Flaherty filmed his documentary during the years 19201921 on the eastern shore of hudson bays ungava peninsula. Traversing treacherous ice fields nanook catches salmon to feed his family. Set in colonial africa, the film stars wilde as a hunting guide known only as the man, who is kidnapped along with his great white hunter clients and token black fellow guide by a local african tribe. We have to remember that flaherty made nanook of the north at a time.
It paints the picture of a harsh landscape, located along the canadian hudson region, that is populated by warm and friendly eskimos. Robert flaherty nanook of the north is the early, silent predecessor to the documentary film genre. He began shooting film of the inuit in northern canada in 1914, but his famous first movie, nanook of the north, did not come out until 1922. Nanook of the north was the first such film of its size and scope. Flaherty, how i filmed nanook of the north, worlds work, october 1922, pages. Nanook of the north 1922 nanook of the north 1922 nanook of the north 1922 the image could not be loaded. Nanook of the north is a 1922 american silent documentary film by robert j. Flaherty seized upon the idea of structuring his movie around characters who reenacted. Nanook of the north when robert flaherty trudged up to the subarctic eastern shore of canadas hudson bay to film his landmark nanook of the north 1922, he not only put documentary films on the map, but launched the stillunresolved debate over what a documentary is, and should be. Nanook of the north is an enduring picture, filled with warmth and humanity and presenting an unfliching portrait of thhe rigors endured by nanook and his family in one of the most inhospitable physical settings imaginable. Flaherty 1922 a rudimentary difference between fiction narratives and documentary film is supposed to be that one is created out of the imagination, and the other is a recorded document of real events. Flaherty s nanook of the north that represents all of its authenticity and controversy at the same time. From the beginning of nanook of the north, one feels the bitter pain of knowing nanooks fate, even as he and his family struggle, with courage and humor, against the harsh arctic elements. Nanook was not, in fact, nanook his real name was alakariallak.
Explore the intersection of humans, nature and technology in the interactive documentary bear questioning how we see the world through the lens of techno. Film year book 19221923 named nanook of the north one of the ten best pictures of 1922. Nanook, the indigenous inuit culture became a product, and books. This perception is underscored in the way we watch nanook construct his. By virtue of its timeless setting and straightforward approach to its. Its a documentary written, directed, and narrated by cousins, adapted from his 2004 book the story of film thats currently being presented on turner classic movies over 15 weeks. Nanook, an eskimo what is now known as an inuit, his family, and his followers of itivimuits are among the approximately three hundred nomadic people who live in an area roughly the size of england on the eastern shores of hudsons bay in a region called ungava of canadas north. Nanook of the north is regarded as the first significant nonfiction feature, made in the days before the term documentary had even been coined. Were likely going to be arguing about birth of a nation for quite some time, for instance, and heres another one that ive been curious about for some time nanook of the north, the first docudrama.
Robert flaherty, american explorer and filmmaker, called the father of the documentary film. Back in the north, nanook fishes through a hole in the ice and a walrus is harpooned, landed and devoured raw. A 1966 adventure thriller directed by and starring cornel wilde. Watch nanook of the north 1922 movie on dailymotion. Zimmermann and sean zimmermann auyash robert flahertys nanook of the north 1922 represents one of the most significant ameri can documentaries. Nanook of the north also known as nanook of the north. A story of life and love in the actual arctic is a 1922 american silent documentary film by robert j.
Through the everyday life of one family, nanook of the north typifies eskimo life in the arctic. This study takes as its point of departure the changes nanook underwent from its premiere at the new york capitol on june 11, 1922, to the sound version of 1947, the films restoration in the 1970s, and later editions on different platforms. The film depicts nanook visiting a trading post, building an igloo, snagging fish through holes in the ice, and hunting for walrus and seal. Parents need to know that nanook of the north is a 1922 documentary considered by many to be the first and is a chronicle of an inuit familys struggles to survive in harsh arctic conditions. Flahertys nanook of the north, we see that the line between fact and fiction was just as wobbly then as now. Nanook of the north nanook of the north summary essay. Nanook of the north is a 1922 documentary film directed and shot by robert flaherty flahertys film is the portrait of the life of nanook, an inuk living on the northeast shore of hudson bay.
Nanook of the north 1922 sometimes you just have to pay homage to the classics, even if they may not deserve it. Film year book 1922 1923 named nanook of the north one of the ten best pictures of 1922. After everyone else is killed in horrific ways, the man is set loose from the village to be hunted and killed for the tribes. Nanook is an interesting film in that it is considered a documentary now sometimes called salvage ethnography where a culture is showcased on film. Even though nanook s reputation as an artistic masterpiece are secure, its reputation as a piece of ethnography.
