Never Cry Wolf (1983)

Wow. What a great movie. A deep satisfying feeling of mother-nature overwhelms me when watching this epic story.Nature is the movie. We're A part of it, not apart from it. Wolves are truly beautiful animals. They alone lifts this movie to the stars.The main characters does a wonderful job, delivering great and moving performances.The monologue, which is presented trough the main characters diary(and his voice), is deep and satisfying. And the dialog with the Inuits is also great.10/10

This movie starts a bit slow and goofy. We follow a man named Tyler (Charles Martin Smith) as he prepares for his mission to study the wolves of Northern American wilderness and at first the movie doesn't quite get the mood correctly. At times the awkwardness comes off very well and we're genuinely sorry for this poor man, who clearly has no idea what he's about to delve into. But then there are certain scenes where the illusion kind of breaks, like the scene where he starts to write his first report, in the middle of a frozen lake, during a howling windstorm. Captivating scene in its own way, but it still felt like the writer had momentarily dropped the ball, so to speak.Nevertheless, the movie quickly improves as Tyler proves to be made of tougher stuff than we initially assumed. And from thereon this is an amazing film. Hauntingly beautiful, insightful, profound, philosophical, at times educational, well-written and, above all else, soothingly hypnotic. The plot is in no hurry. The movie follows Tyler around and just sits right next to him as he studies the wolves, observing both him and the wildlife.Granted, if that was the whole movie, it would probably be a bit on the boring side, but there's a side plot about two Inuits, who Tyler befriends and from whom he learns more about the wilderness and the wolves.Still, the greatest aspect of this movie, the one that truly works, is the technical side of things, especially the mood that is created through cinematography, music and careful narration by Smith. There's dialogue between Tyler and the Inuits, but by far the greatest scenes in this movie are the silent ones, where the visuals and the music are allowed to fill your consciousness and transport you to an older era, where the laws of men have never existed. I swear that if nature ever had a soundtrack, it would prominently feature the score of this film.And that's my two cents. I highly recommend seeing this film, to everyone. It's one part nature documentary, one part adventure film and one part spiritual quest. At first it's very unassuming, but it has hidden power on its side and it needs to be experienced for one to understand its worth.

For my money Carroll Ballard is one of the all time great directors, and his effort in "Never Cry Wolf" only reinforces my conviction. Magnificent outdoor cinematography of breathtaking locations and wildlife action, captivate the viewer in this highly narrative tale about a man on an assignment to discover what's happening to the local fauna.I've never read the book. I'll admit to that right now. But, from what I understand, the book is driven more by plot than by the main characters self exploration, which is what drives the filmic version of the story. This is where fans of the book will diverge from the cinematic portrayal Tyler, a government naturalist. In both story versions he's assigned to discover what's happening with the caribou population, and specifically how the wolves in this predator-prey relationship, are effecting the balance.The film shows some of the short sighted and over thought preparation for Tyler's mission, and shows us his isolation and how he copes with combating loneliness and the nature's environment. We see his struggle (more often humorous than not) as he comes to terms with creating his own predator-prey relationship, and further comes to an understanding with the "locals" to balance himself with their existence. In this way it's a conservationist message, though not one driven by some political agenda. It's a story about man fitting in with the rest of creation, and how he can learn to live and adapt in the natural environment without disrupting the existence of others.The film veers a little to Robinson Crusoe kind of theme, and shows us imbalance after balance, and the transformation of Tyler's character. It's somewhat forced near the end, but Tyler and story both pull through, though not without some profound consequences and outcomes.Definitely one to rent and watch. If your family has taboos against nudity, there are some ever so brief scenes of Tyler (played by Charles Martin Smith) in the "altogether". They're meant to capture the spirit of man in the element from which he came, and imbue us with a sense of what we were so many eons ago.Enjoy :-)

The puppies were cute, but this film retained none of the magic present in the book. This movie took forever to get going, and then it never climaxed. It seemed that some of the events and names were frivolously altered. If you see this movie before reading the book, don't let it deter you from getting into the novel. I was bored the entire time. If you see this movie, make sure you have something else to do while it's playing. If and when you feel like shooting yourself in the face while suffering through this film, just remind yourself that it will be over eventually. Maybe it was just not my cup of tea, but I wouldn't wish this movie on my worst enemy.