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Antarctica (1983 film)
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  (Redirected from Antarctica (film))
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Antarctica
Nankyoku Monogatari poster.jpg
Film poster

Directed by
Koreyoshi Kurahara
Produced by
Tomohiro Kaiyama
Masaru Kakutani
Koretsugo Kurahara
Juichi Tanaka
Written by
Toshirō Ishidō
Koreyoshi Kurahara
Tatsuo Nogami
Kan Saji
Starring
Ken Takakura
Tsunehiko Watase
Eiji Okada
Masako Natsume
Music by
Vangelis
Cinematography
Akira Shiizuka
Edited by
Koreyoshi Kurahara
Akira Suzuki
Distributed by
Nippon Herald Films (Japan)
20th Century Fox (USA - dubbed)
Release date(s)
23 July 1983

Running time
143 minutes
Country
Japan
Language
Japanese
Box office
¥5,900,000,000[1]
($56,300,000)[2]

Antarctica (南極物語 Nankyoku Monogatari?, literally "South Pole Story") is a 1983 Japanese film directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara and starring Ken Takakura. Its plot centers on the 1958 ill-fated Japanese scientific expedition to the South Pole, its dramatic rescue from the impossible weather conditions on the return journey, the relationship between the scientists and their loyal and hard-working Sakhalin huskies, particularly the lead dogs Taro and Jiro, and fates of the 15 dogs left behind to fend for themselves.
The film was selected as the Japanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 56th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[3] It entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival, at the Japan Academy Awards was nominated for the best film, cinematography, lighting, and music score, winning the Popularity award for the two dogs Taro and Jiro as most popular performer, as well the cinematography and reader's choice award at the Mainichi Film Award. It was a big cinema hit, and held the Japanese box office record for a domestic film until it was surpassed by Miyazaki Hayao's Princess Mononoke in 1997.
The original electronic score was created by Greek musician Vangelis, who had recently written music for Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner. The soundtrack is available worldwide on CD-audio as Antarctica.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Release and reception
5 Original score album
6 Fate of Taro and Jiro
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
In February 1958, the Second Cross-Winter Expedition for the Japanese Antarctic Surveying Team rides on the icebreaker Sōya to take over from the 11-man First Cross-Winter Expedition. Due to the extreme weather conditions in Antarctica, Sōya can not get near enough to the Showa Base and they decide not to proceed with the stay-over.
The First Cross-Winter Expedition retreats by helicopter, but they have to leave 15 Sakhalin huskies at the unmanned Showa Base. The dogs are left chained at the base, as the team believes that they will soon be returning, but the men are unable to due to fuel shortages. The team is worried about the dogs, as the weather is extremely cold and only one week of food is available.
Meanwhile, eight of the fifteen sled dogs manage to break loose from their chains (Riki, Anko, Shiro, Jakku, Deri, Kuma, Taro, and Jiro), but the other seven are not so fortunate. As they journey across the frozen wilderness of Antarctica, the dogs are forced to survive on their own feces, hunting penguins and seals on the ice shelves and even eating the excrement of seals for food. As months pass, several of the dogs die or disappear in the glacier. Riki is fatally injured by a killer whale while trying to protect Taro and Jiro. Anko and Deri fall through the ice and drown in freezing waters. Shiro falls off a cliff to his death, and Jakku and Kuma disappear in the wilderness.
Eleven months later, on 14 January 1959, Kitagawa, one of the dog handlers in the first expedition, returns with the Third Cross-Winter Expedition, wanting to bury his beloved dogs. He, along with the two dog-handlers Ushioda and Ochi, recover the frozen corpses of seven dogs, but are even more surprised when they discover that eight of their dogs have broken loose. To everyone's surprise, they are greeted warmly at the base by two dogs, Taro and Jiro, brothers who were born in Antarctica.
It is still unknown how and why the brothers survived, because an average husky can only live in such conditions for about one month. In the movie, the director used the data available, together with his imagination, to reconstruct how the dogs struggled with the elements and survived.
Cast[edit]
Ken Takakura as Akira Ushioda
Tsunehiko Watase as Kenjirō Ochi
Eiji Okada as Chief Ozawa
Masako Natsume as Keiko Kitazawa
Keiko Oginome as Asako Shimura
Takeshi Kusaka as Morishima Kyōju
Shigeru Kōyama as Horigome Taichō
So Yamamura as Iwakiri Senchō
Jun Etō as Tokumitsu Taiin
Kōichi Satō as Toda Taichō
Shin Kishida as Kissaten Master
Takeshi Ōbayashi as Nonomiya Taichō
Shinji Kanai as Ozaki Taichō
Production[edit]
The film took over three years to make. It was filmed at the northern tip of Hokkaidō. The dogs in the film were sired by Kuma, a Sakhalin from Furen and were born in Wakanai, Hokkaido, not Antarctica.
Release and reception[edit]
Antarctica was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival.[4] The film was a big hit in Japan, becoming the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1983, earning ¥5.9 billion in distribution income.[1] As of 2007, the film is available on DVD in Japan (Japanese subtitles) and Hong Kong (Chinese and English subtitles).
The breed of dog also became briefly popular. However, concerns were raised that the dogs who took part in the filming might have been subjected to extreme conditions to obtain the degree of realism involved. The American Humane Association withheld its "No Animals Were Harmed" disclaimer, rating the film "Unacceptable" due to what it regarded as deliberate cruelty on the set.[5] The director responded that the emotions shown by the dogs during the film were painstakingly captured and then edited into the relevant parts. In order to recreate the death scenes the dogs were carefully anesthetized. The parts where the dogs drowned or fell were done in the studio and blue-screened with the actual filming location. The blood on the dogs was fake. It remained unclear whether the deaths of the prey animals (a seabird and a seal) were also simulated.
In 2006, Antarctica's plot was adapted into the Disney film Eight Below. In 2011 a Japanese drama titled Nankyoku Tairiku centers on Japan's first expedition to Antarctica in 1958.
Original score album[edit]
Main article: Antarctica (Vangelis album)
The original score to Antarctica was composed, arranged, produced and performed by Greek artist Vangelis. It was recorded at Vangelis' Nemo Studios, in London, UK, by sound engineer Raine Shine. The album was released worldwide (including Japan) as Antarctica.
Fate of Taro and Jiro[edit]
The younger brother Jiro died at the age of four during the fifth expedition in July 1960. His body was made into a specimen and is placed together in the National Museum of Nature and Science at Ueno, Tokyo.[6] The older brother Taro was luckier: he returned to Hokkaido University for his retirement, and died at the age of 15 in 1970. His body was also made into a specimen at Hokkaido University.
See also[edit]
List of submissions to the 56th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b "Kako haikyū shūnyū jōi sakuhin 1983-nen" (in Japanese). Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
2.Jump up ^ "Nankyoku monogatari". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
3.Jump up ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
4.Jump up ^ "Berlinale: 1984 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
5.Jump up ^ American Humane Association review retrieved on February 17, 2010[dead link]
6.Jump up ^ Pink Tentacle blog with photo of Jiro, retrieved on August 29, 2009
External links[edit]
Antarctica at the Internet Movie Database
Details of the film (Chinese)
Filming Location (Japanese)


