Plot hole: During the war sequence, when Samuel dies, how necessary was it for the two Germans to go through the trouble of setting up a machine gun to shoot him? I find it hard to believe they had no other weapon but that. It seems to have been done only to build suspense. (00:42:45)
Legends of the Fall (1994)
1 plot hole - chronological order
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Henry Thomas, Julia Ormond, Christina Pickles, Gordon Tootoosis, Karina Lombard
Continuity mistake: After Susannah's arrival at the ranch she takes a walk around. When she passes by the Deckers the sun has already set. In the next shot, when she talks to Isabell Two, the sun is shining again. (00:12:40)
Tristan: Samuel, God bless you. You are good at everything you try to do. I'm sure it'll be the same with fucking.
Samuel: Tristan, really. We're talking about my future wife.
Tristan: Oh, you're not gonna fuck her?
Samuel: No.
Tristan: No?
Samuel: No! I'm planning to be with her.
Tristan: I recommend fucking.
Trivia: The title refers to the fall from innocence. However the Swedish title, "Höstlegender", refers to the season (Legends of the Fall/Autumn).
Question: Before committing suicide, why did Susannah cut her hair? I've seen this behaviour in other films but have never known the psychology behind it.
Answer: I think Susannah cut two locks of hair, one for her husband Alfred and the other for her true love Tristan. They were mementos in some respect, but also a clue for her suicide - being married to one brother while loving the other who no longer wanted to be with her. Susannah was torn apart, in pain over losing Tristan and probably felt she could not be true or faithful to Alfred if/when Tristan came around again. She would also have guilt over violating her marriage vows if she were to be with Tristan again while married to Alfred.
Chosen answer: To give a definitive answer would be misleading because there's no one specific reason why someone does this type of thing. People considering suicide often start exhibiting odd and/or uncharacteristic behavior such as suddenly cutting one's hair. In Susannah's case, it could be a form of self-mutilation, an attempt to change who she is by altering her appearance, or it is a way of controlling something in her life while other events spiral out-of-control, and so on.
Answer: I always thought it was she wanted people to know. She didn't want the wound to be covered.
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Answer: Cutting locks of hair is often done in memory of the deceased. Knowing of her impending death, she cut two locks so as not to have them tainted by blood, but dropped one on the floor. I imagine it was the one for Alfred, but it is just my opinion.
I have goosebumps with this interpretation. I always thought that it was related someone with "scalping." She kills herself. She is her own victim. I don't know.
I agree, I always thought it was a symbolic scalping.