This is a memorable film in many regards. Quinn plays an Inuit who inadvertently kills a priest who declines his offer of sexual hospitality with his wife. O'Toole, in his first film, plays a policeman who captures Quinn who later saves his life. O'Toole eventually lets Quinn go because he realizes that he will likely be convicted of murder because a Western jury won't understand he accidently killed the priest because he wouldn't sleep with his wife. There are some wonderful scenes of Inuit igloo life, including the daughter (Quinn's wife, Yoko Tani) chewing food for her mother (Marie Yang) because the mother's teeth are worn out from chewing skins. The film is full of surprises with little moments that delight an anthropologist familiar with Inuit traditions and lifestyles. No video, no DVD listed, so watch for it on the late show and enjoy seeing the exciting young Peter O'Toole in days before the good life got to him.
34 Reviews
Sensational Anthony Quinn as an ingenious Eskimos on the breathtaking Arctic outdoors
ma-cortes19 February 2007
This is a co-production by various countries : Italy (Magic films) , England (Play-Art) , France(Pathe) and distributed by Rank Productions , being firstly exhibited circa 1960 . Based on Hans Ruesch novel , being adapted by Franco Solinas . Although novelist Hans Ruesch never saw an Eskimo , but based his story on the film Eskimo . Nicholas Ray wrote the script and controlled completely the film , he always considered his best work . Ray investigated about Eskimos life , filming in documentary style and developed a lyric clash among two civilizations : The primitive , naive of the native Eskimos and the civilized Anglo-Xaxon . The ways of life confrontation originated loneliness , getaway and exclusion .
The picture was shot in Ottawa 1959 , March . Ray traveled to the Bay of Hudson and Churchill (Manitoba) for exterior location . Besides , for interior scenes were filmed at Pinewood Studios (London)and Cinecitta (Rome) , during thirteen weeks in a studio work including quite a few transparency . Spectacular and colorful cinematography in Technirama 70 by Aldo Tonti and Henessy with marvelous landscapes from Arctic where we watch all type of animals : White bears , seals , walrus , oxes , whales , reindeer , Arctic fox.. Sensitive and evocative music by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino . Anthony Quinn gives an exceptional acting along with the newcomer and remarkable Yoko Tani . The veteran actress from silent cinema , Anna My Wong , plays splendidly as grandmother . In a secondary role shows up Peter O'Toole (though dubbed) , he plays a patrolman who pursues to Anthony Quinn accused for killing accidentally a missionary . However , Peter O'Toole demanded that his name be removed from the film's opening and closing credits because his voice was dubbed by another actor . The great and stylish filmmaker Nicholas Ray working at the peak of his powers . Well worth watching for the brooding script and wonderful location . Rating : Better than average.
The picture was shot in Ottawa 1959 , March . Ray traveled to the Bay of Hudson and Churchill (Manitoba) for exterior location . Besides , for interior scenes were filmed at Pinewood Studios (London)and Cinecitta (Rome) , during thirteen weeks in a studio work including quite a few transparency . Spectacular and colorful cinematography in Technirama 70 by Aldo Tonti and Henessy with marvelous landscapes from Arctic where we watch all type of animals : White bears , seals , walrus , oxes , whales , reindeer , Arctic fox.. Sensitive and evocative music by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino . Anthony Quinn gives an exceptional acting along with the newcomer and remarkable Yoko Tani . The veteran actress from silent cinema , Anna My Wong , plays splendidly as grandmother . In a secondary role shows up Peter O'Toole (though dubbed) , he plays a patrolman who pursues to Anthony Quinn accused for killing accidentally a missionary . However , Peter O'Toole demanded that his name be removed from the film's opening and closing credits because his voice was dubbed by another actor . The great and stylish filmmaker Nicholas Ray working at the peak of his powers . Well worth watching for the brooding script and wonderful location . Rating : Better than average.
Unusual film sure to offend for all the right reasons
funkyfry26 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This film stands poised, as if between an iceberg and a deadly chill sea, between the condemnation of past and future. What I mean is, I'm sure when it was released it angered conservatives, and at this point in time I'm sure it will anger liberals. It tells the story of one Inuit man, played by Anthony Quinn ("Quinn the Eskimo"), who often refers to himself as "somebody" or "a man." We're told that this is the way Inuit people speak.... I don't know about that, any more than that they relish raw meat, but it certainly gives the film a universal quality that must frustrate all sorts of people who prefer to think politically.
The story is a bit rambling, as it takes about an hour to get to the real crisis: Quinn's character accidentally kills a white missionary, and is hunted by police even though he does not understand what he has done. In truth, he's sorry for killing the white man, but the white man was also guilty of breaking his own laws. Whose law is valid? As his wife, played excellently by Yoko Tani, says "when you come to someone's house, bring your wives, not your laws."
The movie is full of outrageous content, but the purpose of pushing the audience so far out of its comfort zone is to make us feel empathy for those who do not buy into our "civilization." What we take for granted certainly seems a luxury or even a trivial thing when it is contemplated in the midst of an environment where life and death are barely separable, where a slip into the water just means "he's dead", not "oh i better save him." As Quinn says when the one cop falls in the water, "he's dead, and you're stupid to try to save him." White values mean nothing in this environment, not because some liberal decided that it was so, but because survival is more real than white values.
I thought the performances were all excellent, with O'Toole being handed the difficult job of the sympathetic white man. I think it was brave for Nicholas Ray to depict white civilization in such a negative light. Like all his best movies, this film depicts a small community of outsiders, people who exist outside the normal law and morality but who create their own values and way of life. It is an admirable, if sometimes flawed, picture that will not leave your mind anytime soon.
The story is a bit rambling, as it takes about an hour to get to the real crisis: Quinn's character accidentally kills a white missionary, and is hunted by police even though he does not understand what he has done. In truth, he's sorry for killing the white man, but the white man was also guilty of breaking his own laws. Whose law is valid? As his wife, played excellently by Yoko Tani, says "when you come to someone's house, bring your wives, not your laws."
The movie is full of outrageous content, but the purpose of pushing the audience so far out of its comfort zone is to make us feel empathy for those who do not buy into our "civilization." What we take for granted certainly seems a luxury or even a trivial thing when it is contemplated in the midst of an environment where life and death are barely separable, where a slip into the water just means "he's dead", not "oh i better save him." As Quinn says when the one cop falls in the water, "he's dead, and you're stupid to try to save him." White values mean nothing in this environment, not because some liberal decided that it was so, but because survival is more real than white values.
