I don't know about the rest of the world, but the movie is a legend at the high school I went to. People joke about it all throughout high school. Every year it's listed in the yearbooks as one of the worst movies of the year, yet it came out so long ago. We all got a kick out of the laugh with my wife stuff. This movie sucks, I can't believe it has the rating it does.
shareWhat year did you graduate in? This is the first time I've heard of it, and I'm not sure if I have a desire to see it! (I'm not a big Anthony Quinn fan- I'm still on the fence as to whether or not he or Richard Basehart was the reason I wasn't crazy over La Strada).
shareThis really is a classic and good movie. Don't let the comments of xSilverchairx stop you from seeing it if you can find it.
sharexSilverchairx is proof that our eduation system leaves much to be desired. Savage Innocents is one of the best movies ever. It is real life and that xSilver can not seem to understand. Hamburgers come from McDonald's, no cows are ever killed, wink, wink.
sharexSilverchairx is part of the 80% ignorants. If it's true that his high school actually lists movies in their yearbooks than that explains it.
This movie is so good, that it almost becomes a documentary of life in the Arctic. The characters are so real, the acting so good, that I actually lost myself while watching it. And I was a kid when I first watched it.
At the same level as Dersu Uzala which is one of my all time favorite movies.
xSilverchairx! what's your kind of movie?
probably "Dumb and Dumber"
shareYep, even dumber still!
Anyhow the majority who will catch this will enjoy the scenery, the quaintness of the Inuit ways and some pretty good acting.
O'Toole's name as stated in the trivia was not present on the dvd credits and I must say that his dubbed voice could not be as far removed from his own as this was, very strange indeed.
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We would have to assume that "Silverchair" (named after an Aussie rock band and not the C S Lewis book, I'm figuring) and his pals watched the cut version of the film. It's a given that every subsequent generation will have patronising attitudes towards any film that's not contemporary anyway. It's interesting that something as simple as "enjoyment of an older film" should move into a kind of exclusive appreciation formerly reserved for works of art, classical music, or literature. I'm sure there are many people who think highly of themselves simply because they can "appreciate" an older film, which is just as sad as those people who treat older films with condescension.
shareA good film is a good film is a good film!! It makes no difference how old it is. Peoples failure to recognise a film's value based only upon it's age demonstrates a distinct lack of emotional maturity and such people are to be in turn, scorned and pitied.
When someone can "appreciate an older film", they ARE to be congratulated, if for nothing else, for having an attention span somewhat longer than a gnat.
I'm sorry , but as someone who is probably twice "silverchairs" age and likes old movies (and for the record, hates dumb & dumber) I would have to agree with him about this movie, one of the worst I’ve seen.
It seems to be a poor Disney 50s wild life doco edited 'poorly' into a 'c' grade drama movie.
apart from Anthony Quinn, overacting far more than usual in a bad mr spook wig
and the female lead who is obviously Japanese “as are all native the extras” with plucked eyebrows and manequred nails 'very native'.
My main problem with this movie is the patronising way it shows the Inuit, typical of most British movies of the period. If you look at the trivia link for this movie the screenwriter Hans Ruesch had never seen an Eskimo and based his story on the film Eskimo a 1930s film.
To quote jerebron-1 above "The characters are so real" they about as real as the depiction of American Indians in hollywood movies of the 40s & 50s
Some of the comments calling this "real life" "and great acting" are laughable
the Inuit had/have a rich culture equal to any of the Native American tribes not the laughing idiots shown in this movie, who only seem to want share their wives with everybody, bash peoples heads in or shot guns off in all directions.
If you want a much better look at Inuit life look at Atanarjuat a 2001 movie actually made by Inuit’s.
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What high school did you go to, because everyone in my high school had to watch that movie, too. Also, Savage Innocents is awesome!
shareI'm Inuit. This film is one of the most irritating heaps of refuse I've ever seen.
shareDid you by any chance go to DGS? If so, what year did you graduate? There is a group on facebook called "Will You Laugh With My Wife?" Its an amazing movie in my opinion, however, I don't really know why...maybe because its an unforgettable moment in time. But anyways, if you didn't go to DGS, I'm sorry for wasting your time.
I went to DGS and it was the worst movie ever. It was in our yearbooks and everybody hates this movie. LOL.
shareThis might be shocking to you, but your high school is not a small scale representation of the world, you and your classmates are not film critics, and your "opinions" on this movie have absolutely no sense. Cinema is a wide and complex subject, not just something for you and your friends to laugh about.
sharePerhaps you should read the book on which the movie was based -Top of the World, by Hans Ruesch. I think it did the Inuit justice. Rough times indeed.
shareI think this film is great.
Somebody here has been drinking and I'm sad to say it ain't me - Allan Francis Doyleshare
I saw this film years ago and, while I would not call it a classic, I think it's an earnest and good enough film. I haven't seen it in a while and only thought of it a few weeks ago when my son joked about having seen it at school --DGS, strangely enough. There is much to appreciate in the film; neither its staunch advocates nor its detractors are exactly correct, in my opinion.
shareThis movie is amazing! It only got those bad critics because it subverts christian patriarchy.
shareAnd that's why Ray was drawn to it. I don't know how accurate it is to the Eskimo lifestyle, and if I'm willing to make a guess, its probably not by very much. That's not the point. What's important is that the pretext of the Inuit allowed Ray to create one of his most extreme visions of the outsider culture, one that is innocently removed from everything that dictates ours (religion, the patriarchy, capitalism, sexual repression). It could easily fall into "noble savage" Utopian claptrap, but Ray's smart enough to know is not a world free of the brutality and struggle Ray found so intrinsic to life.
With that said, I'm not sure how much scientific value it has for a High School course.
I, too, saw this movie in high school (many years ago), and to this day, when I run into one of my classmates, we'll look at each other and say "The meat was stale, but the worms were fresh!".
shareI'm going to say that the fact the writer of the film (according tot he trivia) section knew nothing about the Inuit added tot he fact that a genuine Inuit on this board claims the film is crap shows it to be anything but a realistic portrait of the culture. A great indictment of the American education system if this was used as a documentary!
shareNicholas Ray the screenwriter and director spent months researching and living with Eskimo communities.
Proud member of the Pro-film Anti-digital Society (PFADS).
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