A touching film, A River Runs Through It tells the story of two young brothers growing up in 1920s Montana.  With no great plot and no big message to tell, it's the sort of film that doesn't get made very often, but when made right can be very good indeed, and indeed it turns out to be very beautiful, not just the scenery (which would be hard to top) but the relationship between the brothers, played impressively by Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt.  It's probably Robert Redford's finest hour as a director.  Of course, Redford has a somewhat checkered history when it comes to film composers, and A River Runs Through It was the first of two films he made during the 1990s on which he rejected scores by legendary composers.  This time Elmer Bernstein was the unfortunate one.  It's easy to see why Bernstein was hired and it's easy to imagine that his score was a wonderful one, though I don't suppose we will ever know for sure.  However, his replacement wrote music which is absolutely note perfect.

Mark Isham has gone on to prove himself adept at any number of genres since, but back in 1992 he was known primarily for his jazz and occasional thriller scores, so he was certainly a bold choice for a tender drama like this.  His score is quite exquisite, played by an orchestra of strings and winds, very much taking its inspiration from the beautiful Montana vistas.  That said, it's quite introspective for much of its length, rather subtle, but still very expressive.  The main theme is very beautiful, a lovely melody frequently heard played by solo flute.  There are various other themes too, the most touching of which is perhaps heard in "A Four-Count Rhythm", underscoring the two brothers' relationship, which is always at its happiest while they are out fly fishing.

There's also a lovely theme, cut from exactly the same cloth, underscoring one of the brothers' blossoming romance with a girl ("Je Ne Sais Quois", and others).  It's worth saying, though, that Isham's score maintains a very consistent tone throughout, one of understated beauty and love.  There are more dramatic moments, such as "Shooting the Chutes" or "The Wild Ride", but even these never divert from the basic melodic and harmonic principles.  Isham's music is simply compelling throughout.  Unfortunately, the album sticks various tracks of period source music in the middle of the score, most of them uncredited, and these should be programmed out for maximum enjoyment.  That still leaves 45 minutes of wonderful Isham music which will appeal to fans of his touching music for films like The Education of Little Tree or October Sky.  A River Runs Through It is one of his best scores, a masterpiece, full of timeless, beautiful music.