Robert Redford's sensitive, unhurried movie of A River Runs Through It is so faithful to the book that it becomes that rare thing - a beautiful celebration of the power of literature. [09 Oct 1992]

A tasteful, richly textured, exquisitely nostalgic drama that carries with it an enormous emotional punch. [09 Oct 1992]

A skilled, careful adaptation of a much-admired story, A River Runs Through It is a convincing trip back in time to a virtually vanished American West, as well as a nicely observed family study.

A River Runs Through It, Mr. Redford's beautiful and deeply felt new movie, puts him in an entirely new category as a film maker.

Redford and his writer, Richard Friedenberg, understand that most of the events in any life are accidential or arbitrary, especially the crucial ones, and we can exercise little conscious control over our destinies.

This is a beautifully-shot film, and director Robert Redford (who also provides the voice-over narration) has paid painstaking attention to detail.

A pure cinematic distillation of Maclean's words, it is by turns austere and vibrant, disconsolate and joyful.

The story is told handsomely and affectingly with images, facial expressions and body language. [16 Oct 1992]

It's perfectly admirable, absolutely controlled, and fully understandable. [09 Oct 1992]

It's difficult to imagine a better film adaptation of Maclean's work. [16 Oct 1992]

Whatever the movie's failings, it had enough poignancy and beauty to make me want to find out what was missing. [08 Oct 1992]

It is a serious and, at times, moving film, and it deserves serious analysis.

The words - taken directly from the book - are beautifully cast, but they encapsulate the emotions too conveniently.

Even set against the Sierra Club beauty of Redford's Montana, it's hard to get excited by fisherman casting their lines into the water.