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara


I Am Waiting (1957) ·
 Fūsoku 40 metres (1958) ·
 Arashi no naka o tsuppashire (1958) ·
 The Warped Ones (1960) ·
 The Gate of Youth (1981) ·
 Nankyoku Monogatari (1983) ·
 Haru no Kane (1985) ·
 Hiroshima (1995)
 

 


Categories: 1983 films
Japanese-language films
Japanese films
Films set in Antarctica
Films about dogs
Films directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara
Film scores by Vangelis









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Antarctica (1983 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Antarctica (film))
Jump to: navigation, search


Antarctica
Nankyoku Monogatari poster.jpg
Film poster

Directed by
Koreyoshi Kurahara
Produced by
Tomohiro Kaiyama
Masaru Kakutani
Koretsugo Kurahara
Juichi Tanaka
Written by
Toshirō Ishidō
Koreyoshi Kurahara
Tatsuo Nogami
Kan Saji
Starring
Ken Takakura
Tsunehiko Watase
Eiji Okada
Masako Natsume
Music by
Vangelis
Cinematography
Akira Shiizuka
Edited by
Koreyoshi Kurahara
Akira Suzuki
Distributed by
Nippon Herald Films (Japan)
20th Century Fox (USA - dubbed)
Release date(s)
23 July 1983

Running time
143 minutes
Country
Japan
Language
Japanese
Box office
¥5,900,000,000[1]
($56,300,000)[2]

