Man in the Wilderness (1971)

Director:

Richard C. Sarafian

Writer:

Jack DeWitt (writer)

Release Date:

19 December 1971 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure | Western

Tagline:

He was left for dead. He would not forget.

Plot:

In the early 1800's, a group of fur trappers and Indian traders are returning with their goods to civilisation...

Plot Keywords:

Bear Attack | Expedition | Revenge | Bear | Trapper

Cast

Richard Harris	...	Zachary Bass
John Huston	...	Captain Filmore Henry
Prunella Ransome	...	Grace Bass, Zachary's Wife
Percy Herbert	...	Fogarty
Dennis Waterman	...	Lowrie, Assistant Hunter
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Indian Chief
Sheila Raynor	...	Grace's Mother
Norman Rossington	...	Ferris the Surgeon
James Doohan	...	Benoit
Bryan Marshall	...	Potts
Ben Carruthers	...	Longbow
Robert Russell	...	Smith
John Bindon	...	Coulter
Bruce M. Fischer	...	Wiser
Dean Selmier	...	Russell

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Limbridge

Trivia:

The reason John Bindon has next to no screen time in the film is because Richard Harris had him fired in the early stages in shooting

Goofs:

Factual errors: Indian horses were not shod.

Quotes:

Grace's Mother: There was nothing you could do. It was God's will.
Zachary Bass: I never much agreed with God's will.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Scream Bloody Murder (1973/I)

only dull if your looking for precooked adventure

This movie's only problem is that it requires a contact with some of the elements portrayed in it: the place, the weather, the bears, the furs, the protagonists (fur trappers or aboriginals). The movie is great because because it does not pretend to be : it just delivers on its premise, a man in the wilderness! The cinematics is beautiful, and even if one could wish on going in deeper in the psyche of the main characters, maybe you just can't, maybe things are more simple than our techno-psychological outlook of modern society hides from us. ANd that is what makes this an incredible movie. It's plain crazy and believable, the pinnacle of human spirit and and it's loathsomeness.