Went to the Varsity Theatre in campustown Fri. nite (my first trip back since I saw Jeremiah Johnson there during my college days in the early 70's). Fascinating kid, great book and great movie, but there were only about 10 other people there. Hasn't anybody else read the book or seen the movie?
Into The Wild
- Thread starter CYKOFAN
- Start date
Alaskaguy-How did you like the book and did you see the movie? I thought I read where a lot of people in Alaska thought he was a kook and could have expected to die out in the Alaska wilderness. I'll admit he sounded a little out there, but from the book he seemed like a pretty sharp but mixed up kid with the guts to do something some of us only dreamed about doing before getting into the rat race. He seemed to make a strong and good impression on many of the people he met along the way.
I read the book and what was intriguing was the dichotomy between him being an adventurer with wanderlust and being naive and kind of oblivious to what it would take to live in the wilderness of Alaska.
Great book, and I have heard good things about the movie...I plan to rent it when it comes out.
Unsolicited book recommendation: If you like polar expedition tales (similar to Into the Wild in its bleakness and adventuring spirit) read Mawson's Will.
This is different than that hilarious movie about the hippie who went out to hang with grizzly bears until they ate him, isn't it?
I'll look up that book. You may want to read "Into Thin Air" if you haven't already. It's also by John Krakaeur (same author as Into The Wild) and it's the true story of a Mount Everest expedition in the early-mid 90's when about 8-9 people died on the mountain during a storm. Krakaeur was on the expedition writing for Outdoor Magazine and it's every bit as good as Into The Wild imo. There was an IMAX film that told a lot of the story as they were filming one day behind the Krakaeur expedition and helped save some lives.
Jumbopackage-I think you're talking about Grizzly Man. I'll agree that kid was half nuts, but if you saw the movie I think you'll admit he had a pair. I liked Into The Wild a lot more as it was more of a movie and less documentary, and grizzly man seemed like more of a documentary. There are some similiarities in that both of these guys seemed to be trying to work some things out in their lives and in their heads. I think Grizzly Man expected to die someday, but the sad thing about the kid in The Wild is when he got things figured out and was ready to come home, some bad luck did him in. I really grew to like the character (as most people did that knew him), and the ending made it a haunting book and movie.
We only have one theater and "Into the Wild" has yet to make it here. Some movies never make it.
The majority opinion is that the guy was nuts. Most people probably hold that opinion because it is a major expense for many communities for their search and rescue missions to go and find these types of guys. Most of the search and rescue missions are for people went on journeys but were poorly prepared. For example its an annual event, that our local dentist gets lost every winter and half the town goes out searching for him.
The majority opinion is that the guy was nuts. Most people probably hold that opinion because it is a major expense for many communities for their search and rescue missions to go and find these types of guys. Most of the search and rescue missions are for people went on journeys but were poorly prepared. For example its an annual event, that our local dentist gets lost every winter and half the town goes out searching for him.
Last edited:
There's a big difference between having a pair, and being crazy. Crazy people don't understand what they are doing is crazy. People with a pair know what they are doing is crazy, and do it anyway.
When the dude in Grizzly Man pushed it far enough to finally get eaten I think he had gone completely crazy, and it wasn't a long trip. The Werner Herzog narration is also quite awesome. If you like Grizzly Man, check out "Little Dieter Needs to Fly". It's a documentary about the guy that "Rescue Dawn" is based on. It was worth the rental.
Jumbopackage- I agree the kid was crazy in a lot of people's opinion, but just "out there" to others. The guy did live with the bears during the summer for something like 10 years and would give presentations at schools back in the states during the winter. He had made a livelihood out of living with grizzly bears and had to know quite a bit about what he was doing. He's certainly not the only guy to befriend grizzly bears, though most of the others have raised them since they were cubs. The kid sure marched to a different drummer, but based on the movie I wouldn't put him in the "truly nuts" category. He knew what he was doing, including the risk, and it was something I doubt many of us would have the balls to do.
Haven't really heard too much about Into the Wild yet, but if you want to see a really great movie, go check out No Country For Old Men. Holy crap that was a great movie. Just when you think you've seen every weapon possible on the silver screen the bad guy in this movie breaks out a shotgun with a silencer fixed to it. It's also #15 on imdb.com's top 250 of all time (and it's the registered user's votes, not just the critics, that determine this ranking).
I was interested in how Sean Penn would portray the kid? Some see the kid as a hero because he was anti-society...which I could partially understand. I think Sean Penn portrayed him in the film in this light. A sad character but represented good in the film. The book is certainly more objective.
Overall, judging by the book and the film, I do feel sympathy for the kid because he struggled to be happy and suffered from an unhappy childhood. That said, he was more than arrogant or maybe naive to think he could wander into the Alaskan wilderness and survive!
I guess I "enjoyed" the film...but it is depressing! I liked "The Assassination of Jesse James" much more!
Alaskaguy- I hope the movie makes it up there, I think you'll really like it. I agree imo he was somewhat nuts to go into the wilderness to try to survive on his own, though I'm sure he thought he could hike out when he wanted to. I think people that want to climb mountains like Everest and McKinley are nuts too, the risks are so great, but some people seem driven to prove something to themselves. It also seemed like some bad luck that there are two types of potato roots that look almost identical, but one can kill you so I think he also had some bad luck with the high river and bad roots. But at his age me and some of my friends had the same urge before we wanted to start into the 9-5 race. After graduation 2 guys from our frat went to the Ketchican area and basically lived in the woods for a couple of years, though I think they were close enough to Ketchican to get supplies. One came back and the other one stayed up there. How far up are you? We're planning on an Alaska trip next August and are there any "must sees" you can suggest besides Denali, Skagway, etc. We're thinking about seeing the Copper River area and wondered if that was a must see area.