Antarctica (南極物語 Nankyoku Monogatari?, literally "South Pole Story") is a 1983 Japanese film directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara and starring Ken Takakura. Its plot centers on the 1958 ill-fated Japanese scientific expedition to the South Pole, its dramatic rescue from the impossible weather conditions on the return journey, the relationship between the scientists and their loyal and hard-working Sakhalin huskies, particularly the lead dogs Taro and Jiro, and fates of the 15 dogs left behind to fend for themselves.
The film was selected as the Japanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 56th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[3] It entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival, at the Japan Academy Awards was nominated for the best film, cinematography, lighting, and music score, winning the Popularity award for the two dogs Taro and Jiro as most popular performer, as well the cinematography and reader's choice award at the Mainichi Film Award. It was a big cinema hit, and held the Japanese box office record for a domestic film until it was surpassed by Miyazaki Hayao's Princess Mononoke in 1997.
The original electronic score was created by Greek musician Vangelis, who had recently written music for Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner. The soundtrack is available worldwide on CD-audio as Antarctica.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Release and reception
5 Original score album
6 Fate of Taro and Jiro
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
In February 1958, the Second Cross-Winter Expedition for the Japanese Antarctic Surveying Team rides on the icebreaker Sōya to take over from the 11-man First Cross-Winter Expedition. Due to the extreme weather conditions in Antarctica, Sōya can not get near enough to the Showa Base and they decide not to proceed with the stay-over.
The First Cross-Winter Expedition retreats by helicopter, but they have to leave 15 Sakhalin huskies at the unmanned Showa Base. The dogs are left chained at the base, as the team believes that they will soon be returning, but the men are unable to due to fuel shortages. The team is worried about the dogs, as the weather is extremely cold and only one week of food is available.
Meanwhile, eight of the fifteen sled dogs manage to break loose from their chains (Riki, Anko, Shiro, Jakku, Deri, Kuma, Taro, and Jiro), but the other seven are not so fortunate. As they journey across the frozen wilderness of Antarctica, the dogs are forced to survive on their own feces, hunting penguins and seals on the ice shelves and even eating the excrement of seals for food. As months pass, several of the dogs die or disappear in the glacier. Riki is fatally injured by a killer whale while trying to protect Taro and Jiro. Anko and Deri fall through the ice and drown in freezing waters. Shiro falls off a cliff to his death, and Jakku and Kuma disappear in the wilderness.
Eleven months later, on 14 January 1959, Kitagawa, one of the dog handlers in the first expedition, returns with the Third Cross-Winter Expedition, wanting to bury his beloved dogs. He, along with the two dog-handlers Ushioda and Ochi, recover the frozen corpses of seven dogs, but are even more surprised when they discover that eight of their dogs have broken loose. To everyone's surprise, they are greeted warmly at the base by two dogs, Taro and Jiro, brothers who were born in Antarctica.
It is still unknown how and why the brothers survived, because an average husky can only live in such conditions for about one month. In the movie, the director used the data available, together with his imagination, to reconstruct how the dogs struggled with the elements and survived.
Cast[edit]
Ken Takakura as Akira Ushioda
Tsunehiko Watase as Kenjirō Ochi
Eiji Okada as Chief Ozawa
Masako Natsume as Keiko Kitazawa
Keiko Oginome as Asako Shimura
Takeshi Kusaka as Morishima Kyōju
Shigeru Kōyama as Horigome Taichō
So Yamamura as Iwakiri Senchō
Jun Etō as Tokumitsu Taiin
Kōichi Satō as Toda Taichō
Shin Kishida as Kissaten Master
Takeshi Ōbayashi as Nonomiya Taichō
Shinji Kanai as Ozaki Taichō
Production[edit]
The film took over three years to make. It was filmed at the northern tip of Hokkaidō. The dogs in the film were sired by Kuma, a Sakhalin from Furen and were born in Wakanai, Hokkaido, not Antarctica.
Release and reception[edit]
Antarctica was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival.[4] The film was a big hit in Japan, becoming the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1983, earning ¥5.9 billion in distribution income.[1] As of 2007, the film is available on DVD in Japan (Japanese subtitles) and Hong Kong (Chinese and English subtitles).
The breed of dog also became briefly popular. However, concerns were raised that the dogs who took part in the filming might have been subjected to extreme conditions to obtain the degree of realism involved. The American Humane Association withheld its "No Animals Were Harmed" disclaimer, rating the film "Unacceptable" due to what it regarded as deliberate cruelty on the set.[5] The director responded that the emotions shown by the dogs during the film were painstakingly captured and then edited into the relevant parts. In order to recreate the death scenes the dogs were carefully anesthetized. The parts where the dogs drowned or fell were done in the studio and blue-screened with the actual filming location. The blood on the dogs was fake. It remained unclear whether the deaths of the prey animals (a seabird and a seal) were also simulated.
In 2006, Antarctica's plot was adapted into the Disney film Eight Below. In 2011 a Japanese drama titled Nankyoku Tairiku centers on Japan's first expedition to Antarctica in 1958.
Original score album[edit]
Main article: Antarctica (Vangelis album)
The original score to Antarctica was composed, arranged, produced and performed by Greek artist Vangelis. It was recorded at Vangelis' Nemo Studios, in London, UK, by sound engineer Raine Shine. The album was released worldwide (including Japan) as Antarctica.
Fate of Taro and Jiro[edit]
The younger brother Jiro died at the age of four during the fifth expedition in July 1960. His body was made into a specimen and is placed together in the National Museum of Nature and Science at Ueno, Tokyo.[6] The older brother Taro was luckier: he returned to Hokkaido University for his retirement, and died at the age of 15 in 1970. His body was also made into a specimen at Hokkaido University.
See also[edit]
List of submissions to the 56th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b "Kako haikyū shūnyū jōi sakuhin 1983-nen" (in Japanese). Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
2.Jump up ^ "Nankyoku monogatari". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
3.Jump up ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
4.Jump up ^ "Berlinale: 1984 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
5.Jump up ^ American Humane Association review retrieved on February 17, 2010[dead link]
6.Jump up ^ Pink Tentacle blog with photo of Jiro, retrieved on August 29, 2009
External links[edit]
Antarctica at the Internet Movie Database
Details of the film (Chinese)
Filming Location (Japanese)