I thought the performances were all excellent, with O'Toole being handed the difficult job of the sympathetic white man. I think it was brave for Nicholas Ray to depict white civilization in such a negative light. Like all his best movies, this film depicts a small community of outsiders, people who exist outside the normal law and morality but who create their own values and way of life. It is an admirable, if sometimes flawed, picture that will not leave your mind anytime soon.
Terrible inaccurate demeaning movie
blynelly10 October 2011
One of the stupidest most inaccurate movies I have ever seen! From a real live "raw meat eater". We didn't kill female babies, females are just as important as a male babies. And the part about sharing wives is such BS, culture had some wife swapping and to the Inuit people sex was something that happens not a taboo, people have sex that's how babies are made even we savages knew that.
It's a MYTH that the elderly were left on ice flows or in a snow drift. In the Atomic age even us savages knew what a gun was and golly gee we even saw those metal birds a flyin over head. Ugh.
Someone wrote "far northern natives that lived almost exclusively on the arctic ice". How stupid. Do you suppose we all lived in kayaks and Umiaks during the spring thaw and summer months? We hunted on the ice sometimes when we weren't hunting caribou deer and moose we are MEAT EATERS. No hunter would kill a dog to warm someones' hands', he would have never let the trooper get that bad to start with. A live dog would have warmed a person as well as pull you to a place you could get help. Or we would have eaten the animal should the need arise. Hunt a polar bear alone, ridiculous!
And giving the dead seal a drink of fresh water. Unbelievable! Yes we would surely have given thanks to the animal spirits. Sea mammals don't drink fresh water, they get all the liquid they need from the foods they eat. Look it up. The clothes were authentic for sure but from different cultures of Inuit.
All in all the reviews praising this movie for "culturally authentic" are from people who have no idea what they are talking about and believe all the things that they see in movies. It's a movie not a documentary. Par for the times they didn't hire real Inuit or even American Indians to play the parts Anthony Quinn and Japanese Chinese played as Inuit's is funny. Too that nobody would bother to hire on a real Inuit as a consultant was standard for the times.
Entertaining maybe, insulting to THE MEN absolutely.
It's a MYTH that the elderly were left on ice flows or in a snow drift. In the Atomic age even us savages knew what a gun was and golly gee we even saw those metal birds a flyin over head. Ugh.
Someone wrote "far northern natives that lived almost exclusively on the arctic ice". How stupid. Do you suppose we all lived in kayaks and Umiaks during the spring thaw and summer months? We hunted on the ice sometimes when we weren't hunting caribou deer and moose we are MEAT EATERS. No hunter would kill a dog to warm someones' hands', he would have never let the trooper get that bad to start with. A live dog would have warmed a person as well as pull you to a place you could get help. Or we would have eaten the animal should the need arise. Hunt a polar bear alone, ridiculous!
And giving the dead seal a drink of fresh water. Unbelievable! Yes we would surely have given thanks to the animal spirits. Sea mammals don't drink fresh water, they get all the liquid they need from the foods they eat. Look it up. The clothes were authentic for sure but from different cultures of Inuit.
All in all the reviews praising this movie for "culturally authentic" are from people who have no idea what they are talking about and believe all the things that they see in movies. It's a movie not a documentary. Par for the times they didn't hire real Inuit or even American Indians to play the parts Anthony Quinn and Japanese Chinese played as Inuit's is funny. Too that nobody would bother to hire on a real Inuit as a consultant was standard for the times.
Entertaining maybe, insulting to THE MEN absolutely.
Cultural Study
weskelley17 February 2006
This movie presents an intriguing picture of two widely dissimilar cultures coming together. The Eskimos are simple and innocent, but ideally suited and armed with the knowledge to survive one of the harshest places that people inhabit. One my favorite moments occurs when the officer says he can subdue the main character by himself, to which the main character replies, "You are that strong?", showing the absence of boastfulness in the Eskimo culture, which stems from the cooperative nature necessary to survival. The stark and uncluttered settings give space to concentrate on the dialog. Definitely worth watching
definitely worth watching for a few good reasons
glowinthedarkscars27 August 2014
Warning: Spoilers
i like the fact that this movie will open up many different discussions about the depiction of different cultures, sexuality, and religion in the film.
Some interesting things worth noting about this movie:
1. "laugh with my wife" is a euphemism for "have sex with my wife"
2. a 1960 mainstream release and there is a nude scene showing the bare breasts of Inuk's wife ( couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing.. side note: they're nice )
3. Peter O'Toole's voice is dubbed by someone else
4. the fairly graphic in showing the hunting and killing of animals
5. the cheap feel of the outdoor scenes that were shot on a sound stage and the rear projection process shots of the men in their kayaks
6. no authentic natives of the region were used
7. when Inuk's wife is giving birth, her sounds and visual expressions are very sexualized
8. the accidental death that Inuk causes doesn't happen until 2/3rds of the way into the movie yet by reading most of the plot descriptions of the movie online you would think that this is the main event that drives the story
9. the scene where a snowstorm is approaching quickly and he seemingly builds a Igloo shelter in a matter of a minute or 2
10. the religious questions that the film raises about what "sin" is and what to do when laws of one culture conflict with another.
11. the weird dramatic pause of the freeze-frame ending.. wait for it.. wait for it.. wait.. OK "the end"
Some interesting things worth noting about this movie:
1. "laugh with my wife" is a euphemism for "have sex with my wife"
2. a 1960 mainstream release and there is a nude scene showing the bare breasts of Inuk's wife ( couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing.. side note: they're nice )
3. Peter O'Toole's voice is dubbed by someone else
4. the fairly graphic in showing the hunting and killing of animals
5. the cheap feel of the outdoor scenes that were shot on a sound stage and the rear projection process shots of the men in their kayaks
6. no authentic natives of the region were used
7. when Inuk's wife is giving birth, her sounds and visual expressions are very sexualized
8. the accidental death that Inuk causes doesn't happen until 2/3rds of the way into the movie yet by reading most of the plot descriptions of the movie online you would think that this is the main event that drives the story
9. the scene where a snowstorm is approaching quickly and he seemingly builds a Igloo shelter in a matter of a minute or 2
10. the religious questions that the film raises about what "sin" is and what to do when laws of one culture conflict with another.
11. the weird dramatic pause of the freeze-frame ending.. wait for it.. wait for it.. wait.. OK "the end"
An excellent movie
wild-plum26 December 2002
In the late sixties, bob dylan was asked how he came to write the song "Quinn the Eskimo". He replied that he'd seen this movie in which Tony Quinn played an Eskimo. The Savage Innocents is that movie. (In a much later book about his lyrics, Dylan says he doesn't remember how the song came about- like many of us, ol' bob's memory ain't what it used to be.)
This is the most accurate portrayal of Eskimo customs ever to come out of Hollywierd. It contrasts the cultural practices of Inuit and North American societies at a time when many Inuit people had not yet encountered the white man and his ways. The movie asks the question "who is savage and who is innocent?" The movie is full of memorable performances and "sound bites". You'll come away with a new appreciation for traditional Eskimo culture and more than a few new quotable quotes.
When Quinn the Eskimo gets here, everybody's gonna jump for joy!
This is the most accurate portrayal of Eskimo customs ever to come out of Hollywierd. It contrasts the cultural practices of Inuit and North American societies at a time when many Inuit people had not yet encountered the white man and his ways. The movie asks the question "who is savage and who is innocent?" The movie is full of memorable performances and "sound bites". You'll come away with a new appreciation for traditional Eskimo culture and more than a few new quotable quotes.
When Quinn the Eskimo gets here, everybody's gonna jump for joy!
More documentary than fiction
macinyart28 August 2005
I saw this movie many years ago. My recollection of it is that is a documentary comment on the interface of two widely different cultures. I also just finished reading Kabloona a book written by a white Frenchman in the later 1930s about the Eskimo Culture. The points made in the book confirm those points made in the movie. The Eskimo apparently is a guileless innocent whose life consists primarily of staying alive and fed. The innocence of these people was highlighted in the scene where Anthony Quinn came back to his igloo and found that his wife had given birth. He asked her the baby's name and when she told him, he responded in amazement, "How did you know?" As far as the scene where a man's hands were stuffed into a recently killed dog is concerned, the speed with which freezing occurs at 50 below zero is not to be believed. That scene demonstrates the fact that the Eskimo regards his dogs as livestock and useful. Shocking, but apparently realistic.
one of the best
wedraughon20 December 2005
I saw and heard Anthony Quinn in a television interview about his autobiography which had just been published. He said that there were only three films out of the many that he had made in his life that he was truly proud of. The Savage Innocents was one of the three. (Guess what the other two were. Right! Zorba and La Strada.) This estimation puts this movie in with some very select company. And this film deserves it.
It is NOT a documentary. There is a story here, an exciting story, at times edge of your seat--or maybe I should say, a number of stories, all interesting, all moving. The photography, sound, scenery, acting, all were excellent.
What struck me most, out of a long list, was the way the point of view of these Inuit people was gotten across. For instance, the missionary butts his head into the igloo and says, "God be with you." Quinn looks puzzled, glances at his wife and says, "No, there's nobody here but us." When the missionary goes on preaching at them, trying to convert them to the "true" faith, Quinn whispers to his wife, "I think he needs to laugh with a woman. Make yourself beautiful." In other words, the guy needs to get laid. The Freudian insight implied by these simple remarks is staggering. And this is only a small sample.
Perhaps the fate of this movie had a lot to do with the advertising. The picture at the top of this page suggests that this is a "savage" movie. It isn't. The title itself is unfortunate.
Yes, when oh when will we get to see this movie again? When will the savage and not-so-innocent moguls deign to put this beautiful film onto DVD?
It is NOT a documentary. There is a story here, an exciting story, at times edge of your seat--or maybe I should say, a number of stories, all interesting, all moving. The photography, sound, scenery, acting, all were excellent.
What struck me most, out of a long list, was the way the point of view of these Inuit people was gotten across. For instance, the missionary butts his head into the igloo and says, "God be with you." Quinn looks puzzled, glances at his wife and says, "No, there's nobody here but us." When the missionary goes on preaching at them, trying to convert them to the "true" faith, Quinn whispers to his wife, "I think he needs to laugh with a woman. Make yourself beautiful." In other words, the guy needs to get laid. The Freudian insight implied by these simple remarks is staggering. And this is only a small sample.
Perhaps the fate of this movie had a lot to do with the advertising. The picture at the top of this page suggests that this is a "savage" movie. It isn't. The title itself is unfortunate.
Yes, when oh when will we get to see this movie again? When will the savage and not-so-innocent moguls deign to put this beautiful film onto DVD?
Good but historically inaccurate movie
paddybear5930 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I recently bought The Savage Innocents on a Region 2 DVD. Most US DVD players can be easily converted to play Region 2 DVDs. It is in Mono and full frame, but very good. Though it never says so, it appears the movie was suppose to take place in the 1950s because a very bad rock song plays on the jukebox. The movie was filmed mostly on stages and by an Italian studio. It is unclear if it was suppose to take place in Alaska or Canada. Having lived in Alaska for 30 years, I am sure there were no Eskimos in Alaska in the 1950s who did not know about firearms. This is especially true because of the Eskimo Army units organized during World War II. That being said, I enjoyed the movie and seeing it again after so many years. It is interesting to compare the plot of this movie with one called the " Wild North" from 1953 (The Savage Innocents was released in1960). It stared Steward Granger and Cornel Wilde and has a very similar plot. In Wild North, Granger accidentally kills a man and is arrested by Wilde a Canadian Mounted Policeman. They have a number wild experiences when Wilde attempts to takes Granger back to civilization for trial. Wilde eventually decides to let him go free. In my mind the plots are too similar not to be from the same source.
Highly inaccurate film
drrap24 August 2009
This film is not without its merits. The second unit shot some really quite beautiful location footage in the Arctic, and the cinematography throughout is impressive. Anthony Quinn brings tremendous verve to the role, and there are several memorable turns by the supporting cast, particularly Peter O'Toole.
But it's depressing to see how many people regard this as an accurate portrayal of Inuit culture. One hardly knows where to begin! The Inuit customs regarding "wife-sharing" are distorted (the idea that it would be a terrible insult not to accept such an offer is groundless), and the use of "laughter" as a euphemism for sex is merely an old Hollywood notion. Inuit mothers are not left until their mother's death to be told of common matters such as the importance of cutting a child's umbilical cord, and a grandmother, however infirm, would never be left out in the open to be eaten by a polar bear (a special igloo would instead be prepared, with important personal items, and then sealed up, after which the village would be moved). Most insulting of all is the notion that somehow Inuit would be unaware that babies are born without visible teeth!
The inaccuracies are not merely cultural, but historical as well. There is simply no period of time when the Inuit (or other Arctic groups such as the Inighuit, Inupiat, or Yupik) would have been unfamiliar with firearms and yet exposed to 1960s-style rock music -- these events are anywhere from 75 to 100 years apart, depending on the region. Inuit who went to trading posts would never be mocked by other Inuit, or by traders, at a trading post -- trading was serious business -- and would never be sold a gun with zero ammunition. This is not to say that traders were always totally fair; the guns were often of inferior quality, and the addiction to a source of powder and shot, along with the switch to fur-bearing animals as a sort of cash crop, were indeed problems.
