Customer Reviews

Man in the Wilderness [VHS]

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4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
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The story of Zachary Bass (actual historical character named Hugh Glass) and his survival and ultimate return to civilization is an exceptional example of the endurance of the human spirit, and Richard Harris is simply phenomenal in his protrayal. Mauled and left for dead, Bass must not only survive his wounds, the elements, and hostile enemies, but he must also come to terms with the very thing that, in the end, is his reason for living; the child that he left behind following the death of his wife. At first a story of simple survival and then revenge against those who left him for dead, the story gradually becomes one of intense love and longing. Harris has certainly done great work before and since, but this honest and truly gritty performance is one of the very best of his long career. And the realism brought to the story by use of actual location filming, amidst all types of weather, helps to bring this story to the forefront of "survivalist" movies. Yes, there is a bit of violence and brutality, but life in the 1820's was not for the weak of heart, and that fact is very honestly portrayed here. In addition to the outstanding Richard Harris, John Huston's portrayal of the venemous and cowardly Captain Henry is absolutely perfect! And fans of the original Star Trek character Scotty, watch for James Doohan in a completely different kind of role in this one! This is simply an outstanding film, and actually has a message to it that goes far beyond the "I'm gonna get you for that" genre some have placed it into. It is ultimately a story of just how far and how much the heart can heal us if we give it a chance. Don't miss out on this one any longer!

This is an excellent film with terrific performances by Richard Harris, as Zachary Bass, a frontier scout on an expedition in the Northwest territiories. The expedition is hauling a boat across some pretty rugged terrain and is led by a heartless old reprobate, Captain Henry, played with relish by John Huston. When Bass is badly mauled by a bear in a horrifying scene, Captain Henry orders two of his men to stay with Bass, whom he believes to be dying. He then orders them to shoot Bass, if he does not die within a specified time frame.

They stay with him, but Bass, seeing his life pass before him, refuses to die. As luck would have it, Indians are in the immediate vicinity, so the two men decide against shooting Bass, so as not to attract the attention of the Indians. Even though they know that Bass is struggling to live, they leave him to the vicissitudes of nature, and rejoin the expedition. They take his gun, as the venal Captain Henry had requested it, and leave Bass with nothing.

Bass struggles to stay alive. It is this struggle that grips the viewer. Bass has very little dialogue in this film. It is the strength of his will to live and to survive that dominates the screen. He prevails in his bid for survival. He fights to catch up with the expedition and the leader who had treated him so cruelly. When he does so, be prepared for the unexpected.

What happens to Bass is the story of the resilience of the human spirit and the indomitable will to survive against the odds. What is even more amazing is this film is actually based upon the true story of a folk hero of the Northwest named Hugh Glass. All in all, this an interesting and offbeat film with strong performances by Harris and Huston, as well as its supporting cast.

Yet another wonderful movie that belongs on DVD. Richard Harris plays this movie without hardly saying a word. A great performance from a classic actor. Bring on the DVD version !!!

A fine, underrated film from 1971, starring Richard Harris as fur trapper Zachary Bass, who is attacked by a grizzly bear & left for dead by his companions. But he survives and sets out after those who abandoned him, driven by vengeance and an unquenchable will.

What struck me about this film is something I've been noting in a lot of films & TV shows from the late 1960s & early 1970s: there's a certain understatement, a certain philosophical & reflective streak, that simply wouldn't be found in a similar film made today. Zachary Bass, who saves himself & tracks down his companions across 600 miles of wilderness in 1820, would be a super-human hero in a contemporary version of this story. Instead, he's a formidable but human man, given insight by flashbacks to his earlier life. His self-imposed loneliness, his lack of faith in God & a benign universe (for good personal reasons), his inability to let anyone get too close to him, are all explored in a way that would be ignored today.

The necessary violence of the story is presented differently as well: no extended, almost fetishistic slo-mo savoring of fighting & dying. The violence is presented swiftly, brutally, realistically. Bass does what he must to survive, but he doesn't linger over the violence, he doesn't enjoy it, he doesn't seek it out. Again, very different from most of our contemporary action "heroes." In one scene, watching as a small band of characters slaughters another, his face has a look of appalled bewilderment, accepting that human beings can be so needlessly cruel, but wondering why they can be that way so easily, so pointlessly.

I won't spoil the ending -- of course he does catch up with those who left him to die -- but it's far more low-key than a contemporary film would be. Harris gives a terrific, almost wordless performance throughout the film. You can see his personality slowly changing as the endless days alone force him to reflect on his life to that point. Bass has always been ready to risk his life physically. But now he's learning to risk going beyond his emotional prison.

