Nanook of the North (1922)

In this silent-film predecessor to the modern documentary, filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuit Eskimos living in the Arctic Circle.

Director:

Robert J. Flaherty

Stars:

Allakariallak, Nyla, Allee

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Allakariallak	...	Nanook (as Nanook)
Nyla	...	Herself - Nanook's Wife, the Smiling One
Allee	...	Himself - Nanook's Son
Cunayou	...	Herself - Nanook's Wife
Allegoo	...	Himself - Nanook's Son
Camock	...	Himself - Nanook's Cat

Storyline

Documents one year in the life of Nanook, an Eskimo (Inuit) and his family. Describes the trading, hunting, fishing and migrations of a group barely touched by industrial technology. Nanook of the North was widely shown and praised as the first full-length, anthropological documentary in cinematographic history.

---

Plot Keywords:

inuit | seal | starvation | walrus | harpoon | 

---

Taglines:

A story of life and love in the actual Arctic.

---

Genres:

Documentary

---

Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA France

Release Date:

11 June 1922 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nanuk der Eskimo

Filming Locations:

Hudson Bay, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$53,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Frères Revillon, Pathé Exchange

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min 65 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.

---

Connections

Featured in The 50 Greatest Documentaries (2005)

User Reviews

Tehnically Remarkable for 1922

This is a fascinating documentary from Robert Flaherty, a very prolific director of early documentaries. He follows the adventures of the Eskimo Nanook, and we get to see what life was like for the Eskimo in the early 20th Century as we watch Nanook with his family, hunting for food, and building igloos.

This is really amazing stuff for 1922. It feels like it could have been made long after that. That's probably due to the fact that it relies on real settings and real people. It's not bound by the restrictions of manufactured sets, costumes, etc. of the period. However, though it looks utterly authentic, don't be fooled into thinking that Flaherty gives us a purely realistic snapshot of Eskimo life. He planted the early seeds of reality t.v. with this film, making careful use of editing to create a narrative with all of the melodramatic trappings of any studio picture. Though it's a fascinating film, it's also a reminder that documentary film is just as manipulative as fiction, and that Michael Moore wasn't the first to corner the market on presenting fiction as fact.

Grade: A