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara


I Am Waiting (1957) ·
 Fūsoku 40 metres (1958) ·
 Arashi no naka o tsuppashire (1958) ·
 The Warped Ones (1960) ·
 The Gate of Youth (1981) ·
 Nankyoku Monogatari (1983) ·
 Haru no Kane (1985) ·
 Hiroshima (1995)
 

 


Categories: 1983 films
Japanese-language films
Japanese films
Films set in Antarctica
Films about dogs
Films directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara
Film scores by Vangelis









Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















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Upload file
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Printable version

Languages
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Español
Français
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Edit links
This page was last modified on 5 April 2014 at 01:11.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
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Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica_(1983_film)












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Eight Below
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


Eight Below
Eight Below poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Frank Marshall
Produced by
Patrick Crowley
 David Hoberman
Screenplay by
David DiGillio
Based on
Nankyoku Monogatari:
 Toshirô Ishidô
Koreyoshi Kurahara
 Tatsuo Nogami
 Susumu Saji
Starring
Paul Walker
Bruce Greenwood
Moon Bloodgood
Jason Biggs
Music by
Mark Isham
Cinematography
Don Burgess
Edited by
Christopher Rouse
Production
   company
Walt Disney Pictures
Spyglass Entertainment
Mandeville Films
Kennedy/Marshall
Distributed by
Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s)
February 17, 2006
Running time
120 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$40 million
Box office
$120,455,994
Eight Below is a 2006 American adventure drama film directed by Frank Marshall and written by David DiGilio. It stars Paul Walker, Bruce Greenwood, Moon Bloodgood, and Jason Biggs. It was released theatrically on February 17, 2006, by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States. The film is set in Antarctica, but was filmed in Svalbard, Norway, Greenland, and British Columbia, Canada.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot 1.1 The Dogs' Story
2 Cast
3 Background 3.1 Sled dogs
4 Release 4.1 Critical reception
4.2 Box office
5 Awards
6 Home media
7 References
8 External links

Plot[edit]
In 1993, Jerry Shepard (Walker) is a guide at an Antarctica research base under contract with the National Science Foundation. UCLA professor, Dr. Davis McClaren (Greenwood), arrives at the base and along with Shepard's boss, Dr. Andy Harrison (Gerard Plunkett), presses Shepard to take McClaren to Mount Melbourne to attempt to find a rare meteorite from the planet Mercury. Shepard does so, ignoring his own intuition, which tells him it is too late in the season (January) to complete such a treacherous route. Worried about the snowmobiles breaking through the thinning ice or falling into a crevasse, Shepard tells Harrison and McClaren that the only way to get to Mount Melbourne is by dog sled.
Shepard and McClaren make it to Mount Melbourne, but immediately are called back to base camp due to an approaching heavy storm. McClaren begs for more time, and Shepard gives him half a day. McClaren finds what he was looking for and the two head back to the sled.
Shepard pauses to patch up one of the dogs (Old Jack) whose paw is bleeding. McClaren, while walking around to get a better radio connection with base, slides down an embankment when a soft ledge gives way. His landing at the bottom cracks the thin ice and McClaren ends up breaking through. Shepard is able to get his lead dog Maya to take a rope to McClaren and the dog team pulls him from the water.
Now, as they battle hypothermia, frostbite, and near whiteout conditions, Shepard and McClaren have to rely on the dogs' stamina and keen sense of direction to get them back to base. The injured people are immediately evacuated, along with all other personnel, due to the storm, which is expected to intensify. With too much weight in the plane to carry both people and dogs, the human team medically evacuates Shepard and McClaren with a plan to return later for the dogs. The dogs are temporarily left behind, but the storm is worse than expected. Because of the harsh weather conditions and a shortage of supplies at the McMurdo Station, it soon becomes apparent that no rescue will be attempted until the next spring.
Back at home, Shepard is guilt-ridden about leaving his dogs and stops working as an Antarctic-conditions guide. Five months later, and after a heart-to-heart session with an older, veteran guide, Shepard decides to throw his all into rescuing the dogs. Before leaving for the trip, Shepard patches things up with McClaren and shares his intention to rescue the dogs. McClaren learns Shepard does not have enough money to pay for the trip but tells him that he cannot help him. Soon afterwards, McClaren sees a drawing of the dog team made by his young son, with the title: "My Hero is... THE DOGS WHO SAVED MY DADDY." McClaren realizes the magnitude of his ingratitude and uses the remaining balance of his grant money to finance a rescue mission.
The Dogs' Story[edit]
Four days after the dogs were left at base camp, they eventually break free of their chains, except for Old Jack. Old Jack, who's too old to go with the others on their journey, dies at the base camp, despite Maya's encouragement to break free. The dogs now begin hunting seals, sea gulls, and penguins in order to keep from starving. However, one night while looking at the southern lights, one of the dogs, Dewey, falls off a steep slope and is fatally injured. The dogs show their affection for their teammate, but after Dewey succumbs to his injuries and dies, the dogs eventually have to move on. The youngest dog, Max, stays with Dewey a little longer and is separated from the rest.
Max finds his way back to where McClaren fell into the ice earlier and spots a dead Orca. He eats from it until he is attacked by a nearby leopard seal that fiercely guards its meal. The other dogs also find their way to the dead Orca and Max gets the leopard seal's attention so the rest can eat. But the leopard seal quickly sees what's happening, bites Maya on the leg and nearly kills her. Max and the other dogs fiercely chase him off. Maya manages to survive, but her leg is seriously injured.
The rest of the pack continue to hunt for food. Maya refuses food brought for her, and gives pack leadership to Max, who has shown bravery, leadership, and compassion.
The dogs manage to find their way close to the base camp, where Shepard and his rescue team are arriving. Shepard and the five dogs have a happy reunion. When Shepard gets ready to go in the car to leave, Max refuses to go. Max leads Jerry to the injured Maya, and he is able to rescue her as well. The team then leaves the base to return home with the six dogs. The final scene shows a grave for Old Jack and Dewey.
Cast[edit]
Paul Walker as Jerry Shepard
Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Davis McClaren
Moon Bloodgood as Katie
Jason Biggs as Charlie Cooper
Gerard Plunkett as Dr. Andy Harrison
August Schellenberg as Mindo
Wendy Crewson as Eve McClaren
Belinda Metz as Rosemary Paris
Connor Christopher Levins as Eric McClaren
Duncan Fraser as Captain Lovett
Dan Ziskie as Navy Commander
Michael David Simms as Armin Butler
Daniel Bacon as Bureaucrat #2
Laara Sadiq as Bureaucrat #3
Malcolm Stewart as Charles Buffett
Background[edit]
The 1958 ill-fated Japanese expedition to Antarctica inspired the 1983 hit film Nankyoku Monogatari. Eight Below adapts the events of the 1958 incident, moved forward to 1993.[1] In the 1958 event, fifteen Sakhalin Husky sled dogs were abandoned when the expedition team was unable to return to the base. When the team returned a year later, two dogs were still alive. Another seven were still chained up and dead, five were unaccounted for, and one died just outside of Showa Station.
Sled dogs[edit]
In Eight Below there are two Alaskan Malamutes (Buck and Shadow) and six Siberian Huskies (Max, Maya, Truman, Dewey, Shorty, and Old Jack). Each actor-dog had help from other dogs that performed stunts and pulled sleds. In all, over 30 dogs were used to portray the film's eight canine characters. Max, Maya, Dewey, and Buck (Old Jack's stunt double) were played by dogs seen in Disney's Snow Dogs.[2] The animal filming was supervised by the American Humane Association, and the film carries the standard "No animals were harmed..." disclaimer, despite an on-set incident in which a trainer used significant force to break up an animal fight.[3]
Release[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, and said "Eight Below succeeds as an effective story."[4] BBC liked the movie as well, but did not like its long length (2 hours).[5] Reel.com liked it, saying "the movie succeeds at drawing you into their incredible adventure".[6] However, the San Francisco Chronicle disliked the film, saying: "The movie is overly long and much too intense for small children, yet it's filled with dialogue and plot turns that are too juvenile to thrill adult audiences."[7] William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reacted favorably ("the dog actors will melt your heart"), but pointed out, as did other reviewers, that "Antarctica buffs" will be critical of errors, such as portraying midwinter events occurring in "balmy, blazing daylight at a time Antarctica is locked in round-the-clock darkness and temperatures of 140 degrees below."[8]
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 72% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 146 reviews." The site's consensus says, "Featuring a stellar cast of marooned mutts, who deftly display emotion, tenderness, loyalty and resolve, Eight Below is a heartwarming and exhilarating adventure film."[9]
Box office[edit]
According to Box Office Mojo, the film opened at #1 on February 17, 2006, with a total weekend gross of $20,188,176 in 3,066 theaters, averaging to about $6,584 per theater. The film closed on June 1, 2006 with a total worldwide gross of $120,453,565 ($81,612,565 domestic and $38,841,000 overseas).[10]
Awards[edit]
Wins
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards: ASCAP Award, Top Box Office Films (Mark Isham) 2007.
Nominations
Satellite Awards: Satellite Award, Best Youth DVD, 2006.
Home media[edit]

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2014)
The film was released on separate format widescreen and full screen editions on DVD on June 26, 2006. It was also released on PlayStation Portable (an original widescreen format) on June 26, 2006. The film was released on high definition Blu-ray for an original widescreen presentation on September 19, 2006.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Rechtshaffen, Michael (2006-02-15). "Eight Below". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
2.Jump up ^ "A True 'Survivor' Story, Dog Version". The Washington Post. 2006-02-16. pp. C12. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
3.Jump up ^ "Animals were Harmed". The Hollywood Reporter. 2013-11-25. pp. C12. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
4.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (2006-02-17). "Eight Below". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
5.Jump up ^ Smith, Neil (2006-04-16). "Eight Below". BBC. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
6.Jump up ^ Knight, Tim. "Eight Below". Reel.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-16. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
7.Jump up ^ Hartlaub, Peter (2006-02-17). "Man's 8 best friends get the cold shoulder". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
8.Jump up ^ Arnold, William (2006-02-17). "'Eight Below' warms the heart despite faux paws". seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
9.Jump up ^ Eight Below at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: February 04, 2012.
10.Jump up ^ Eight Below at Box Office Mojo.
External links[edit]
Official website
Eight Below at the Internet Movie Database
Eight Below at AllMovie


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Films directed by Frank Marshall


Arachnophobia (1990) ·
 Alive (1993) ·
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Categories: English-language films
2006 films
2000s adventure films
American films
Walt Disney Pictures films
Films about dogs
Films based on actual events
Films set in 1993
Films shot in Norway
Films set in Norway
Films shot in British Columbia
Films set in British Columbia
Films shot in New Zealand
Films set in Antarctica
Films shot in Greenland
Films set in Greenland
Mushing films
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Eight Below
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Eight Below
Eight Below poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Frank Marshall
Produced by
Patrick Crowley
 David Hoberman
Screenplay by
David DiGillio
Based on
Nankyoku Monogatari:
 Toshirô Ishidô
Koreyoshi Kurahara
 Tatsuo Nogami
 Susumu Saji
Starring
Paul Walker
Bruce Greenwood
Moon Bloodgood
Jason Biggs
Music by
Mark Isham
Cinematography
Don Burgess
Edited by
Christopher Rouse
Production
   company
Walt Disney Pictures
Spyglass Entertainment
Mandeville Films
Kennedy/Marshall
Distributed by
Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s)
February 17, 2006
Running time
120 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$40 million
Box office
$120,455,994
Eight Below is a 2006 American adventure drama film directed by Frank Marshall and written by David DiGilio. It stars Paul Walker, Bruce Greenwood, Moon Bloodgood, and Jason Biggs. It was released theatrically on February 17, 2006, by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States. The film is set in Antarctica, but was filmed in Svalbard, Norway, Greenland, and British Columbia, Canada.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot 1.1 The Dogs' Story
2 Cast
3 Background 3.1 Sled dogs
4 Release 4.1 Critical reception
4.2 Box office
5 Awards
6 Home media
7 References
8 External links

Plot[edit]
In 1993, Jerry Shepard (Walker) is a guide at an Antarctica research base under contract with the National Science Foundation. UCLA professor, Dr. Davis McClaren (Greenwood), arrives at the base and along with Shepard's boss, Dr. Andy Harrison (Gerard Plunkett), presses Shepard to take McClaren to Mount Melbourne to attempt to find a rare meteorite from the planet Mercury. Shepard does so, ignoring his own intuition, which tells him it is too late in the season (January) to complete such a treacherous route. Worried about the snowmobiles breaking through the thinning ice or falling into a crevasse, Shepard tells Harrison and McClaren that the only way to get to Mount Melbourne is by dog sled.
Shepard and McClaren make it to Mount Melbourne, but immediately are called back to base camp due to an approaching heavy storm. McClaren begs for more time, and Shepard gives him half a day. McClaren finds what he was looking for and the two head back to the sled.
Shepard pauses to patch up one of the dogs (Old Jack) whose paw is bleeding. McClaren, while walking around to get a better radio connection with base, slides down an embankment when a soft ledge gives way. His landing at the bottom cracks the thin ice and McClaren ends up breaking through. Shepard is able to get his lead dog Maya to take a rope to McClaren and the dog team pulls him from the water.
Now, as they battle hypothermia, frostbite, and near whiteout conditions, Shepard and McClaren have to rely on the dogs' stamina and keen sense of direction to get them back to base. The injured people are immediately evacuated, along with all other personnel, due to the storm, which is expected to intensify. With too much weight in the plane to carry both people and dogs, the human team medically evacuates Shepard and McClaren with a plan to return later for the dogs. The dogs are temporarily left behind, but the storm is worse than expected. Because of the harsh weather conditions and a shortage of supplies at the McMurdo Station, it soon becomes apparent that no rescue will be attempted until the next spring.
Back at home, Shepard is guilt-ridden about leaving his dogs and stops working as an Antarctic-conditions guide. Five months later, and after a heart-to-heart session with an older, veteran guide, Shepard decides to throw his all into rescuing the dogs. Before leaving for the trip, Shepard patches things up with McClaren and shares his intention to rescue the dogs. McClaren learns Shepard does not have enough money to pay for the trip but tells him that he cannot help him. Soon afterwards, McClaren sees a drawing of the dog team made by his young son, with the title: "My Hero is... THE DOGS WHO SAVED MY DADDY." McClaren realizes the magnitude of his ingratitude and uses the remaining balance of his grant money to finance a rescue mission.
The Dogs' Story[edit]
Four days after the dogs were left at base camp, they eventually break free of their chains, except for Old Jack. Old Jack, who's too old to go with the others on their journey, dies at the base camp, despite Maya's encouragement to break free. The dogs now begin hunting seals, sea gulls, and penguins in order to keep from starving. However, one night while looking at the southern lights, one of the dogs, Dewey, falls off a steep slope and is fatally injured. The dogs show their affection for their teammate, but after Dewey succumbs to his injuries and dies, the dogs eventually have to move on. The youngest dog, Max, stays with Dewey a little longer and is separated from the rest.
Max finds his way back to where McClaren fell into the ice earlier and spots a dead Orca. He eats from it until he is attacked by a nearby leopard seal that fiercely guards its meal. The other dogs also find their way to the dead Orca and Max gets the leopard seal's attention so the rest can eat. But the leopard seal quickly sees what's happening, bites Maya on the leg and nearly kills her. Max and the other dogs fiercely chase him off. Maya manages to survive, but her leg is seriously injured.
The rest of the pack continue to hunt for food. Maya refuses food brought for her, and gives pack leadership to Max, who has shown bravery, leadership, and compassion.
The dogs manage to find their way close to the base camp, where Shepard and his rescue team are arriving. Shepard and the five dogs have a happy reunion. When Shepard gets ready to go in the car to leave, Max refuses to go. Max leads Jerry to the injured Maya, and he is able to rescue her as well. The team then leaves the base to return home with the six dogs. The final scene shows a grave for Old Jack and Dewey.
Cast[edit]
Paul Walker as Jerry Shepard
Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Davis McClaren
Moon Bloodgood as Katie
Jason Biggs as Charlie Cooper
Gerard Plunkett as Dr. Andy Harrison
August Schellenberg as Mindo
Wendy Crewson as Eve McClaren
Belinda Metz as Rosemary Paris
Connor Christopher Levins as Eric McClaren
Duncan Fraser as Captain Lovett
Dan Ziskie as Navy Commander
Michael David Simms as Armin Butler
Daniel Bacon as Bureaucrat #2
Laara Sadiq as Bureaucrat #3
Malcolm Stewart as Charles Buffett
Background[edit]
The 1958 ill-fated Japanese expedition to Antarctica inspired the 1983 hit film Nankyoku Monogatari. Eight Below adapts the events of the 1958 incident, moved forward to 1993.[1] In the 1958 event, fifteen Sakhalin Husky sled dogs were abandoned when the expedition team was unable to return to the base. When the team returned a year later, two dogs were still alive. Another seven were still chained up and dead, five were unaccounted for, and one died just outside of Showa Station.
Sled dogs[edit]
In Eight Below there are two Alaskan Malamutes (Buck and Shadow) and six Siberian Huskies (Max, Maya, Truman, Dewey, Shorty, and Old Jack). Each actor-dog had help from other dogs that performed stunts and pulled sleds. In all, over 30 dogs were used to portray the film's eight canine characters. Max, Maya, Dewey, and Buck (Old Jack's stunt double) were played by dogs seen in Disney's Snow Dogs.[2] The animal filming was supervised by the American Humane Association, and the film carries the standard "No animals were harmed..." disclaimer, despite an on-set incident in which a trainer used significant force to break up an animal fight.[3]
Release[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, and said "Eight Below succeeds as an effective story."[4] BBC liked the movie as well, but did not like its long length (2 hours).[5] Reel.com liked it, saying "the movie succeeds at drawing you into their incredible adventure".[6] However, the San Francisco Chronicle disliked the film, saying: "The movie is overly long and much too intense for small children, yet it's filled with dialogue and plot turns that are too juvenile to thrill adult audiences."[7] William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reacted favorably ("the dog actors will melt your heart"), but pointed out, as did other reviewers, that "Antarctica buffs" will be critical of errors, such as portraying midwinter events occurring in "balmy, blazing daylight at a time Antarctica is locked in round-the-clock darkness and temperatures of 140 degrees below."[8]
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 72% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 146 reviews." The site's consensus says, "Featuring a stellar cast of marooned mutts, who deftly display emotion, tenderness, loyalty and resolve, Eight Below is a heartwarming and exhilarating adventure film."[9]
Box office[edit]
According to Box Office Mojo, the film opened at #1 on February 17, 2006, with a total weekend gross of $20,188,176 in 3,066 theaters, averaging to about $6,584 per theater. The film closed on June 1, 2006 with a total worldwide gross of $120,453,565 ($81,612,565 domestic and $38,841,000 overseas).[10]
Awards[edit]
Wins
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards: ASCAP Award, Top Box Office Films (Mark Isham) 2007.
Nominations
Satellite Awards: Satellite Award, Best Youth DVD, 2006.
Home media[edit]

