Customer Reviews

The Naked Prey (The Criterion Collection)

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Most films which have the basic premise of a white man battling native Africans somewhere in the Dark Continent usually portray these natives as nameless, unmotivated ugga-mugga tribesmen whose only purpose in life seems to be able to toss missionaries into a round cooking pot. Thankfully, Cornel Wilde acts in and directs himself in THE NAKED PREY, a movie that is as astoundingly gripping as any film whose plot revolves around the hero's struggle for survival in a savage environment.
Wilde is a guide whose safari of foolish white hunters antagonizes some ferocious natives, who proceed to kill the hunters in a variety of graphically nasty ways. The natives allow Wilde a head start, then chase him. It is this chase that forms the bulk of the movie. Along the way, Wilde shows the natives (and the audience) that a near naked white man can still be a formidable foe. The pursuing natives, led by Ken Gampu, are a diverse lot, not all of whom are as dedicated to the chase as he is. They have numbers, food, knives. Wilde has only his fierce determination to live. What starts out as a standard chase movie, morphs quickly enough into another sort of chase. This time, though, it is Wilde who starts calling the shots about who is chasing whom. THE NAKED PREY is full of magnificent vignettes of survival on the African plain. This is no jungle movie. It is an engrossing film that allows the camera frequent panoramic sweeps over vast desert plains that are quite capable of supporting life if one only knows how. The natives are astonished that Wilde's knowledge is at least as full as theirs. Along the way, Wilde befriends a very young boy whose family was captured by Arabic slavers, and it is this boy whose very initial helplessness reminds Wilde that vulnerability is a trait that has the practical value of reminding one that arrogance on the plain is a negative survival characteristic. The latter half of the movie is a continuing series of confrontations between Wilde and Gampu. By the end, both the pursued and the pursuer recognize that sometimes the distinction between the two is a muddied affair at best, and the winner is not necessarily the one with a trophy, but with a recognition that all life, even the life of your enemy, has some value during a deadly game of chase.

This overlooked gem directed by and starring one-time Olympic fencer Cornel Wilde concerns a knowledgeable safari guide (known only as The Man) whose greedy client gets him into a slew of trouble when he refuses to pay tribute to a band of Zulus while hunting elephants in Africa. The Zulus return en masse and take the white hunters prisoner, torturing them to death in a variety of ingenious ways. Recognizing Wilde as being made of stouter stuff than his companions, they strip him naked and cut him loose with the intent of hunting him down. But their generosity backfires when Wilde up and kills one of them. What follows is one of the greatest pursuit movies of all time as the vengeful Zulu hunters chase the Man across the savannah in a race to reach a remote British fort. The Man has to use every ounce of human ingenuity to stave off his relentless pursuers, as well as to contend with various random perils (pissed off wildlife, starvation, and slavers, to name a few).

This was filmed entirely in Africa and Wilde makes great use of the rich locales. The hunt is juxtaposed at various times with real footage of animals contending with each other in the natural world, and there are some pretty memorable scenes here alone (including the snaring of a flying sparrow by a tree climbing viper!). This is a 2:35:1 movie, but you?ll be hard pressed to see it that way. I think there is a laserdisc, but no DVD. If you can, catch it on AMC until they come out with a well-deserved DVD version, because the widescreen format is well-used here, serving to encompass a panorama of natural beauty. Despite the primal savagery of the plot, and the at times brutal violence (not too brutal - this is the 60's after all), everything in this movie is quite beautiful, from the locations to the hundreds of native non-actors.

This is a great movie for an amateur filmmaker to study, as except for the beginning and one brief segment towards the end, there is almost no English dialogue. This is a visually dynamic film reminiscent of a moving Frank Frazetta painting. The humans are lean and sensual, and the action is high yield. The earthen colors bring the viewer down to the basics, and the African singing and tumultuous heartbeat of the native drums make you want to put on your war face and go running through the bush. The theme of man vs. man vs. nature plays out to the fullest, in an admirably simple and refreshingly honest way.

While the subject matter of a white man being able to hold his own against a group of native Africans on their own soil could be misconstrued as racist, I think the parting salute between Ken Gampu?s hunter and Wilde?s Man, as well as Man?s short friendship with an African boy who saves his life shows that the film?s heart is in the right place. In the end, these men find mutual admiration in each other?s abilities, and the picture ends on a high note. This is the pulpy sort of stuff that reminds one of yellowed Weird Tales covers with Robert E. Howard?s name emblazoned in red ink over some two fisted man?s man rippling with unbridled don?t-give-a-damn-but-I-can-take-a-punch grit. Wilde got the idea from listening to an old radio drama about a trapper being hunted by Indians through the mountains of the northwest. Highest possible recommendation.

