Nanook of the North, Robert FLAHERTY, 1921

[EmmetEarwax]

Wasn't this film made after its maker lost all of his original footage of the north -and got badly burnedwhen a raging fire in his garage, set off by a spark lit the nitrate film he shot the movie on ? Nitrate film not only is almost a form of dynamite, but may eventually decay into a fungus-like mess and finally go to a fine dust. most of the earliest footage exists only as acetate copies, or not at all.

My own acetate-based home films are also decomposing and releasing a vinegar smell.

[MsTheredeemed]

great movie, i love it.

[JAMamation]

it's weird to think how all the people in this are now dead.

[gibderfenson]

@JAMamation they died before the film was released, in a snow storm

[JAMamation]

@gibderfenson

really?? or are you just saying that.

[gibderfenson]

@JAMamation I just read this in a review about that film

[JAMamation]

@gibderfenson

damn :|

[brithans]

@gibderfenson

It says on Wikipedia that Allakariallak died at home. It references two books.

[gibderfenson]

@brithans well, this is a happier ending then ;) I'm glad I was wrong...anyway he's dead

[guglieblue]

7:36 so tender

[Microglia1]

Haplotype studies reveal these people are East Asians-related to Koreans and Mongols.

[DickdaileyRulezD00d]

We watched this in a film class. I was amazed by this film. But after the teacher told us that the real cool parts were fake I was so upset. Like hearing Santa Clause was fake kind of upset.

[ska222j]

Nanook was A real person,though not all of the things filmed were. Your comments are childish. Have you seen Matroplis?Or any movie made in the early years of movies? they have all (albiet not that good)special effects.

They are like you...Childish

[DarkShaDowHooD]

Holy shit i thought they were hanging people at 5:45...

[merebere6]

Nanook wasn't even real. He was a made up character by Flaherty. It was also made up that he died. Sorry to tell you. This was highly dramatized.

[Pitseolak33]

@merebere6 .....you have no idea whatsoever...your post is highly dramatized....comin' from an ESKIMO from the GREAT WHITE NORTH....I throw a snowball at you!

[sevyyves937]

what most people don't know is that Nanook died a year after this was filmed

[2x2is22]

i think they should redo the audio and have morgan freeman narrate

[Dukeoftruth]

excellent suggestion!!

[AZmarion31]

@2x2is22.. lol.. his Godly voice!

[CarlosIsDown]

@2:30 LOLDOG!

[FlorinU]

They are all dressed in furs and the little baby is naked!!

[tanushinki]

those puppies, that baby, the mother and that polar bear skin!! divine.... and of course the magnificent men.

[multifanofeverything]

anyone know what the shoes are made of plz help i have a project and im not sure if its seal skin or walrus skin

[Monkinhisprime]

@multifanofeverything 4:27

[2x2is22]

@multifanofeverything seal skin, although i may be to late in answering this one

[ClubAllTheSeals]

beautiful

[free030]

lolololololololo hahahah been too long since i laugh this much hahaha

[Pitseolak33]

@free030 .....tukiqangitutili....

[free030]

@Pitseolak33 wat u saying nanook?

[ska222j]

All the people coming out if the kayak was a camera trick! Back then it was considered VERY funny.

[baginski]

@ska222j

sorry pal, but thats no trick-anmation.

[Pitseolak33]

@ska222j .....point A to point B.....what's funny about that?....you're an IDIOT.

Could not quite do tricks on a hand operated wooden box camera but you sure can with your 3 GB camera phone....still an IDIOT, you are.

[charged220]

My ancestors have a huge connection to Bob Flaherty's family. They all owned property around a small lake in Northwestern Ontario. My Great-great-great uncle owned some of his photographs. The old Flaherty family house still stands in Thunder Bay Ontario to this day.

[AndrewBell]

doggies!

[chumscrubber0lover]

I love the wall of fox furs at 5:48 against the dark kayak. Great composition.

