Lost In The Wilderness

[Reel]

I watched 'The Edge' (1997, Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin) the other night after over a decade and I was surprised by how much I still liked it, maybe even more this time as I've grown into my old age. I thought "Man, I love these movies about people who are lost and totally out of their element, but have to do whatever it takes to survive." The structure of it always feels so familiar- You venture out ( usually in a plane ), get stranded, and nature tests you in every way possible until you're finally rescued. There have to be more of these movies, right? Besides Cast Away, I have a lot of trouble thinking of any good ones. Google does what it can, but it's no xixax. I'm not sure if I would include Deliverance in this category, which is an all time fave, because I don't consider them 'lost' as much as facing an outside threat in foreign territory. This is the kind of movie where people are knocked flat on their ass and have to utilize every dormant skill of theirs to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and return to society. You guys know any of 'em? I think I want to watch every one so I can find the best.


(please save me that Life Of Pi BS)

[jenkins]

how we chilling? like robinson crusoe on mars, do we get lost in space after earth? or, war. essential killing. rescue dawn. when is it person vs nature alone? i think that's what you're asking, great q. is that 127 hours?

[Reel]

when is it person vs nature alone? i think that's what you're asking, great q. is that 127 hours?

That's what I'm looking for, man vs. nature. it is 127 hours, but I've seen that and he's stuck in one place the whole time so it's boring.

[polkablues]

Into the Wild - Obvious choice.
Long Weekend (the original from the '70s) - Not exactly what you're describing, but one of the best man vs. nature movies I've seen. Man pisses off nature and nature gets revenge.
The Grey - Gets a lot of shit, but I flat-out love that movie. The only film on Carnahan's resume that comes close to Narc.
The Way Back - Escaped POWs cross a desert toward freedom. Great sense of desperation and hopelessness.
The Canyon - Decent indie flick with Yvonne Strahovski and Eion Bailey about a couple who get stranded in the Grand Canyon.
Frozen - Kind of. Good movie either way.

[BB]

I've been on a man vs. nature kick recently, after seeing All is Lost. Along with those already listed, I'd suggest:

Letter Never Sent  (can't recommend it enough; one of my all-time favourites)
Walkabout
Man in the Wilderness
The Ascent
Rabbit-Proof Fence (kinda)
Gerry (kinda)
Jeremiah Johnson (kinda)
Deliverance (kinda)

And a couple of docs:

Stranded: I've Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains
Touching the Void

You might also dig the Coen Brothers screenplay for "To The White Sea" which is really one of the best ever.

[Pubrick]

gravity.

[MacGuffin]

Touching The Void
The Perfect Storm
Alive

[Just Withnail]

Homeward Bound of course

[BB]

Homeward Bound

The very rare nature vs. nature film.

[Mel]

You mentioned "The Edge" - here is list of films not strictly from category man vs. nature, but more of unlikely pair cooperates in order to survive kind. Some better, some worse:

Wages of Fear (1953)

Sorcerer (1977)

Hell in the Pacific (1968)

Enemy Mine (1985)

Father Goose (1964)

As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me (2001) - here survivor is alone

[Reel]

Whoa! Thanks, guys. I'd never heard of Long Weekend, The Canyon, Letter Never Sent, and The Ascent. I had no intention of watching The Grey until I knew it was this kind of story, I just thought it was about wolves. I really do like Carnahan's Narc, but nothing else he's done. Enemy Mine looks cool! I'm gonna see that ASAP. I watched Gerry recently, probably the most frustrating portrayal of being lost for how it happens so carelessly and they completely fail to find themselves any sustenance. The only sign of them adapting to nature is Matt Damon wrapping a turban around his head. The dirt mattress is the one creative solution they come up with, other than that they just survive. I really found that movie more funny this time around, but grueling as all hell. Definitely puts you in those people's shoes for the time being, not a place that I want to be...

I'm sure that 'Stranded' doc will end up being the best thing I'll ever see on the subject. Just reading the synopsis, it's such an incredible story. Can't believe I hadn't heard of it before. Then 'Alive' is the narrative version of that tale. Really looking forward to those two.

A little piece of Reelist history, here's the first movie I saw with this type of plot. It was in theaters, I must've been about 7. This is the one that got me hooked. I suffered with these two the whole way.




SPOILER Even back then, I hated when they got rescued. It always seems to happen at the most convenient time, I wish they would just stay out there forever.. ( look at the one comment under the trailer )


This one I've wanted to see ever since I stared at it's cover day after day in class when we were reading it in 6th grade. Just thinking, "WTF is going down on this island??"

[03]

nice thread.

The Hunter. very very excellent stuff.

also, Jeremiah Johnson

and two kind of group ones, if that counts:
The Donner Party. excellent performances all around but especially crispin glover.

Seven Alone. couldnt find a trailer but this scene is before shit gets real.

[pete]

The King is Alive - a dogme 95 film shot on video about a group of tourists trapped in a dessert town in the middle of absolute nowhere, trying to survive and going crazy, so one of the tourists, a Shakespearian manager, decides to boost everyone's morale by having everyone put on a play, and that play being King Lear. As their desperation grows and hope wanes, the play comes more alive.

[03]

cant believe i forgot that one. freaking awesome stuff

[pete]

Little Dieter Needs to Fly
Grave of the Fireflies

and this is a reverse of the wilderness movie, but the pretentious in me has to say it - Nobody Knows by Kore-Eda. It's a very slow-moving, uneasy film about four kids with a mentally unstable mother, who would leave them for weeks at a time. Then one day she never came back, and the four kids have to survive in Tokyo while pretending they're cared for so the child services wouldn't separate them. Pretty heartbreaking stuff.