Each man quickly followed the release of the films with an illustrated book of. Juxtaposes their struggle for survival against the elements with the warmth of the little family as they go about their daily affairs. Flaherty, with elements of docudrama, at a time when the concept of separating. The story of film, mark cousins, pavillion books, published september 2006. Zimmermann and sean zimmermann auyash robert flahertys nanook of the north 1922 represents one of the most significant american documentaries. His first film, nanook of the north 1922, a dramatic. As such, there are many scenes where nanook and other hunters are shown killing animals like seals, foxes, walruses, and fish. It was hoped to secure films of the north and eskimo life, which might prove to be of enough. Nanook knows that seals must breathe every 20 minutes, and keep an air hole open for themselves in the ice of the arctic winter. Nanook of the north free the first feature length documentary. This film was reissued in 1948 with a newly written narration by ralph schoolman, spoken by berry kroger, and with an original score by famed conductor rudolf r.
Yet if we go right back to the very first feature length documentary, robert j. He was coming into their culture, their world, and treating them like they were less than him because they had a more primitive lifestyle. The books on him admit that for the shots of the interior of the igloo he had nanook build an especially capacious. A popular success when it was released in 1922, nanook brought its heroic title character to an audience who knew nothing about the native tribes of the. Directed by robert flaherty, nanook of the north 1922 is one of the most famous travel films, or scenics, of all time. Nanook, the great inuit hunter of northern canada, has just caught a seal under the thick ice. Film analysis of nanook of the north 1782 words bartleby. Composition and historical value being one of the first feature length documentaries, it is obvious that robert flahertys nanook of the norths 1922 emergence served as a great model for all documentaries to come. Nanook of the north was the first featurelength documentary to achieve international popular success and critical acclaim.
Robert flahertys nanook of the north is one of the bestknown documentaries of the silent era and has remained wellknown throughout the world ever since its release in 1922. To purchase a clean dvd of this film for personal home use or. Nanook of the north 1922 10 april, 2014 there is a scene in robert j. Flaherty, with elements of docudrama, at a time when the concept of separating films into. Flaherty, the film, focusing on an inuit family living in the arctic circle, was one of the first films to be selected for historical preservation by the library of congress. Flaherty shows the most exciting passage in one unbroken shot. The way it was structured from beginning to end was all part. But if you look at nanook of the north you can see where so much else has come from. Robert flaherty made this wonderful film of eskimo inuit life following six years as an artic explorer for the canadian northern railway. He follows the adventures of the eskimo nanook, and we get to see what life was like for the eskimo in the early 20th century as we watch nanook with his family.
Orlando crazy things i choose to purchase game night nation halloween hang podcast lets stand group. The cinematography of this controversial early docudrama took topographic point from august 1920 until august 1921. Nanook and his family kayak down the river to the trade post of the white man where he barters fox and bear pelts for knives, beads and candy. Nanook of the north 1922 when robert flaherty trudged up to the subarctic eastern shore of canadas hudson bay to film his landmark nanook of the north 1922, he not only put documentary films on the map, but launched the stillunresolved debate over what a documentary is, and should be.
Robert flaherty made this wonderful film of eskimo inuit life and the harsh living environments and survival. His response to the disaster was a determination to return to the far north and make a film of eskimo life that people will never forget. Flahertys nanook of the north 1922 in which his hero, the inuit hunter nanook, hunts a seal. Considering those rigors, i was impressed by the fact that nanook and his clan seem to be among the happiest people on earth. Presents a documentary, based on the book entitled my eskimo friends, nanook of the north, by robert flaherty, on the saga of an eskimo family pitting their strength against a vast and inhospitable arctic.
Robert flaherty american explorer and filmmaker britannica. How i filmed nanook of the north international documentary. This study takes as its point of departure the changes nanook underwent from its premiere at the new york capitol on june 11, 1922, to the sound version of 1947, the films restoration in the 1970s, and. Robert flahertys famous documentary on the inuit from the early 1920s. The first and most renowned of these, nanook of the north 1922, was filmed in an. The difference with modern documentaries and nanook of the north is that documentaries werent really a thing at the time of nanook, and flaherty was doing something new. The filming of an eskimo community took place over almost two years on the eastern shore of hudson bay, and. The movie nanook of the north is described as one of the first of all time docudramas of all time made. What makes this story so captivating is that it is presented as more of a drama than a documentary.
35 26 935 718 1044 553 187 817 1287 869 450 270 1010 251 1138 93 1083 499 239 1553 971 1649 792 1448 766 580 1352 393 787 1414 163 276