The Call of the Wild (1972) / Soundtrack / Carlo Rustichelli
“There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive.”
― Jack London, The Call of the Wild
Wikipedia says: “Charlton Heston in his autobiography In the Arena: An Autobiography made it very clear how unhappy he was with this film and asked people to not watch it. Although it was poorly received upon release, and was not released in the United States until 1975, today the film is seen in a better light. Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide described it as a “swinging back to action-adventure”, starring “Charlton Heston at his best”, another in the “long line of Annakin’s panoramic films featuring a myriad of beautiful locations”.”
“46%” by users. That’s not too good.
Locations: Finland.
Buck is described by London in his book as a powerful mix – the son of Elmo,
a huge St. Bernard, and mom Shep, a Scotch Shepherd.
Most film versions of The Call of the Wild depict Buck as a German Shepard or a Husky.
They came close in the 1935 version though.
Yet, to me, NONE of the film adaptations of The Call of the Wild do the book justice.
Which doesn’t mean they’re all bad movies – just that the book is so great.
Yet their main failure (IMO) is that none of them see through Buck’s eyes
– which is how the Book is written.
Did they not realize that this perspective was perhaps the main appeal of the Book?
I guess not.
And I can understand it would difficult to find the correct breed of dog and train him.
In 1972 it looks like they employed more than one trained Shepherd to portray Buck.
If you look closely these dogs do appear to be different.
???
Can’t say whether I recommend this movie or not?
Chuck is good and the movie has its moments – but the production is uneven.
Available to watch on YouTube or Netflix should you wish.
Next: The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon / 1997
starring Rutger Hauer and narrated by Richard Dreyfuss