The saddest thing of all is that, 27 years before "Savage Innocents," a far more accurate account of the disparities, tensions, and injustices between Inuit and traders and police was released by a major Hollywood studio -- this was 1933's "Eskimo," starring Ray Mala, a half- Inupiat Alaskan actor.
Having nearly no Inuit in the cast at all is, despite comments to the contrary, a problem as well. Hollywood had cast Inuit as Inuit as early as 1911, and "Eskimo" enjoyed an almost all- Inuit cast. The fact that all of the principal photography was done on a sound stage decorated by people with no knowledge whatever of either Inuit or northern homes is a further issue.
There's no question that "Savage Innocents" works hard to elicit sympathy with an "alien" culture -- the only problem is that this culture is almost entirely a fantasy.
But it's depressing to see how many people regard this as an accurate portrayal of Inuit culture. One hardly knows where to begin! The Inuit customs regarding "wife-sharing" are distorted (the idea that it would be a terrible insult not to accept such an offer is groundless), and the use of "laughter" as a euphemism for sex is merely an old Hollywood notion. Inuit mothers are not left until their mother's death to be told of common matters such as the importance of cutting a child's umbilical cord, and a grandmother, however infirm, would never be left out in the open to be eaten by a polar bear (a special igloo would instead be prepared, with important personal items, and then sealed up, after which the village would be moved). Most insulting of all is the notion that somehow Inuit would be unaware that babies are born without visible teeth!
The inaccuracies are not merely cultural, but historical as well. There is simply no period of time when the Inuit (or other Arctic groups such as the Inighuit, Inupiat, or Yupik) would have been unfamiliar with firearms and yet exposed to 1960s-style rock music -- these events are anywhere from 75 to 100 years apart, depending on the region. Inuit who went to trading posts would never be mocked by other Inuit, or by traders, at a trading post -- trading was serious business -- and would never be sold a gun with zero ammunition. This is not to say that traders were always totally fair; the guns were often of inferior quality, and the addiction to a source of powder and shot, along with the switch to fur-bearing animals as a sort of cash crop, were indeed problems.
The saddest thing of all is that, 27 years before "Savage Innocents," a far more accurate account of the disparities, tensions, and injustices between Inuit and traders and police was released by a major Hollywood studio -- this was 1933's "Eskimo," starring Ray Mala, a half- Inupiat Alaskan actor.
Having nearly no Inuit in the cast at all is, despite comments to the contrary, a problem as well. Hollywood had cast Inuit as Inuit as early as 1911, and "Eskimo" enjoyed an almost all- Inuit cast. The fact that all of the principal photography was done on a sound stage decorated by people with no knowledge whatever of either Inuit or northern homes is a further issue.
There's no question that "Savage Innocents" works hard to elicit sympathy with an "alien" culture -- the only problem is that this culture is almost entirely a fantasy.
Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful
kimberleylee20044 March 2004
I have to say that this is one of mine and my husbands favorite movies. My husband recorded it on VHS in the early 80's and that copy is now caputz. I was able to get a copy off of ebay and then converted it over to DVD. We watch is all the time.
It is a fantastic example of what we could be. The Inuit of the Alaskan Region are always pictured with huge smiles. Especially those who remain nomadic. Perhaps the joy of waking each morning is enough to make them happy.
Yoko Tani and Anthony Quinn are fantastic in their portrayals. I love that this movie reminds me of the very first documentary titled Nanook of the North. I love it love it love it.
It is a fantastic example of what we could be. The Inuit of the Alaskan Region are always pictured with huge smiles. Especially those who remain nomadic. Perhaps the joy of waking each morning is enough to make them happy.
Yoko Tani and Anthony Quinn are fantastic in their portrayals. I love that this movie reminds me of the very first documentary titled Nanook of the North. I love it love it love it.
Unique, powerful study of an alien culture, distinguished by realistic (but never gratuitous) detail.
barnabyrudge4 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
After an early body of work filled with noirish thrillers, director Nicholas Ray seemed to have a change of interest in the latter stages of his career. He became much more fascinated with making movies set in diverse locations, and exploring the cultural and ecological issues that the people from these places experienced. Movies like Bitter Victory, Wind Across The Everglades, The Savage Innocents and 55 Days At Peking belong in this late section of Ray's oeuvre. No film illustrates his enthusiasm for cultural diversity more than The Savage Innocents, a powerful, intelligent and informative film about Eskimo existence. The film ran into some censorship difficulties back in its day, mainly for depicting the Eskimo lifestyle with unflinching accuracy. The white characters in the film are often repulsed and appalled by certain Eskimo customs, and it seems that the very same customs had a similar effect on the censors.
Inuk (Anthony Quinn) is a strong, handsome Eskimo who has spent much of his life waiting for the right woman to take as his wife. Since men far outnumber women in their society, it is viewed as a sign of hospitality if a man with a wife shares her with a man without one for sexual practises. Inuk is tired of "borrowing" women from his friends and is determined to find a suitable wife, which he eventually does when he chooses the attractive and hard-working Asiak (Yoko Tani) over her equally desirable sister Imina (Kaida Horiuchi). Inuk ekes out a constantly demanding existence by travelling around the frozen wastelands searching for food for his wife and her mother Powtee (Marie Yang). One day, he learns from another Eskimo that there is a white man's trading post nearby where he might purchase a gun that will make his hunting expeditions easier, safer and more successful. Inuk enthusiastically decides to visit the trading post, but when he arrives there a naïve and idealistic missionary (Marco Guglielmi) tries to talk to him about God and morality and Christianity. Confused, Inuk tries to show generosity by "lending" his wife to the missionary, but the man is appalled at the suggestion and refuses. This in turn insults Inuk, so he kills the missionary and leaves. Later, two Mounted Police officers (Carlos Justini and Peter O'Toole) hunt for Inuk to bring him to justice, barely realising that by his own Eskimo code he has done no wrong. Inuk is viewed as a murderer purely because white man has imposed his own laws upon the land.
