I had the opportunity recently to watch a new DVD version
of the classic silent film, Nanook of the North. Many of
you may not be familiar with the movie, but you may have
heard of the title. I recall its' use in the 50s when
someone was trying to show their lack of knowledge about
things 'up north.' "Who do you think I am, Nanook of the
North?"
Nanook of the North was made in 1920 (yes, it is over 80
years old) by Robert Flaherty. Flaherty is often called
the father of documentary film-making due to the success
of this movie. Flaherty participated in expeditions of
northern Canada for Sir William Mackenzie between 1910
and 1916. He took some silent films (there were no
'talkies' then) of the people he lived with for six
years, as he called them, Eskimos. While he made a compiled
his films of his adventures with this group, it was not
a very good film. In fact, it was accidently burned,
and Flaherty was only upset about it as the lost of
some images. Flaherty returned to the eastern shores
of Hudson Bay in 1920. By this time he was more familiar
with the operations of cameras, and film-making. Nanook
of the North is the reult of this effort.
The film features the day-to-day activities (to use the
words of the film) of the family of "Nanook of the North
- a story of life and love in the actual Arctic. The film
says that Nanook is the chief of the Itivimuits band of
Eskimo of Hopewell Sound, North Ungava. His wife, children,
and other members of his band hunt, fish, live and love
in the cold region.
Much of the film covers their ongoing struggle to find
and cloth themselves. The film covers a trip south to
the white traders' outpost for suppiles. Nanook traded
seven polar bear skins (killed by hand with a harpoon),
and other pelts. Nanook and his family fish on the ice
floes, hunt for walrus and seals. The film also shows
how Nanook creates an igloo in under an hour. An interesting
feature of the igloo is the clear ice skylight.
The film shows things as they happened. To quote Flaherty,
these are ordinary people, doing ordinary things, just
being themselves. What is unique about the film is the
subject. The film was shown all over the world. When Nanook
died two years later, his passing was noted in newspapers
throughout the world. In fact, Flaherty's wife said the
Malay (southeast Asia) created a new word meaning strong
man: 'Nanook." Nanook went inland to look for deer, and
he starved when he could not find any.
The quality of the picture in the Criterion edition of the
DVD I saw was very good, especially considering the age of
the material. I features a string-instrument score that
matches the action, but could get a bit redundant over the
course of the entire film.
Here is a link, if you would like to order a copy of the DVD:
Click Here