What I'm getting at (among other things) is that this adventure film is really offering us a view of the man within, not merely one more revenge story. Contemporary films all too often offer nothing but surface; indeed, to reveal too much of the inner person would be seen as weakness by such "heroes." Here, we're given much more. Highly recommended!

Richard Harris is excellent in this tale of survival and revenge set in the 19th century North American wilderness. After being near mauled to death by a grizzly bear a determined Harris drags himself across prismatic landscapes as his mind flashbacks to his prior life. This is one of Richard Harris' best performances and is a little reminiscent of his underrated role in THE DEADLY TRACKERS at least in the revenge department. This is a very curious film full of mystical elements, which borders on fantasy. One of the best scenes comes when Harris must fight off some predatory wolves from their feast of a bison that they are eating alive. Scenes like this had to be trimmed in order to keep the film's "R" rating. Richard C. Sarafian directed the film with innovative and radiant cinematography supplied by Gerry Fisher. The strange script is by Jack DeWitt but the enigmatic look and feel of the images and Harris' brutally realistic performance are the stars of this film. John Huston and the underrated character actor Percy Herbert are among the objects of Harris' revenge. This is one film you really have to see to appreciate.

A man on expedition is seriously injured by a bear. Two men are left behind with the man (one of whom is the boy who later becomes the legendeary fur trapper and mountain man, Jim Bridger), but the men soon give up and leave Bass (Glass) for dead.

As (Glass) struggles to recover alone in the wilderness and keep up with the expedition, he recalls scenes from his earlier days.

Beautiful cinematography of Missouri River country and of survival in the wilderness. Scenes of the horses and men towing the outrageous pitching and lurching boat across dry land are hilarious. John Huston is excellent in his role of the crusty expedition leader.

This story about Glass is also mentioned in 'Jim Bridger, Mountain Man' an excellent book by Stanley Vestal.

The story of Hugh Glass, well known to many South Dakotans, is one of the great sagas of that state, and of the northwest in general. It takes place only 19 years after the Lewis and Clark expedition, when the area was still both wild and racially and tribally divided. Glass, left to die by comrades after being badly mauled by a female grizzly bear, survives and seeks revenge on the men who left him (one of whom, Jim Bridger, later became quite famous in his own right). He winds up not killing either one, but his survival story is a nearly unbelievable tale of courage, perseverance, intelligence and knowledge of the wilderness. Excellent movie, check it out.

Man in the Wilderness is not a typical Western. It breaks away from the familar formula that characterizes many films in this genre, and I must emphatically state that it will not be to all tastes. Many who may enjoy the standard formula of Western movies will find it slow, and possibly even pointless. It is a film that does not explain itself, does not give a back-story or set up, but expects the viewer to discern the story as it moves along and catch mostly non verbal clues to decipher its meaning.
The power of this film is in its amazing visuals. There is very little dialogue, especially from the protagonist,(played brilliantly by Richard Harris). When natives speak, there are no sub titles. Plot is secondary to mood. The Wilderness itself, stunningly filmed with all of its flora and fauna, becomes one of the most important characters of the movie. At times, Man in the Wilderness feels like Theater of the Absurd, particularly when the camera lingers on the ridiculous boat that Captain Henry (wonderfully played like a landlocked Captain Ahab by John Huston) insists on hauling across unforgiving and waterless country. Man in the Wilderness is the Waiting for Godot of Western films.
As others have noted, this movie is based on factual events that happened in the life of 19th century mountain man Hugh Glass (played by Harris and called Zack Bass). Though the film takes some creative liberties, at times it is surprisingly dead-on with the historical details of this amazing tale. I would highly recommend reading John Myers Myers' The Saga of Hugh Glass to further understand and fully appreciate this odd film.
This film should be particularly interesting to those with a strong interest in the era of the mountain men. There are relatively few Westerns that deal with this initial period of Western exploration, and Man in the Wilderness does an excellent job of capturing the look and feel of this wild epic.
Though sometimes flawed (many of the edits are choppy), and though the experimental style doesn't work uniformly throughout the film, I still would recommend this movie to anyone bold or curious enough to take a chance on an odd duck.

Theo Logos

This film is one of the best examples of the fight for the man's survival against the raw and merciless nature. Richard Harris is fantastic in this film. A Classic! Congratulations, Richard C. Sarafian

Man in the Wilderness is a loose interpretation of an actual Mountain Man experience. Read "The Saga of Hugh Glass" for the actual account of a wilderness survival story.