The conflict of civilised values is at the film's core. Some pretty gruesome things happen during The Savage Innocents, but within the context of the film they are not really gruesome at all. In perhaps the most memorable and powerful scene of all, O'Toole looks destined to lose his hands to frostbite. But Quinn kills one of his own dogs, cuts open its belly, and saves O'Toole's hands by shoving them inside and warming them on the dead dog's innards. The scene shows, in cold but authentic detail, how an Eskimo might survive against the elements by doing what a white man would consider uncivilised. The first three quarters of the film unfold in a fascinating, almost documentary-like manner. The final section becomes slightly more conventional, dealing with the Mountie's pursuit of Inuk. Having said that, there's still a fascinating irony in the way that the Eskimo cannot understand why they want him so badly, while they look upon him with the utmost contempt as a savage killer. At times slow and symbolic, at others powerful and enthralling, The Savage Innocents is definitely a film that deserves a look (especially in its uncensored form which is now widely available on DVD).
Inuk (Anthony Quinn) is a strong, handsome Eskimo who has spent much of his life waiting for the right woman to take as his wife. Since men far outnumber women in their society, it is viewed as a sign of hospitality if a man with a wife shares her with a man without one for sexual practises. Inuk is tired of "borrowing" women from his friends and is determined to find a suitable wife, which he eventually does when he chooses the attractive and hard-working Asiak (Yoko Tani) over her equally desirable sister Imina (Kaida Horiuchi). Inuk ekes out a constantly demanding existence by travelling around the frozen wastelands searching for food for his wife and her mother Powtee (Marie Yang). One day, he learns from another Eskimo that there is a white man's trading post nearby where he might purchase a gun that will make his hunting expeditions easier, safer and more successful. Inuk enthusiastically decides to visit the trading post, but when he arrives there a naïve and idealistic missionary (Marco Guglielmi) tries to talk to him about God and morality and Christianity. Confused, Inuk tries to show generosity by "lending" his wife to the missionary, but the man is appalled at the suggestion and refuses. This in turn insults Inuk, so he kills the missionary and leaves. Later, two Mounted Police officers (Carlos Justini and Peter O'Toole) hunt for Inuk to bring him to justice, barely realising that by his own Eskimo code he has done no wrong. Inuk is viewed as a murderer purely because white man has imposed his own laws upon the land.
The conflict of civilised values is at the film's core. Some pretty gruesome things happen during The Savage Innocents, but within the context of the film they are not really gruesome at all. In perhaps the most memorable and powerful scene of all, O'Toole looks destined to lose his hands to frostbite. But Quinn kills one of his own dogs, cuts open its belly, and saves O'Toole's hands by shoving them inside and warming them on the dead dog's innards. The scene shows, in cold but authentic detail, how an Eskimo might survive against the elements by doing what a white man would consider uncivilised. The first three quarters of the film unfold in a fascinating, almost documentary-like manner. The final section becomes slightly more conventional, dealing with the Mountie's pursuit of Inuk. Having said that, there's still a fascinating irony in the way that the Eskimo cannot understand why they want him so badly, while they look upon him with the utmost contempt as a savage killer. At times slow and symbolic, at others powerful and enthralling, The Savage Innocents is definitely a film that deserves a look (especially in its uncensored form which is now widely available on DVD).
My impression on this movie changed after 45 years
AntiFakeReviews4 December 2021
I just feel so funny after watched this movie the 2nd time after 45 years. I was so shocked and amazed by this movie when I first time watched it in a different country. I thought it was so great and unique. But now I'm old gizzard, I got a day-and-night different view of this movie, and thought it's such a poorly scripted, badly acted movie. I couldn't even finish it and decided to drop out after 30 minutes. It's so unbearable to watch Quinn's pretentious and awkward acting with bunch of Japanese American women. They tried to twisted their American accent to speak funny, mimicking the thought-so Eskimo talking, it's just so embarrassing to watch these actors tried so hard to look like simple-minded primitive Eskimo people, but inevitably fell flat like ridiculous clowns.
Sorry, I just couldn't force myself to finish this moronic movie.
Sorry, I just couldn't force myself to finish this moronic movie.
Encounters at the End of the World
chaos-rampant18 January 2009
Inuk is a lonely Inuit hunter making ends meet in the barren, unforgiving wastes of the arctic regions by hunting seals and bears. So begins the glacial odyssey of one man against two worlds, his own and that of white man. In many ways a "northern", the frostbitten equivalent of the western (a genre director Nicholas Ray was familiar with), THE SAVAGE INNOCENTS shares many of the same themes and ideas with that most quintessentially American of genres - survival in a savage landscape, the frontier of civilization, the cultural clash between different civilizations. Yet no sight of spurs, stetson hats or six-shooters to be found in the movie. What other proof do we need that such ideas are universal?
Filmed in the arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, and presenting us with a faithful and loving documentation of Inuit traditions and life, Ray on one hand captures the sheer monumental beauty of the harsh arctic wastelands with a kind of Kubrickian grandeur, while on the other reserving for his characters the utmost sympathy and affection. The stark realism of the uninviting climate contrasted with the good-natured predisposition and unpretentious simplicity of the people living in it. Realism meeting halfways with humanism in a movie that is as humorous and touching as it is cerebral, part survival grit and part mythological folklore.
And then white man comes into Inuk's world. With his rifles, his loud rock'n'roll music, his missionaries preaching their god, his weird customs and laws. That doesn't mean that what precedes Inuk's encounter with the white men of a trading post and the preacher living there is an idyllic utopia - Inuk is ready to club another man to death for taking the woman he planned to make his wife. Still it would be easy to sneer sarcastically from the comfort of our modern homes at the primitive customs of Inuit. "In the age of the atom bomb", says the voice-over narrator, "these people still hunt with bow and arrow". Indeed they do; they also leave their elders alone to die in the snow when they become too old to contribute to the household anymore and they leave their firstborn babies to die unless they are male, so they can take care of them when they in turn grow old. But such is the nature of their lives and the environment they live in.
Anthony Quinn's performance as Inuk is fantastic, equal measure good-natured forwardness and unreserved honesty. A man as likely to offer you his wife as he is to bash your brains in for refusing her. Peter O'Toole (two years before LAWRENCE OF ARABIA) in the role of the officer sent to arrest Inuk for the murder of the preacher doesn't match Quinn but he's a nice addition to the cast. The most dramatically poignant moments in the film come from their interactions as Inuk struggles to comprehend the crime he is accused of. "But my Fathers' laws have not been broken" he says when he is informed he broke the law and will have to be taken back for trial. "When you come to a strange land, bring your wives, not your laws" is what Inuk's wife tells the officer.
A great, great movie I can't recommend enough to fans of tales of survival in stark environments, different cultures and their folklore. NANOOK OF THE NORTH and DERSU UZALA are advised to look out for it.
