Il richiamo della foresta

There have been at least three film versions of the classic Jack London story, "The Call of the Wild". The 1972 version isn't particularly famous and much of it could be because the leading man himself, Charlton Heston, though it was an incredibly disorganized production and he actually encouraged folks NOT to see it! But is it really that bad?

Buck is a German Shepherd in this film, though in the story he was half Shepherd and half St. Bernard...making him a much more massive dog than the one shown in the movie.

The story begins with Buck being stolen and abused horribly by a jerk wanting to make him a sled dog to be used in the Yukon gold rush at the end of the 19th century. Thornton (Charlton Heston) buys the dog and uses him on his sled team and soon Buck proves his worth and Buck becomes devoted to him because he's one of the few who treated the dog well. What sort of adventures occur from then until the end of the story...you'll have to see for yourself.

As I watched the film, I was a big concerned as several times it appeared that the filmmakers MIGHT have abused animals to make the film. While the scenes where Buck is being abused clearly aren't abusive, they look real enough. But the dead, frozen horses and the scene where the sled dogs try to tear an Arctic fox to pieces are more worrisome and hard to see. I am sure this would turn off some viewers.

So in spite of this, is the film any good? And, was Heston perhaps too harsh about this movie? Overall I'd say the film is okay...not as bad as Heston said but also not as good as it should have been.

***SPOILERS*** At the beginning of the movie we see this handsome and powerful German Shepherd leading a wolf pack as they run down and kill a caribou for their supper. Later looking under the icy river the dog sees his master frozen to death beneath it; The dog's name is Buck the master is John Thornton, Charlton Heston.

The story of Buck and how he became the leader of a wolf pack in the Yukon territory starts some time back in the sunny climate of Santa Clara Calif. It's 1897 and gold was discovered around the Klondike River in the Yukon and Alaskan territory's up north and dogs like Buck were worth their weight in gold as sled dogs in that country's deep snows and freezing weather. Dognaped by Judge Miller's, Alfredo Mayo, gardener Manuel for a price of $75.00 Buck was well on his way from being a sweet and loving pet to becoming a strong and ferocious wild animal.

Beaten and broken for weeks by a number of different owners of sled-dog teams Buck was almost dead when he was bought and put into the service of John Thorrnton and his partner Pete's, Ralmund Harmstorf, dog team. With John & Pete's kind and tender handling of him Buck became the lead sled dog and the most powerful and at the same time feared dog in the Yukon territory. Buck led the dog team in covering the treacherous 600 mile journey from Skaguay to Dawson as the lead sled-dog for John & Pete in record time when no other dog team and it's owners would dare to try it.

In the movie Buck is stolen a number of times from John, and was once almost shot and killed by the local bootlegger, but Buck always managed to escape and return home to John & Pete. It's later that the dog begins to yarn for his home in the wild. The reason Buck didn't go back to the woods, where he developed a strong friendship with the local Timber Wolves in the area, was his love for and loyalty to the persons who saved his life John & Pete.

Torn between his two kind and caring human masters and his wolf family Buck can't quite bring himself to break away from civilization to live in the wild. Later one night a band of local Indians attack the cabin where both John & Pete were staying in and ended up killing both of them. Buck and his wolf pack tried to come to their rescue but were too late to save them as we saw in the beginning of the movie.

With the two persons who Buck had a mutual bond with now gone Buck can now return to his distant descendants, the wild wolves, in the dark and cold woods of the Klondike. Buck, in th end, ended up answering to something that he understood and that was ingrained in his consciousness from the thousands of generations of canines over millions of years that he eventually evolved from: The Call of the Wild.

Well, this is a typical 1970's-era film, with lots of suspicious animal action which makes you feel glad that films today are shot under the auspices of the ASPCA and the Humane Society. Shot under horrifyingly rough conditions, with Norway standing in for the Yukon, the film takes few liberties with Jack London's classic novel, but the bizarre casting of Charlton Heston as John Thornton makes the viewer want to scratch their head. Jaggedly edited and with a greater budget for snow than special effects, the viewer is implored to suspend belief as animal after animal is torn apart and shown drenched with fake blood, looking bewildered. Obviously, as befitting a movie of this era, the hordes of unwashed gold prospectors are as grungy a bunch as ever filmed, but the few women who surface are as impeccably dressed and made up as any model in a Vanity Fair shoot. Lots of bad sound and snow on the lens, but a nice job at portraying one man and one dog who love one another fiercely. Peculiar film, lots of cute dogs, lots of atrocious acting, and lots and lots and lots of snow.

I don't know about other people, although looking at the score this website has given this film I can only ponder, but when it comes to international team work in making a film, I often love the results. In fact, I loved this movie and thought it was extraordinary. Oh and the emotion, it blew me away. 'Call Of The Wild' is a very emotional story of a German Sheppard's forced journey from 19th Century California to the Goldrush of the Alaskan wilderness and the meeting with its new owner with which it becomes closer to than with anyone or anything else. A very simple story indeed, but the legendary Jack London knew how to tell a great high adventure tale on an epic scale and he obviously fancied dogs very much as is shown with his minute details about his subjects. I believe that Ken Annakin (the director of this film) realized London's vision to perfection and translated it brilliantly to the screen.

The sheer realism that Jack London told his stories with takes you to another world and it takes your breath away with their uplifting finales. Ken Annakin had done a wonderful job with directing "Call Of The Wild". The dog in the film is an actor itself as it plays such an integral part of the film. Not even half way into it, it is almost certain that you will fall in love with the dog. Its emotions and gestures are all natural, and it's easy to relate to the dog's journey. Five minutes into the film, I was hooked. The dog had such a commanding presence that not even Charlton Heston could get in its way. And then there is Charlton Heston, a man of such phenomenal, legendary influence on film history. Yet even with his power, fame and success he is one of the few actors in the world who's fame doesn't distract from the film. It's his strong presence and every-man, human and subtle performances that set him apart from many actors on the same level of fame. He is always the same 'Chuck', but he is more like we are and that's why we loved his films so much. So, when you see him inevitably getting closer and attached to the dog, it feels so convincing and real, it drains you of all emotions.

Call me crazy, but when the credits at the end were rolling I felt like crying. Here you are, in the middle of god's nowhere in the heart of the Alaskan wilderness; two mammals - a dog and a man - who have no families and nothing to come home to find one another and become the closest, most reliant friends as it is a key player in their survival of the unforgiving hardships of the Goldrush and the wilderness in between them and the Gold. The scenes where 'Chuck' finds the dog after not seeing him for a long time are so uplifting and you can see the happiness and joy in Heston's eyes. However, nothing beats the finale when the dog and the man are departed for the last time in tragedy. It's so sad and it makes you think about how big their journey together was and how close they were to one another. Yet, the film still finishes on a positive note with the dog and his offspring symbolizing "life goes on".

What really set the mood for the film more than the harsh wilderness and the hardships that the two faced throughout, was the unusual, alienating music written and composed by Carlo Rustichelli, which at first seems out of place and very weird, but soon becomes the film's underlying haunting atmosphere and power. In a way, the music paints a picture of struggle and isolation better than anything I've ever heard in my life. By the end of the film, I didn't want anything else, it was perfect. And of course, the music wouldn't have been any good without the wonderful cinematography that gave a clear realization of how vast the landscape is.

Ken Annakin's "Call Of The Wild" is easily a worthy addition to the adventure lover's film collection. You will feel like you have been on an epic journey. It captures the importance of dogs in those times - for dogs were at times worth more than Gold as they were the only things that could get you around the deep snows of Alaska. Rarely have I seen such a realistic and graphically harsh portrayal of the Goldrush years and the men with their dogs and sleds that fought, searched and died for the Gold. And in the fore-front there is a most captivating story about love and friendship between two different species.

Adventure fans, go no further than this great escapist master work. Yes, there is wooden acting in some parts, but the core of the film doesn't fail one bit. The film is a definite product of the 70s and adds a lot of nostalgia, only adding to the atmosphere. I absolutely surrendered to the film's beauty and power and I can confidently call it a classic. They don't make em' like this anymore!

This is definitely a European-style film from the period, the 70s. Everything about it speaks loudly with the European influence, the music, the cinematography, the editing. It's much like what you'd see in countless Euro horror films from the time, but this time it's a dramatic and rather realistic take on the old American classic. When seen, it doesn't take much to imagine the shooting conditions, and how did they all, cast and crew, put up with the misery of the terrible cold and snow? Heston isn't miscast here like some say, he's just very much different from what might be expected, but he does an admirable job. Some of his best film work was during this time, not the studio blockbusters he was known for prior to this. It is good that the story doesn't opt for the Hollywood "happy ending" but, without spoiling it for those who haven't seen this, it is a much more realistic ending.