Favourite films - and why.

[gixer1]

In no particular order -

Last of the mohicans (Epic locations and story)
Man on fire (great plot and based on true event)
The great outdoors (john candy is superb)
The new Star Trek films (the casting was perfect)
The patriot (great plot)
Eastern promise (great plot)
Enemy at the gates (to pick a shooting related one!)
What dreams may come (great twist and gut wrenching plot)
Platoon (great plot)
Australia (great Story)

Best mini series - black sails or band of brothers!

Regards,
Gixer

 

[Bavarianbrit]

On a lighter note :- Dave.

 

[zambezi]

Into the Wild - based on a true story: the life and death of Christopher McCandless who rejected a typical western metro life to discover himself in the wilderness. He discovers so much more. The story resonates with me on lots of levels.

 

[Jgray]

The Searchers, John Wayne
Director John Ford. It’s a classic.

 

[bowji john]

Big Wednesday

For the innocent fun, music score and because surfing made coming to the UK from Zim just about tolerable - it was a very difficult transition for me

 

[sh1kar]

Big Wednesday

For the innocent fun, music score and because surfing made coming to the UK from Zim just about tolerable - it was a very difficult transition for me

have you seen Endless Summer?
S

 

[bowji john]

have you seen Endless Summer?
S

Yes - loved both of those films too

 

[gixer1]

Into the Wild - based on a true story: the life and death of Christopher McCandless who rejected a typical western metro life to discover himself in the wilderness. He discovers so much more. The story resonates with me on lots of levels.

Didn’t end too well for him though...

 

[gixer1]

The Searchers, John Wayne
Director John Ford. It’s a classic.

Damn! I forgot this one!

 

[8x57]

Zulu. I watched it as a kid at the drive in movies in Australia and my father convinced me that my grandfather had fought at Roukes Drift. I asked him which side did he fight on.

 

[rem284]

Elf, funny and based on a true story

 

[willie_gunn]

Into the Wild - based on a true story: the life and death of Christopher McCandless who rejected a typical western metro life to discover himself in the wilderness. He discovers so much more. The story resonates with me on lots of levels.

I originally read the book by Jon Krakauer, and thought the film was an excellent adaptation. I also bought the soundtrack by Eddie Vedder, who was previously the singer for Pearl Jam.

As with you, it is a film that touched me in various ways.

The bus Chris McCandless lived and died in was moved in June this year by Chinook to a “secure site”, as 15 hikers over the years had to be rescued trying to get to it - sadly two other hikers died.

 

[Alantoo]

I originally read the book by Jon Krakauer, and thought the film was an excellent adaptation. I also bought the soundtrack by Eddie Vedder, who was previously the singer for Pearl Jam.

As with you, it is a film that touched me in various ways.

The bus Chris McCandless lived and died in was moved in June this year by Chinook to a “secure site”, as 15 hikers over the years had to be rescued trying to get to it - sadly two other hikers died.

I always did wonder how the bus got there in the first place as the Alaska trail was so difficult/dangerous to travel.

Seems odd thing to do to remove it though...will people not just hike to the spot anyway even without the attraction of repeating the iconic photo op?

Alan

 

[willie_gunn]

The bus was originally towed there and abandoned by a road construction company, as the back axle was broken.

It became a kind of pilgrimage site for hikers, as the one of the last photos of Chris McCandless showed him sitting outside the bus. I guess they feel that removing the iconic bus will reduce the attraction of going there.

 

[zambezi]

Didn’t end too well for him though...

He died of starvation. Grim, sure. When found by hunters in 1992, his corpse weighed just 67lb. But we all get to die, right? He died pursuing his quest.

The director of that film ends with a hint that Chris faced his Maker at the end. Whether that appears in the journal Chris left, I am not sure. But it is a fitting reminder to us all whether we live humdrum lives or chase risky dreams, we still get to face our Maker.

 

[Alantoo]

The bus was originally towed there and abandoned by a road construction company, as the back axle was broken.

It became a kind of pilgrimage site for hikers, as the one of the last photos of Chris McCandless showed him sitting outside the bus. I guess they feel that removing the iconic bus will reduce the attraction of going there.