Filmed in the arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, and presenting us with a faithful and loving documentation of Inuit traditions and life, Ray on one hand captures the sheer monumental beauty of the harsh arctic wastelands with a kind of Kubrickian grandeur, while on the other reserving for his characters the utmost sympathy and affection. The stark realism of the uninviting climate contrasted with the good-natured predisposition and unpretentious simplicity of the people living in it. Realism meeting halfways with humanism in a movie that is as humorous and touching as it is cerebral, part survival grit and part mythological folklore.
And then white man comes into Inuk's world. With his rifles, his loud rock'n'roll music, his missionaries preaching their god, his weird customs and laws. That doesn't mean that what precedes Inuk's encounter with the white men of a trading post and the preacher living there is an idyllic utopia - Inuk is ready to club another man to death for taking the woman he planned to make his wife. Still it would be easy to sneer sarcastically from the comfort of our modern homes at the primitive customs of Inuit. "In the age of the atom bomb", says the voice-over narrator, "these people still hunt with bow and arrow". Indeed they do; they also leave their elders alone to die in the snow when they become too old to contribute to the household anymore and they leave their firstborn babies to die unless they are male, so they can take care of them when they in turn grow old. But such is the nature of their lives and the environment they live in.
Anthony Quinn's performance as Inuk is fantastic, equal measure good-natured forwardness and unreserved honesty. A man as likely to offer you his wife as he is to bash your brains in for refusing her. Peter O'Toole (two years before LAWRENCE OF ARABIA) in the role of the officer sent to arrest Inuk for the murder of the preacher doesn't match Quinn but he's a nice addition to the cast. The most dramatically poignant moments in the film come from their interactions as Inuk struggles to comprehend the crime he is accused of. "But my Fathers' laws have not been broken" he says when he is informed he broke the law and will have to be taken back for trial. "When you come to a strange land, bring your wives, not your laws" is what Inuk's wife tells the officer.
A great, great movie I can't recommend enough to fans of tales of survival in stark environments, different cultures and their folklore. NANOOK OF THE NORTH and DERSU UZALA are advised to look out for it.
"When you come to a strange land, you should bring your wives, and not your laws."
JuguAbraham21 April 2021
The Arctic and Greenland where the film was shot are breathtaking. This Nicholas Ray film with a fictional script has the touches of Robert Flaherty's classic films "Nanook of the North' and "Man of Aran." The following facts make this film important.
The actors: It is Peter O'Toole's debut performance and he was so angry that his lines were dubbed that he did not want his name to be associated with it. Yet, his presence is wonderful. Anthony Quinn, who is the lead character, is able to look somewhat like an Eskimo though he is tall and his facial features contrast with the real inhabitants. Bob Dylan's song "The Mighty Quinn/Quinn the Eskimo" is a tribute to Quinn in this film.
The fictional tale: Franco Solinas is one of the three co-scriptwriters of this film. Solinas is famous for his contributions to the great film classics of directors Gilo Pontecorvo ("Quiemada/Burn!;" Battle of Algiers;" "Kapo"), Joseph Losey ("Mr Klein";"The Assissination of Trotsky") and Costa Gavras ("State Of Siege;" "Hanna K"). The Solinas touch is evident in the final confrontation between the white man (O'Toole) who has been saved from death by the savage innocent Eskimo (Quinn) of how each abide by their different social laws and traditions.
The documentary: The film has a very educative narration on the lives of the Eskimos. Apparently, the meaning of Eskimo is "the real people." There hangs another tale. The film has rare footage of walruses in large numbers, seals, and arctic bears. The film also shows that those who fall into the frozen sea water in the Arctic are not likely to survive even after rescue in the absence of modern scientific help. A reviewer of the film has pointed out social inaccuracies in the script, which are probably true. Beyond the social details, the film takes you to a part of the world rarely viewed or discussed.
The actors: It is Peter O'Toole's debut performance and he was so angry that his lines were dubbed that he did not want his name to be associated with it. Yet, his presence is wonderful. Anthony Quinn, who is the lead character, is able to look somewhat like an Eskimo though he is tall and his facial features contrast with the real inhabitants. Bob Dylan's song "The Mighty Quinn/Quinn the Eskimo" is a tribute to Quinn in this film.
The fictional tale: Franco Solinas is one of the three co-scriptwriters of this film. Solinas is famous for his contributions to the great film classics of directors Gilo Pontecorvo ("Quiemada/Burn!;" Battle of Algiers;" "Kapo"), Joseph Losey ("Mr Klein";"The Assissination of Trotsky") and Costa Gavras ("State Of Siege;" "Hanna K"). The Solinas touch is evident in the final confrontation between the white man (O'Toole) who has been saved from death by the savage innocent Eskimo (Quinn) of how each abide by their different social laws and traditions.
The documentary: The film has a very educative narration on the lives of the Eskimos. Apparently, the meaning of Eskimo is "the real people." There hangs another tale. The film has rare footage of walruses in large numbers, seals, and arctic bears. The film also shows that those who fall into the frozen sea water in the Arctic are not likely to survive even after rescue in the absence of modern scientific help. A reviewer of the film has pointed out social inaccuracies in the script, which are probably true. Beyond the social details, the film takes you to a part of the world rarely viewed or discussed.
Passable adventure yarn, with Anthony Quinn playing a Eskimo
Andy-29629 December 2006
This movie is based on a book called "Top of the World" by author Hans Ruesch. The book is not very well known today, but it is a very entertaining look at the life of the Eskimos and their view of life (reportedly, author Ruesch has never seen an Eskimo before writing the novel). Set during the time that western ways were encroaching into the Eskimos natural habitat, and spanning several generations, it has a main character, who gets into trouble with the law, becoming a fugitive, basically out of his ignorance of western customs (he killed a white man when he offended him by rejecting an invitation to lie in bed with his wife). I read it as a classroom assignment during high school, more than twenty years ago, and it is probable I would have never read the book if I wasn't assigned to do so. Likewise, the movie based on that novel is not terribly known either, though it is sometimes shown on television (at least in my country). It is a passable film, and the more interesting feature of it is that it has Anthony Quinn playing an Eskimo (how many characters of different ethnic backgrounds did Quinn play during his career?).
This is a very good example of law/duty vs justice/conscience
pembroke300426 November 2003
This is a very powerful and moving study of the decisions faced by law enforcement when there is clearly a situation not forseen by lawmakers and how a police officer might conclude that the "right" thing to do is not always to follow proper procedure. To me, one of the most moving scenes in the movie is the final scene in which the wife's mother appears. Also, the scene where Anthony Quinn has his chance to escape is a very revealing instance of character. I would very much like to see this movie available on video or DVD.
A 'lost' movie worth finding.
MOscarbradley15 May 2022
Turned into something of a cult movie when Bob Dylan immortalised it in song, ('The Mighty Quinn'), "The Savage Innocents" would probably have otherwise gone unnoticed. A kind of ecological companion piece to Ray's earlier "Wind Across the Everglades", this was an almost documentary-like look at life among the Eskimos, visually superb though at times almost embarrasingly simplistic.
Anthony Quinn is Inuk, 'the savage innocent' of the title, who accidently kills a missionary and is forced to go on the run, (Peter O'Toole, no less, is one of his pursuers). If anything distinguishes the film it isn't so much the plot but Ray's mise en scene and attention to detail. It also highlighted a way of life not really seen on the screen since Flaherty's "Nanook of the North". It's hardly classic Ray; rather it's a curio from a maverick film-maker unafraid to take chances though some may say with this he took one chance too many and yet there is still much to admire. This is one 'lost' movie worth finding.
Anthony Quinn is Inuk, 'the savage innocent' of the title, who accidently kills a missionary and is forced to go on the run, (Peter O'Toole, no less, is one of his pursuers). If anything distinguishes the film it isn't so much the plot but Ray's mise en scene and attention to detail. It also highlighted a way of life not really seen on the screen since Flaherty's "Nanook of the North". It's hardly classic Ray; rather it's a curio from a maverick film-maker unafraid to take chances though some may say with this he took one chance too many and yet there is still much to admire. This is one 'lost' movie worth finding.
I have had a long wait to find information about this film.
norma-192 October 2004
I cant remember which year I saw this film but it was a very long time ago. It did however make quite an impression on me, i enjoyed the glimpse into the lives and traditions of the Eskimo's. and certain events have stayed in my mind all this time. For instance when the aged decided the time was right, they would just sit out on the ice one night, never to be seen again. Awesome. But it was such a long time ago I was thinking i must have imagined it for i have never heard of it since. The title stayed in my head though. Then i decided to look it up on the internet and am very glad to know that I wasn't alone in my regard.
Savage writers. Brilliant cameramen
mark.waltz27 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Anthony Quinn isn't yet Zorba the Greek. He's Inok the Eskimo and he is presented here to ll be so naive and childlike that to try to get through his story is like being left alone on an ice flow just so a polar bear can eat you. The film is manipulative because with its snowy white photography and shots of various northern animal species, the viewer is captivated immediately by being in this savage world where people have survived without the comforts of civilization for centuries, or so we are told to believe.
I have read about the inaccuracies of the perception of the Eskimo culture, and I tend to believe that after seeing this. Certainly, the civilized world is not the world that would be theirs before they were discovered by outsiders. The idea that Eskimos are savage innocents is just another Hollywood manipulation to present a world outside of their own as something barbaric and something that needs to be changed. Humanity has been doing that for centuries, and Hollywood has shown how that backfires.
Quinn's character has a bit of a caveman/barbaric mentality, and he instigates fights with neighbors at one moment then joins them in socializing the next. When he ventures to civilization to trade in the first he has caught, he accidentally kills a missionary when he offers him his wife and the missionary, aghast, refuses.
Quinn then returns to his residence as if nothing has happened, along the way assisting an old woman who has been left in the middle of nowhere to find her eternal fate. Anna May Wong makes one of her final appearances in this cameo, and while her scene is very touching, this is just another one of those old assumptions about Eskimos that once again proves the movie to be way off base in the way it presents their culture.
While this is shot in gorgeous widescreen and shows off at least a studio sets version of the northern territories, it becomes ghastly to try to get through without discussed in nearing 2 hours. Peter O'Toole makes a brief appearance as a pilot searching for Quinn, and that gives this a bit of historical curiosity. I've never been so angered that a movie could have me riveted because of the photography but furious over the story and the abuse of the facts. As a huge fan of Quinn's, I expected much more than what ends up being represented here.
I have read about the inaccuracies of the perception of the Eskimo culture, and I tend to believe that after seeing this. Certainly, the civilized world is not the world that would be theirs before they were discovered by outsiders. The idea that Eskimos are savage innocents is just another Hollywood manipulation to present a world outside of their own as something barbaric and something that needs to be changed. Humanity has been doing that for centuries, and Hollywood has shown how that backfires.
Quinn's character has a bit of a caveman/barbaric mentality, and he instigates fights with neighbors at one moment then joins them in socializing the next. When he ventures to civilization to trade in the first he has caught, he accidentally kills a missionary when he offers him his wife and the missionary, aghast, refuses.
Quinn then returns to his residence as if nothing has happened, along the way assisting an old woman who has been left in the middle of nowhere to find her eternal fate. Anna May Wong makes one of her final appearances in this cameo, and while her scene is very touching, this is just another one of those old assumptions about Eskimos that once again proves the movie to be way off base in the way it presents their culture.
While this is shot in gorgeous widescreen and shows off at least a studio sets version of the northern territories, it becomes ghastly to try to get through without discussed in nearing 2 hours. Peter O'Toole makes a brief appearance as a pilot searching for Quinn, and that gives this a bit of historical curiosity. I've never been so angered that a movie could have me riveted because of the photography but furious over the story and the abuse of the facts. As a huge fan of Quinn's, I expected much more than what ends up being represented here.
Anthony Quinn at his usual best giving a masterful performance of a native Alaskan and his daily struggles and challenges
jerphayes2 February 2002
Anthony Quinn at his usual best giving a masterful performance of a native Alaskan Inuit and his daily struggles and challenges. A docu-drama that shows the challenges and struggles when two cultures collide. Great cinematography of the Alaska wilderness its makes you feel as if your right there in the igloo with Inuk and his wife Asiak as they eat whale blubber and hunt seal and birth babies. Gives a feel of life in the Alaskan wilderness from a unique Alaskan native vantage point.
The mighty Quinn
dbdumonteil8 June 2008
"The savage innocents" is Ray's last real movie, his two epics "King of Kings" and "55 days at Peking" ,in spite of their (often unfairly overlooked) qualities cannot be called "Nicholas Ray' s movies .The rest of his filmography includes a movie made with his students and the questionable Wenders collaboration "lightning over water" .
Not only Ray was the director whose influence was huge on the rock generation ("Rebel with a cause " was the first movie which rocked ,a feat for it was a work which did not include songs)but "savage innocents" inspired Bob Dylan a song which Manfred Mann made a big hit in the sixties.Mighty Quinn indeed.
Anthony Quinn was par excellence the perfect good all-around.a cursory look at his filmography is revealing:from Fellini's "La Strada" to his portrayal of Quasimodo in the French version of "Notre Dame de Paris" (Delannoy) From Barrabas (Fleischer)to an Eskimo.