I accidentally caught this movie late at night when I was a kid...and found it the most gripping movie I had ever seen. 30 years later my opinion has not changed one bit. After an hour into the movie, I remember finding myself amazed at how much I cared about the characters and how strongly their personalities came through - even with virtually no dialogue!! This is perhaps one of the most underrated movies in the latter half of the 20th century. Other reviewers here have already done an exceptional job of running down the highlights, so I need not do the same.

This film leaves me with 2 questions that I would love someone to answer. First, why do they not make movies like this anymore? And second, when oh when will this come out on DVD??

Unbelievable. One of the best movies ever made and not even a whisper about a new release. Yet we get releases of TV shows like Full House. SAD.

Actor/director Cornel Wilde has fashioned a tight, well crafted adventure story of survival in the African bush with "The Naked Prey". The story involves the capture of a party of white trophy hunters by a tribe of native Africans, who are gruesomely tortured to death one-by-one. Cornel Wilde, whose clothes had been removed by the natives in preparation of his execution, succeeds in escaping (hence the title of the movie). The rest of the film involves his fight for survival in the wilderness while being pursued by a group of native warriors.

The film starts out slowly but the tension builds as the white hunters ignore and insult the natives that they see as harmless. The scenes of torture and death are quite graphic for a mid-60's film and because of this the film is not for family viewing. The movie really takes off once Cornel Wilde escapes and his fight for survival is as realistic as it is gruesome.

This is one of the truely best action and adventure movies i've ever seen come out of the 60's. It is an absolute crime that it is not out on DVD yet. Come on guys!....get on it!

This is a great movie.

Release it on dvd already!

An all time great film with Cornel Wilde starring and producing the film. This adventure film offers a respectful portrayal of African life with a guide (Wilde) on his last hunting safari with an arrogant group of white hunters. Insult turns to ultimate and dramatic revenge as the insulted tribe acts to even the score in a barbaric and frightening fashion. You pity the ignorant whites as they suffer cruel and horrible death along with their African aides. In respect to Wilde, the tribe allows him a brave's death allowing him to run for his life with a head start with nothing but his bare skin. Wilde is followed by single tribesman staggered in pursuit but his initial success against his adversaries result in pursuit by a well armed platoon of tribesman led by an angry and possessed leader that will not stop. Filmed on location in Africa, Wilde plays the part realistically, almost in documentary style, virtually living the role as he eats what he can in this marathon pursuit. Portraying the harshness of African life in the mid 20th century, you can relate to the cruelty of Darfur today with a scene of Arabs raiding a peaceful village brutally making them slaves for sale. The film features non-stop excitement with a race to the death that reaches its climax, with all characters gasping for air, only at the very end of the film. You won't catch your own breath until the credits pass.

This is a chase movie -pure and simple .Cornel Wilde plays "man",a tour guide in 19th century South Africa taking a group of wannbe white hunters on an ivory hunting trip into the bush .Despite his warning the safari members ,especially the boorish leader (Gert Van der Bergh)offend the traditions and susceptibilities of the local tribe .They are captured ,tortured and killed .( Please be advised some of these scenes are quite graphic ,especially one of a man being encased in clay and roasted alive -and are decidedly not for the squeamish )Wilde is given a chance -"the chance of ther lion "He is stripped naked and given a head start on a group of armed warriors whose task it is to hunt him down and kill him .The chase is on .
This all takes less than 15 minutes of the 96 minute running time and si you can tell this is a pretty fast paced picture and the movie is never less than gripping .
Taut construction and rapid pace are decided assets in any movie .Wilde was an ambitious director always striving for the slightly off kilter and novel approaches .In this movie he comes slightly unstuck for my money by a rigid and formulaic approach to the story .His direction sees him proceeding from the macroscopic to the microscopic in every scenr .We are shown the bush in longshot ,and then proceed to scenes showing the minutae of animal/insect life .The pattern for every scene is Repose/Flight/Sudden Death/Back to Repose .Wilde begins and ends scenes on shots of animals snaring their prey .To be fair some of the shots are striking but the pattern becomes predictable and the symbolism heavy handed and predictable
There is littile time for characterisation and the environmental and racial themes are not explored although the tribesmen are depicted as real and dignified people ,unusually for many movies of the era .
This is a ggod movie and well worth your time .Wilde is good in the role of Man and while I have been critical of some aspects of his directorial style he was a considerable movie maker who dared to be different and this a is a good example of his considerable talent behind and in front of the lens

This is one of the great films; unfortunately somewhat unknown.
I cannot understand the lack of a DVD release.
It is the clearest, cleanest depiction of man vs man vs nature
that I have ever seen.
The acting, the cinematography are beautiful and perfect.
So, who owns the rights?