Reflecting on the film "A river runs through it" and how it changed Montana

[BilletHead]

Reflecting on the film “A River Runs Through It” and how it changed Montana | News | bozemandailychronicle.com

 

[Quillback]

I was living in Washington when the movie came out, definitely an uptick in fly fishing afterwards.  A lot of those newcomers found out that fly fishing is very tough to learn if you have little to no fishing experience and decide to jump right into fly fishing for trout.

[Mitch f]

Don’t get me started 😂

[ness]

It's a great story and movie, and not because it's about fishing. 

It's always been interesting to me to learn about how they put movies together. Back in the day, ness 2.2 and I loved to watch movies on DVD/BluRay and then the special features explaining the process, background, whatever. He's now working in the film department at KU.

[Flysmallie]

1 hour ago, Mitch f said:

Don’t get me started 😂

As long as you don’t go to Taney or a trout park, you don’t have to worry about the Orvis influencers. 

[tjm]

Someone (a non-angler) that knew I fly fished, gifted me that book when it first came out, long time before the movie was made, I think. And when I read the book, the fly fishing wasn't what I thought the story was about at all. It seemed to me to be about  the psychology of a totally dysfunctional family and how hanging out with, possibly cheating or stealing from,   crooks could get you killed after they broke every bone in both your hands. Sad story start to finish, that, as I recall, the author escaped by taking a job far away, Chicago maybe?

The river was just a part of the book though and I found the parts about an underage kid (14-17) working for the US Forest Service and the author's friend Jim that ran prostitutes when not logging rounded out the poor (imo) description of  fly fishing. I never saw the movie until about a year ago and I didn't think it followed the book very closely, Redford changed the focus and left out parts that didn't suit his ideals. Or maybe I don't recall the book so well as I think after all these years. I certainly would never have guessed that it would become a movie.

Without a doubt the movie has had a strong influence on fly fishing as a whole, that I wasn't even aware of at the time the movie was made. I only became aware of the movie on forums like this. No doubt it will continue to as future anglers see it again and again.

[Flysmallie]

It's a good movie and book. I had never fly fished before I saw it. And it was several years after that before I did. The movie had nothing to do with my decision but I have still noticed the impact from it. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 hour ago, Flysmallie said:

It's a good movie and book. I had never fly fished before I saw it. And it was several years after that before I did. The movie had nothing to do with my decision but I have still noticed the impact from it. 

No kidding?   I always thought you were a life long fly fisher.  👍

IMO, fly fishing/trout fishing started growing exponentially with the dawn of the internet.   Not sure if it coincided with the movie.   But when people found out they stocked trout at these locations the crowds grew noticeably.   Easy access came with it.   I told my buddy the day they paved the road to Rim Shoals that the glory days were officially over.   Take it for what it’s worth.  

[fishinwrench]

There is an old movie that I have tried and tried to find for many years, and never have been able to figure out what it was called, but I saw it when I was a kid on broadcast black&white, way before anyone in my area had cable TV. 

It was a young Andy Griffith, and I think it was the dude that later played Uncle Jesse on Dukes of Hazzard (whatever his name is) Or it was a young Jed Clampett from Beverly Hillbilly's. 

  They were Flyfishing in hip boots, hats all covered in flys, and catching White bass on what looked like an Ozark stream.  Both of them casting better than I had ever seen anyone cast at the time. And there was a scene where they were sitting in a cabin tying flys.  

If anyone can tell me the name of that movie I'll gladly send you a dozen of my best flys.   I'd love to see it again.  

[snagged in outlet 3]

14 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

here is an old movie that I have tried and tried to find for many years, and never have been able to figure out what it was called, but I saw it when I was a kid on broadcast black&white, way before anyone in my area had cable TV. 

It was a young Andy Griffith,