Like so many Rayesque heroes ,Inuk does not follow the rules :in a way he is akin to the youngsters of "Rebel" ,to Davey Bishop ("Run for cover" ),to Nick ("Knock on any door" ) and of course to the outlaws ("the true story of Jesse James") .But anyway Inuk cannot follow the Whites' rules for ,in his naive innocence,he is incapable of understanding them,which proves they are not universal.Margaret Mead had already showed that what is good and what is bad is not the same wherever you live in the world.
.My favorite scene is the priest trying to make the "savage" understand that he's lived a life of sin: what can a tale of long ago and far away mean for a man whose life is a constant struggle against a hostile nature ? It's the same pragmatism which we find in Luis Bunuel's Oeuvre.
"The savage innocents " is half documentary half fiction;the documentary side shows its age :correct me if I am wrong but "Eskimo" (=raw meat eater) is not a term the Inuit would appreciate nowadays.Besides,they did not live in igloos which were only used during the hunting season.Entirely filmed in studio ,the pictures are magnificent though,a real symphony in white.The white color dominates everything (tinged with blue)except for this extremely moving scene when it turns black when the old woman is left in the snow to die (it will remind the young cine buffs of Imamura's "Narayama Bushiko" (1983)).
"The savage innocents " sets the nature and its quietness -although it's a cruel mistress;when you fight a bear,it's you or him-against the "civilization" here represented by alcohol,pop music ,money and the Law.Ray had already been an ecologist ahead of his time in "Wind across the everglades" These two works are like "twin movies" and should be seen one after the other.
After all "King of Kings" was also perhaps a Ray movie:Jesus himself was not born to follow the rules.
Not only Ray was the director whose influence was huge on the rock generation ("Rebel with a cause " was the first movie which rocked ,a feat for it was a work which did not include songs)but "savage innocents" inspired Bob Dylan a song which Manfred Mann made a big hit in the sixties.Mighty Quinn indeed.
Anthony Quinn was par excellence the perfect good all-around.a cursory look at his filmography is revealing:from Fellini's "La Strada" to his portrayal of Quasimodo in the French version of "Notre Dame de Paris" (Delannoy) From Barrabas (Fleischer)to an Eskimo.
Like so many Rayesque heroes ,Inuk does not follow the rules :in a way he is akin to the youngsters of "Rebel" ,to Davey Bishop ("Run for cover" ),to Nick ("Knock on any door" ) and of course to the outlaws ("the true story of Jesse James") .But anyway Inuk cannot follow the Whites' rules for ,in his naive innocence,he is incapable of understanding them,which proves they are not universal.Margaret Mead had already showed that what is good and what is bad is not the same wherever you live in the world.
.My favorite scene is the priest trying to make the "savage" understand that he's lived a life of sin: what can a tale of long ago and far away mean for a man whose life is a constant struggle against a hostile nature ? It's the same pragmatism which we find in Luis Bunuel's Oeuvre.
"The savage innocents " is half documentary half fiction;the documentary side shows its age :correct me if I am wrong but "Eskimo" (=raw meat eater) is not a term the Inuit would appreciate nowadays.Besides,they did not live in igloos which were only used during the hunting season.Entirely filmed in studio ,the pictures are magnificent though,a real symphony in white.The white color dominates everything (tinged with blue)except for this extremely moving scene when it turns black when the old woman is left in the snow to die (it will remind the young cine buffs of Imamura's "Narayama Bushiko" (1983)).
"The savage innocents " sets the nature and its quietness -although it's a cruel mistress;when you fight a bear,it's you or him-against the "civilization" here represented by alcohol,pop music ,money and the Law.Ray had already been an ecologist ahead of his time in "Wind across the everglades" These two works are like "twin movies" and should be seen one after the other.
After all "King of Kings" was also perhaps a Ray movie:Jesus himself was not born to follow the rules.
Classic Culture Clash
luganrn776 November 2004
I haven't seen this film for years.......but would love to again. I remember this film as an accurate description of Inuit culture and mores of the time. It is an educational journey into innocent tundra social structure (if any) intermingling occasionally with modern (at the time) Western culture. Anthony Quinn was brilliant in this role...and probably created for it. And..., oh my God,....that was Peter O'Toole in his very first role??? No wonder I loved him afterwards......even being dubbed (why??) he showed sensitivity in dealing with both the savage(?)Inuit lifestyle, the current legal structure of Western society of the day, and his own personal feelings in the interactions with these primitive peoples. Hey! Where else can a man offer gourmet larvae to his esteemed guests, then offer his wife for any man to "laugh" with, and then take his mother-in-law miles away with a dogsled to go die on the ice with her approval?? Way to go!!
A visually stunning study of another culture
NeverLift12 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this movie in its original release, ca. 1960, while living in Canada. We didn't see it so much a drama as an exposition of Eskimo (now Inuit) culture, behavior, and mores that used the story line as a vehicle to help in that process. And, of course, it is visually stunning.
A story I heard at that time claimed the reason the secondary roles are not played by Eskimos was that they didn't have the concept of lying in their culture, and acting -- pretending to be another person, as opposed to taking on the role of, say, a seal in a story-telling activity at a communal gathering -- requires that one, essentially, lie. That is, the claim was that the casting staff could not find an Eskimo that could act.
There are episodes in the portrayal that seem over-acted, but that opinion may be a result of my not having personal experience with how Eskimos would actually behave in the activity being portrayed in those scenes. But the scene of death and survival after the sled breaks through the ice is, to coin a phrase, chilling. Asked for help to save the soaked Mountie, Quinn, in the lead Eskimo role, responds, "That man is dead." And then you watch the Mountie freeze to death in under two minutes. Very powerful.
Highly recommended.
A story I heard at that time claimed the reason the secondary roles are not played by Eskimos was that they didn't have the concept of lying in their culture, and acting -- pretending to be another person, as opposed to taking on the role of, say, a seal in a story-telling activity at a communal gathering -- requires that one, essentially, lie. That is, the claim was that the casting staff could not find an Eskimo that could act.
There are episodes in the portrayal that seem over-acted, but that opinion may be a result of my not having personal experience with how Eskimos would actually behave in the activity being portrayed in those scenes. But the scene of death and survival after the sled breaks through the ice is, to coin a phrase, chilling. Asked for help to save the soaked Mountie, Quinn, in the lead Eskimo role, responds, "That man is dead." And then you watch the Mountie freeze to death in under two minutes. Very powerful.
Highly recommended.
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