Blethyn (Mrs. MacLean)
• Emily Lloyd (Jessie Burns)
• Edie McClurg (Mrs. Burns)
• Stephen Shellen (Neal Burns)
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Young Norman)
• Vann Gravage (Young Paul)
• Nicole Burdette (Mabel)
• Susan Traylor (Rawhide)
• Michael Cudlitz (Chub)
• Rob Cox (Conroy)
• Buck Simmonds (Humph)
• Fred Oakland (Mr. Burns)
• David Creamer (Ken Burns)
• Madonna Reubens (Aunt Sally)
• Arnold Richardson (Old Norman)
• MacIntyre Dixon (Police sergeant)

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Cinematography (1993): Philippe Rousselot

Trivia

• The film’s closing credits include this disclaimer: “No fish were killed or injured during the making of A River Runs Through It.”

Quotes

• Narrator: ”In my family, there was no clear division between religion and fly-fishing.”