Nanook of the North (Criterion Collection Spine #33)
by Robert J. Flaherty
List Price:
Our Price: $26.99
You Save: $2.96 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $16.60 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Allakariallak, Allee, Allegoo, Cunayou, NylaDirector: Robert J. Flaherty
Brand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: Robert J. Flaherty
Editor: Robert J. Flaherty
Producer: Robert J. Flaherty
Writer: Robert J. Flaherty
Editor: Charles Gelb
Editor: Herbert Edwards
Producer: John R?villon
Writer: Frances H. Flaherty
DVD: 2 Layers, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC, Silent
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 79 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-01-26
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Nanook of the North (Criterion Collection Spine #33)
Movie Review: Great Documentary, Maybe of all Time!
Summary: 5 Stars
A great documentary of the Inuit or Eskimo people as they were called by Robert Flaherty. He actually had to make it twice. The film used then was highly flammable and caught fire as he was editing it while smoking. People smoked anywhere they wanted in the 20s too! Flaherty suffered burns in many parts of his body and had to recover before going back north. He had made copious notes of his previous film and was able to recreate most scenes again. Not your typical documentary now, but was at this time. Filmmakers were quite aware of having to make the film entertaining and interesting to watch. Not unlike today! The 20s was the heyday of anthropology and of documentary film so they went together nicely. Flaherty has made a spine-tingling film where the cold can be felt as well as seen. The lives of Nanook and his people is interesting and stunning.
Summary of Nanook of the North (Criterion Collection Spine #33)
Robert Flaherty's classic film tells the story of Inuit hunter Nanook and his family as they struggle to survive in the harsh conditions of Canada's Hudson Bay region. Enormously popular when released in 1922, Nanook of the North is a cinematic milestone that continues to enchant audiences. Criterion is proud to present the original director's cut, restored to the proper frame rate and tinted according to Flaherty's personal print.Robert J. Flaherty, who wrote, directed, produced, shot, and edited this landmark picture, will forever be remembered as the godfather of documentary filmmaking. While this landmark 1922 production, shot on the northeastern shore of Hudson Bay, isn't a true documentary by contemporary conventions, it remains the first great nonfiction film. With the help of Nanook and his friends and family, Flaherty undertook the mission of re-creating an Eskimo culture that no longer existed in a series of staged scenes. Nanook ice fishes, harpoons a walrus, catches a seal, traps, builds an igloo, and trades pelts at a trading post, all captured by Flaherty's inquisitive camera. Though he presents a "happy" culture bordering on primitive innocence (Nanook and his family were in reality quite westernized), his loving portrait is anything but condescending. Ultimately Flaherty shares his tremendous respect and awe for a culture that has learned to not just survive but thrive in such an inhospitable environment. On a purely visual level the film is a beautiful work of cinema, an understated drama in an austere, unblemished landscape of snow and ice. With unerring simplicity and directness, Flaherty re-creates the details and rhythms of a culture long gone and gives the world a glimpse. David Shepard's restoration, which is offered by Kino, shows a cleaner, brighter image than has ever been available on video and restores scenes missing for decades, and he has commissioned a new score by Timothy Brock, which incorporates and expands upon elements of the original score. A short interview with Flaherty's widow concludes the tape. --Sean Axmaker
In 1920, exploring American anthropologist Robert J. Flaherty traveled alone, with camera in hand, to the remote Canadian tundra. There, for over a year, he lived with Eskimos, documenting their daily lives and returning to his editing studio with the raw footage. The result of his rigorous study was groundbreaking; with Nanook of the North, Flaherty pioneered both a new cinematic genre, the narrative documentary, and created a timeless drama of human perseverance under the harshest of conditions. Flaherty obviously understood the charisma of one Eskimo in particular, Nanook, and much of the film's warmth, humor, and charm come from the mutual respect and sympathy between the filmmaker and his subject. Flaherty possessed an acute eye for simple detail and his presentation of the stark climate and unique culture remains breathtaking. Flaherty also had a knack for editing and manipulation, and along with pioneering a new cinematic form, Nanook too raised all of the problematic ethical dilemmas that still face documentarians. Many of the famous sequences--the seal hunt, the building of the igloo--were actually staged for "authenticity" purposes, thus starting debates on whether documentaries could truly capture truth or reality. Then there's the presence of the camera and whether that in itself alters or disrupts the natural behavior of its subjects. Yet, despite Flaherty's tamperings, there's no denying the film's power, its wondrous sense of adventure, and the touching portrait of one of cinema's truly courageous heroes. --Dave McCoy
Classics DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in We had faces! -- Movies of the 1920s Part. 1
Sunrise - A Song of Two Humans (Limited Edition)DVD
Best price: $26.99
Berlin: Symphony of a Great CityRelease date: 1999-05-04; DVD
Best price: $17.71
Price in other shops:
The End of Saint Petersburg / DeserterRelease date: 2002-10-15; DVD
Best price: $17.36
Price in other shops:
![Seventh Heaven (1927) ( 7th Heaven ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Spain ] Image](/images/Seventh-Heaven-1927-7th-Heaven-NON-USA-FORMAT-PAL-Reg-0-Import-Spain-B0019CW056-X.jpg)
Seventh Heaven (1927) ( 7th Heaven ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Spain ]DVD
Best price: $25.99
Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)Release date: 2003-02-18; DVD
Best price: $15.97
Price in other shops:
The Adventures of Prince AchmedImage Entertainment; Release date: 2002-12-03; DVD
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops:
FaustRelease date: 2001-06-05; DVD
Best price: $16.46
Price in other shops:
The Black PirateRelease date: 2004-02-03; DVD
Best price: $19.01
Price in other shops:
The GeneralRelease date: 1999-10-26; DVD
Best price: $12.47
Price in other shops:
The Sheik / The Son of the Sheik (Special Edition)Release date: 2002-06-25; DVD
Best price: $16.57
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Triumph of the WillRyko Distribution; Release date: 2006-03-28; DVD
Best price: $19.70
Price in other shops:
Harlan County, U.S.A. - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2006-05-23; DVD
Best price: $24.49
Price in other shops:
Salesman - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2001-09-04; DVD
Best price: $25.48
Price in other shops:
Man on WireRelease date: 2008-12-09; DVD
Best price: $13.38
Price in other shops:
Louisiana StoryRelease date: 2003-05-20; DVD
Best price: $17.88
Price in other shops:
Battleship Potemkin (The Ultimate Edition) (2pc) (Full B&W)Release date: 2007-10-23; DVD
Best price: $18.28
Price in other shops:
Night and Fog - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2003-06-24; DVD
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
In The Land Of The War CanoesImage Entertainment; Release date: 2000-08-15; DVD
Best price: $19.32
Price in other shops:
Man With the Movie CameraRelease date: 2002-02-26; DVD
Best price: $14.59
Price in other shops:
Man of AranRelease date: 2003-05-20; DVD
Best price: $17.98
Price in other shops: