Into the wild movie

[Nomad_Of_Soul]

Have any of you read the excellent book 'into the wild' by Jon Krakauer?

If you have then you may be pleased to know that film is currently in production and should be released sometime next year, although i doubt it will be on at any of the mainstream cinemas but hopefully worth tracking down to see.
I have mixed feelings about it as i doubt the film will truely reflect the spirit and drive of chris mccandless and it may be inflicted with a dose of hollywood cheese but i do have respect for sean penn (director) as he seems to prefer to do 'indi' films where the story line is more important than mass profit. i'm also worried that it may inspire less intelligent people to follow in his footseps and make the same mistakes.
I just hope it's not another 'alive' film.

 

[Doc]

Interesting to hear this. It is an excellent book - although it reads like a long magazine article that has been padded out to book length - which is exactly what it is.

I have rather mixed feelings about Chris McCandless. He actually went and did what many of us dream of, survived for several months in Alaska with little kit, living off the land, and his death was, in some respects, unlucky. He certainly lived a very full life - albeit a short one- having had various adventures before his big trip.

He is often criticised for going 'into the wild' with inadequate equipment (no map, no axe, no centrefire rifle) and his death is often regarded as his own fault. Of course, the surest way of staying alive outdoors is to stay at home, and no-one blames mountaineers killed by avalanches. He could have reduced the risks with better planning and equipment, but it seems he chose not to. It was his life, and I guess that was up to him.

I don't approve of him shooting a moose with a .22 though.

 

[Too Much Kit To Carry]

I've just started to read this very gripping book - 72 pages in and I can't put it down.

As for the film I think I'll give it a miss.

Phil.

 

[Nomad_Of_Soul]

At last, the release date for the UK is 9th November, already one advanced screening review at IMDB, bet i have to wait a while though for the dvd as it's highly unlikely to be shown round these parts.
I can hardly contain my excitement, this film plus Halo 3, GTA 4, HalfLife 2 - the orange box all for the xbox360 and some great looking books coming all within the next 3 months, I could almost forgive God for the crap summer, I just hope he follows it up with a crap winter so i can stay in and enjoy all these heavenly consumer goods.

 

[Jodie]

This is going to be featured on tonight's Newsnight, or Newsnight Review (more likely, but
I didn't pay full attention) at 10.30pm (N) or 11.00pm (NR) on BBC2 - however I'll be watching
Blazing Saddles over on ITV4...

 

[spamel]

however I'll be watching Blazing Saddles over on ITV4...

BRRRRRAAAAAAP!

How 'bout more beans, Mr. Taggart?

I'd say you had enough!

 

[Nomad_Of_Soul]

Just finished watching it. I think most people here would feel some sort of connection to it. Its not a bushcraft or survival film it's about the spirit of life and self discovery. A lot of respect due to chris mccandless for what he did regardless of his family issues. If the film is on in your area its well worth going to see.

Some time around 18 August 1992 in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan bush close to the Denali park boundary, 24-year-old Chris McCandless wrote: 'I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye and may God bless all!' Shortly afterwards he died. Having lived from the land for 112 days, far longer than most, if not all of those who criticised him after the event, his adventure was brought to its sad and lonely end by a lack of detailed knowledge. Knowledge of a plant toxin which in his weakened state proved fatal.
Even the most experienced guides and indigenous hunters can at times struggle to find food. When this is unsuccessful, the empty stomach must be borne with a stoic fortitude and the promise of a new day and a new hunt. Details and an opportunistic outlook are everything in the bush. - Ray Mears

 

[Runs for cake]

I loved the book , read it a few years ago and am half way through reading it for the second time.

I am torn between admiring what Mcandles set out to do and feeling it a crying shame that such a passionate and intelligent bloke with so much promise wasn't able to stay here a lot longer.

Maybe if he had listened more he would still be here to enjoy the great outdoors today. I'm NOT knocking him , but if he had found someone to learn from he could have made it a long term lifestyle.

Even so, I feel its a testimony to him that he lasted as well as he did. Me and the missus are planning on watching the film at the first opportunity, I just hope its not a disappointment.

Sean

 

[Matt Weir]

Loved the film and have just ordered the book.

 

[malente]

Chris McCandless was an immature and out-of-touch dreamer.

It's still a shame and sad outcome that he died.

He was basically totally unprepared for the scale of Alaska.

 

[swagman]

Chris McCandless was an immature and out-of-touch dreamer.

It's still a shame and sad outcome that he died.

He was basically totally unprepared for the scale of Alaska.

How can he be a dreamer he whent out and had a go i think its the rest of us
that are the dreamers stuck in the rat race.

 

[malente]

How can he be a dreamer he whent out and had a go i think its the rest of us
that are the dreamers stuck in the rat race.

I know what you mean! I meant that he was a dreamer because he did not get info & equipment and spent enough time preparing & had not a realistic outlook (=dreamer).

I don't feel I'm stuck in a rat race the slightest. Life is very exiting! I'm sorry if you feel that way

Sure I dream about getting out to Alaska and such things. But I also know that if I were going tomorrow without preparation, I'd be dead in a week. He ignored that and suffered the consequences.

Mike

 

[swagman]

Malente i think if were all onist with our selves we are all stuck in the rat race or stuck with the ways of sociaty to some extent.
I bet loads of people want to do this or that but have a morgage to pay or a family to
suport.

 

[malente]

Malente i think if were all onist with our selves we are all stuck in the rat race or stuck with the ways of sociaty to some extent.

That's a perspective thing. I'm happy with the way things are for me (life is getting better and better) and don't feel stuck at at all. I'm also mostly happy with the society I live in (UK). I chose to live here, I'm originally from another country. This is one reason why I consider myself lucky, being able to choose where I want to live.

I bet loads of people want to do this or that but have a morgage to pay or a family to suport.

I agree with you, and this is where I'd draw the line between dreamers/ realists (or however you wanna call them).

Realists (the rat race ppl) :Many people have these dreams and realise them to some extend at some point (maybe years or even decades later). They know that they have other responsibilities. They also know that they need to be prepared (physically, mentally, financially, etc.) for their dream (good example:Alaska wilderness). So they take up hobbies and activities that bring them closer to this dream, even if that's just bit by bit (like a day hiking or an evening around the camp fire).

Dreamers go out and do it NOW. They ignore available knowledge/ local wisdom, preparation, equipment, and responsibility to family and society (yes laugh at me :umbrella: ) etc. and get by on ignorance, luck or ingenuity. So more often than not, they get hurt or even worse, killed in the process.

Of course I'm painting a black and white picture here and the reality is just shades of gray, and also, it's just my opinion.

:AR15firin

Peace

Mike

 

[swagman]

Malente i like the way you think.

You are very right when you say this is not a black and white discussion.
I must admit i read your post and thought about the people i know who have dreams in
there lives and have to many ties or even a fear of following them.
I guess i am verry fortunate to have achieved alot of my dreams or goals if you like.

I wonder what we would all be saying if Chris had maid it and written a book himself.

I have the dvd and i liked his personality i think he touched alot of people.

Rob.

 

[hammock monkey]

Interesting film. Sean Penn is one of the best directors around in my book, but I can't say I enjoyed this as much as I was hoping i would. Its growing on me though.

I'm not sure of Chris McCandless's motivation for going, but i feel it was very likely key to his lack of preparation.

Essentially, he followed his heart, had a (mostly) great adventure and avoided becoming a lawyer....more power to his memory.


I heard an interview with Hirsch on r4 that he was scared witless of the white water he negotiated in a kayak (although apparently Chris McC used a canoe and gave the last rapids a miss) so Sean Penn shot through them himself first. Neither had any experience in a kayak.

 

[philaw]

Chris McCandless was an immature and out-of-touch dreamer.

It's still a shame and sad outcome that he died.

He was basically totally unprepared for the scale of Alaska.

There's speculation somewhere in the book or movie (can't remember where) that his mentality was such that he felt that only challenges that carried the risk of failure were really worth achieving.

He knew precisely what risks he was taking, and everything that he did to make the risks greater for himself would have heightened the experience and satisfaction he enjoyed. Taking no map or compass so that you can explore a place for yourself, as though you were the first to set foot there, takes a sort of dedication and bravery that I envy. He wanted to make the most that he possibly could of his life, and he did more in his short life than the vast majority of us do in three times as long.

If he'd spent thirty years doing something he didn't want to do, and having only diluted experiences of camping with expensive equipment at weekends, THAT would have been stupid. I feel sorry for his family, but he inspired me and a lot of others.

 

[WoodWhite]

Its a shame he died yes,
God Im not sure Im ever going to enter the "rat race" to start with

 

[Gwhtbushcraft]

I saw the movie last weekend. I loved it.
George

 

[JonathanD]

I saw the movie last weekend. I loved it.
George

Read the book too, and get the soundtrack. Both bloody brilliant.