A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Inuk is a lonely Inuit hunter making ends meet in the barren, unforgiving wastes of the arctic regions by hunting seals and bears. So begins the glacial odyssey of one man against two worlds, his own and that of white man. In many ways a "northern", the frostbitten equivalent of the western (a genre director Nicholas Ray was familiar with), THE SAVAGE INNOCENTS shares many of the same themes and ideas with that most quintessentially American of genres - survival in a savage landscape, the frontier of civilization, the cultural clash between different civilizations. Yet no sight of spurs, stetson hats or six-shooters to be found in the movie. What other proof do we need that such ideas are universal? Filmed in the arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, and presenting us with a faithful and loving documentation of Inuit traditions and life, Ray on one hand captures the sheer monumental beauty of the harsh arctic wastelands with a kind of Kubrickian grandeur, while on the other reserving for his characters the utmost sympathy and affection. The stark realism of the uninviting climate contrasted with the good-natured predisposition and unpretentious simplicity of the people living in it. Realism meeting halfways with humanism in a movie that is as humorous and touching as it is cerebral, part survival grit and part mythological folklore. And then white man comes into Inuk's world. With his rifles, his loud rock'n'roll music, his missionaries preaching their god, his weird customs and laws. That doesn't mean that what precedes Inuk's encounter with the white men of a trading post and the preacher living there is an idyllic utopia - Inuk is ready to club another man to death for taking the woman he planned to make his wife. Still it would be easy to sneer sarcastically from the comfort of our modern homes at the primitive customs of Inuit. "In the age of the atom bomb", says the voice-over narrator, "these people still hunt with bow and arrow". Indeed they do; they also leave their elders alone to die in the snow when they become too old to contribute to the household anymore and they leave their firstborn babies to die unless they are male, so they can take care of them when they in turn grow old. But such is the nature of their lives and the environment they live in.Anthony Quinn's performance as Inuk is fantastic, equal measure good-natured forwardness and unreserved honesty. A man as likely to offer you his wife as he is to bash your brains in for refusing her. Peter O'Toole (two years before LAWRENCE OF ARABIA) in the role of the officer sent to arrest Inuk for the murder of the preacher doesn't match Quinn but he's a nice addition to the cast. The most dramatically poignant moments in the film come from their interactions as Inuk struggles to comprehend the crime he is accused of. "But my Fathers' laws have not been broken" he says when he is informed he broke the law and will have to be taken back for trial. "When you come to a strange land, bring your wives, not your laws" is what Inuk's wife tells the officer.A great, great movie I can't recommend enough to fans of tales of survival in stark environments, different cultures and their folklore. NANOOK OF THE NORTH and DERSU UZALA are advised to look out for it.

I saw and heard Anthony Quinn in a television interview about his autobiography which had just been published. He said that there were only three films out of the many that he had made in his life that he was truly proud of. The Savage Innocents was one of the three. (Guess what the other two were. Right! Zorba and La Strada.) This estimation puts this movie in with some very select company. And this film deserves it.It is NOT a documentary. There is a story here, an exciting story, at times edge of your seat--or maybe I should say, a number of stories, all interesting, all moving. The photography, sound, scenery, acting, all were excellent.What struck me most, out of a long list, was the way the point of view of these Inuit people was gotten across. For instance, the missionary butts his head into the igloo and says, "God be with you." Quinn looks puzzled, glances at his wife and says, "No, there's nobody here but us." When the missionary goes on preaching at them, trying to convert them to the "true" faith, Quinn whispers to his wife, "I think he needs to laugh with a woman. Make yourself beautiful." In other words, the guy needs to get laid. The Freudian insight implied by these simple remarks is staggering. And this is only a small sample.Perhaps the fate of this movie had a lot to do with the advertising. The picture at the top of this page suggests that this is a "savage" movie. It isn't. The title itself is unfortunate.Yes, when oh when will we get to see this movie again? When will the savage and not-so-innocent moguls deign to put this beautiful film onto DVD?

Once again, cruelty to animals is exploited in this film when our hero, played by Anthony Quinn, after driving his sled dogs across the cold plains, decides to cut them open, alive, to keep warm. What a horrible scene that was. The screaming of the animals as they one by one were cut open so the likes of our hero can save his own skin by sticking his hands into their warm blood. Ugh!It made me sick! I saw no entertainment in this sort of film and turned the thing off. I wish the public would stop paying admission for films like this. It only encourages other producers to follow suit. A definite downer to watch. Glad it was on television so I could change channels.

I have to say that this is one of mine and my husbands favorite movies. My husband recorded it on VHS in the early 80's and that copy is now caputz. I was able to get a copy off of ebay and then converted it over to DVD. We watch is all the time.It is a fantastic example of what we could be. The Inuit of the Alaskan Region are always pictured with huge smiles. Especially those who remain nomadic. Perhaps the joy of waking each morning is enough to make them happy.Yoko Tani and Anthony Quinn are fantastic in their portrayals. I love that this movie reminds me of the very first documentary titled Nanook of the North. I love it love it love it.