Yes but but...that was sort of my puzzlement.

If there was a road construction company there it would probably mean there was a road? If the trail was sufficiently clear for construction equipment and to tow a bus there....Why are so many hikers getting lost on that road and needing rescue? Reasonable enough to leave the bus where the axle broke...but why would the road construction company tow it there rather than just leave it in the ditch where it died?

I realise the attraction of repeating McCandless' iconic photo (it is why I mentioned it) but pilgrims are still likely to try to get to the spot with or without the one true relic surely?

Alan

 

[willie_gunn]

Yes but but...that was sort of my puzzlement.

If there was a road construction company there it would probably mean there was a road? If the trail was sufficiently clear for construction equipment and to tow a bus there....Why are so many hikers getting lost on that road and needing rescue? Reasonable enough to leave the bus where the axle broke...but why would the road construction company tow it there rather than just leave it in the ditch where it died?

I realise the attraction of repeating McCandless' iconic photo (it is why I mentioned it) but pilgrims are still likely to try to get to the spot with or without the one true relic surely?

Alan

It wasn't a permanent road, it was to get to a mine. The construction of the road was abandoned when it was partly completed in 1961, with maintenance of the road being stopped a couple of years later. It is 40km trek to get to the bus, so the road deteriorated very quickly to the point where in many places it was impassable. The axle on the bus broke when it was in situ, after it had been towed there. There were three buses used in total, but only this one was abandoned.

The Stampede Trail and the 142 Magic Bus – Unusual Places

Image Credit: Baggis/Flickr The Stampede Trail is a road located in the U.S. state of Alaska. A portion of it it’s paved but the remainder of the route consists

unusualplaces.org

The bus gave hikers a definite focus......they can still go there today, but all they will see when they get there is just an indistinguishable area of wilderness. That may not stop some from making the trip, but I imagine there will be less incentive to do so.

On the estate we went to in Sutherland there was an ancient illegal still out on a large area of land called "The Flats". The Flats were - as you can imagine from the name - vast and featureless. The still was a focal point that you could hike to. If it hadn't have been there you would have ended up going for a ramble, and without that goal there was really no point going there. I imagine it's probably the same with the bus, in that knowing it was there made the 40km effort worthwhile. Without the bus, that bit of tundra looks no different to any of the other thousands of acres, so unless they have a GPS a hiker wouldn't even know they've arrived. The bus was a romantic destination, and many people had left momentos of one kind or another. If they do that now they will just be littering.

 

[gixer1]

He died of starvation. Grim, sure. When found by hunters in 1992, his corpse weighed just 67lb. But we all get to die, right? He died pursuing his quest.

The director of that film ends with a hint that Chris faced his Maker at the end. Whether that appears in the journal Chris left, I am not sure. But it is a fitting reminder to us all whether we live humdrum lives or chase risky dreams, we still get to face our Maker.

I more got the impression he ate something poisonous and was in agony as starvation is most likely one of the worst ways to go! It seemed a little sad with the back story of his parents etc and definitely drove him away.

 

[willie_gunn]

From some of the more recent research the conclusion seems to be that he did eat something poisonous. Whilst what he ate didn't kill him directly, it caused weakening and paralysis to the point where he starved to death, ending up too weak to move.

How Chris McCandless Died

An update to ‘Into the Wild’

medium.com

 

[zambezi]

I more got the impression he ate something poisonous and was in agony as starvation is most likely one of the worst ways to go! It seemed a little sad with the back story of his parents etc and definitely drove him away.

The writer of the book on which the film is based is a guy called John Krakauer. As it happens, he is also a chemist and worked hard to identify the seeds likely to have caused McCandless' weakening. Per his take on the events leading up to death, he believes the seeds weakened Chris to the point where he could not forage, rather than they caused his death by paralysis.

Diary of Chris McCandless

The diary entries document Chris McCandless, also known as Alexander Supertramp, as he ventures into the Alaskan wilderness alone to live off the land. In the first entry, he expresses his excitement to reach Alaska and begin his great adventure living independently in nature. In later entries...

www.slideshare.net

'Into The Wild' Author Tries Science To Solve Toxic Seed Mystery