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2014)
The film was released on separate format widescreen and full screen editions on DVD on June 26, 2006. It was also released on PlayStation Portable (an original widescreen format) on June 26, 2006. The film was released on high definition Blu-ray for an original widescreen presentation on September 19, 2006.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Rechtshaffen, Michael (2006-02-15). "Eight Below". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
2.Jump up ^ "A True 'Survivor' Story, Dog Version". The Washington Post. 2006-02-16. pp. C12. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
3.Jump up ^ "Animals were Harmed". The Hollywood Reporter. 2013-11-25. pp. C12. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
4.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (2006-02-17). "Eight Below". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
5.Jump up ^ Smith, Neil (2006-04-16). "Eight Below". BBC. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
6.Jump up ^ Knight, Tim. "Eight Below". Reel.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-16. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
7.Jump up ^ Hartlaub, Peter (2006-02-17). "Man's 8 best friends get the cold shoulder". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
8.Jump up ^ Arnold, William (2006-02-17). "'Eight Below' warms the heart despite faux paws". seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
9.Jump up ^ Eight Below at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: February 04, 2012.
10.Jump up ^ Eight Below at Box Office Mojo.
External links[edit]
Official website
Eight Below at the Internet Movie Database
Eight Below at AllMovie


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Frank Marshall


Arachnophobia (1990) ·
 Alive (1993) ·
 Congo (1995) ·
 Eight Below (2006)
 

 


Categories: English-language films
2006 films
2000s adventure films
American films
Walt Disney Pictures films
Films about dogs
Films based on actual events
Films set in 1993
Films shot in Norway
Films set in Norway
Films shot in British Columbia
Films set in British Columbia
Films shot in New Zealand
Films set in Antarctica
Films shot in Greenland
Films set in Greenland
Mushing films
Spyglass Entertainment films
The Kennedy/Marshall Company films
Films directed by Frank Marshall
Mandeville Films films





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This page was last modified on 15 August 2014 at 23:28.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight_Below