Never Cry Wolf (1983)

Director:

Carroll Ballard

Writers:

Farley Mowat (book)
Curtis Hanson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 October 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

A True Story.

Plot:

A government researcher, sent to research the "menace" of wolves in the north, learns about the true beneficial and positive nature of the species.

Plot Keywords:

Wolf | Nature | Wilderness | Narration | Biologist

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins

Cast

Charles Martin Smith	...	Farley Mowat / Tyler
Brian Dennehy	...	Rosie
Zachary Ittimangnaq	...	Ootek
Samson Jorah	...	Mike
Hugh Webster	...	Drunk
Martha Ittimangnaq	...	Woman
Tom Dahlgren	...	Hunter #1
Walker Stuart	...	Hunter #2

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Inuktitut

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:12 | Australia:G | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Nearly a third of the movie's budget went into filming the scene of Farley running with the caribou. Several helicopters flew overhead, herding the caribou, before the wolves were released. The filming took twenty hours a day for a month.

Goofs:

Factual errors: According to Tyler's background narrations, it is early April when the snow melts and the lake is completely unfrozen by early May. In reality, snow in the Arctic doesn't melt until June.

Quotes:

[final line]
Tyler: [narrating] I believe the wolves went off to a wild and distant place somewhere, although I don't really know... because I turned away, and didn't watch them go.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Sopranos: Unidentified Black Males (#5.9)" (2004)

A Cure for Rabid Delusions

Dogs are man's best friend for a reason. Socially, they are not much different from us, and both species know it. It's the subject of some scientific conjecture whether man would have survived his early predators had it not been for dogs, who warned of danger and probably even helped to defend us. Early dogs would have been much closer in temperament to wolves -- hardly pets. Only god knows to what degree we have influenced each other's evolution over the ages.

This film figures our relationship to the canine family must be pretty intimate, saying, in essence, that if you can't see yourself in a wolf, you probably can't see yourself at all. Wolves have families, challenge each other for social dominance, and goof around a lot. (I would have preferred that the photography and juxtaposition speak for themselves, but it's a quibbling point.) This is where a mere nature documentary would wrap.

This film is the work of an artist. (Well, two, actually: Farley Mowat and Carroll Ballard.) The lone wolf, the observer, is the analogue for the scientist/artist who is telling us this story. The government wants him to conform to (and thereby justify) its lies, but fortunately the carbon forms are blown away by the wind early. He's going to have to see with his own eyes now, and like all the best films, the message is the same: you are what you see. Of particular interest in this film is the dialectic between society and individuality, which has never been so visually compelling.

The complexity of the characters and the situation causes some people to commend the film for being what it is. That's just patting it on the head. Never Cry Wolf is the best antidote I know of for all the rabid delusions of religion, myth, and science that infect our pack. Put it at the top of your list.