[jeffsummstl]

Funny how the wife has to ride down inside ( see 1:28 ). Can you imagine the arguments they must have had over who rides up top and who rides down underneath? Today's couples fight over who gets the remote.

[starpenguin4100]

hahaha, and they pull a naked baby out of there too!

[MrBooth305]

@jeffsummstl Guessing they had more important things to worry about?!

[danielbenayun]

the  sea biscuit and lard music video is so good, its all about nanook of the north

[toni2tymes]

you can download the whole film from a downloading mive site its there i have it so i know cant share that info online send me your email and i will give you it for those of you who wwant to see it full version excellent quality

[tommyash]

Anyone know where this can be viewed in full?

[jpastuch]

On DVD.

[xxannabellaxx1]

is that for real??

[maplestoryhaterx]

Myraa was right, Robert tried to make the film more realistic so Nanook was naturally armed with a gun, but Robert wanted him to use the tools of his "ancestors" such as spears, etc. Also to get certain camera points it had to be staged because the equipment was to heavy to be moved so it will be impossible to have real footage, but its still a good documentary and everything can't be perfect

[QuantumHeadache]

How'd the fit all those people in there!

[CruzDelToro]

film makers, and docu lovers, MUST seë:

__LOS iLEGALES Tucanes de Tijuana__

[fsavva]

i'm doing this in my film degree this semester so i found this very helpful to watch. thanks!

[emoviebuff87]

the person who played nanook died of starvation a few months before the film was released. R.I.P

[lazybones2000]

Not sure about that. Depending on what source you believe, "Nanook" (real name Allakariallak) died two years after this film was released, either from starvation on the tundra or from tuberculosis at his home. Some say the rumor of his death by starvation was invented by Flaherty to hype the dangers of the Inuit lifestyle. Who knows the truth?

[thegirl44]

@lazybones2000

I believe the starvation story for the simple fact that, while you could contract TB in the Arctic, it would be unlikely to kill you. The arctic, along with the praries, was highly advertised as a "dry air cure" area in the early 1900's.

[Pitseolak33]

@thegirl44 .....???.....TB is a killer, no matter where you are at.....just what kind of educaion are we getting nowadays?....ARGH! with a cough.

[thegirl44]

@Pitseolak33

Perhaps you should look into TB's contribution the the settlement of Colorado and Western Texan, Utah, Arizona etc. Kind of hard to sustain a population, let alone have it grow in leaps and bounds, if those coming for the cure are still dying?

[SycrosD4]

Is this the whole film?

[ayOoShpresaAx3]

how did theyy all fit in theree??

[hit004541]

haha that wasn't real

[deandend]

@ayOoShpresaAx3

We studied this movie at school. It's nothing more than an editing! Each cut someone go into the canoe and go out the next shot.

(Sorry for my english, I'm french)

[jonhulk]

the film is staged I learned about it in an anthropology class in universty. Flaherty married 2 eskimos and even had children with them! He left them there and never came back! Incredible...

[lazybones2000]

Actually, he was married to his wife, Francis, from 1914 until he died in 1951, so he couldn't have married 2 "eskimos". But it is true that he fathered a child by the the woman who played Nanook's wife, Nyla. His son was born 5 months after Flaherty had returned to New York, and he never acknowledged his son during his lifetime. I'm sure Francis wouldn't have been very happy......

[jaideroxor]

hm to everyone below... watch "Nanook Revisited"

[herbiesnerd]

I just watched this 90 minute film for the first time ever tonight. It was shown on UCSD T.V. An incredible record of the harsh life this group of eskimo families lived. Hunting with kayaks and harpoons, building igloos in the middle of nowhere with the entire family including toddlers, They even built small igloos for the puppies to sleep in. ALL they eat is fish meat and blubber RAW. No guns, no motors. It must have been brutal for the film makers to be there WAY out of their element.

[Myrra17]

Sadly, much of this film was staged.

[herbiesnerd]

It had to be!  Still, what a great glimpse into some of their past. Today when you see eskimo documentaries they are hunting with snow mobiles, motor boats and rifles.

[erickdahen]

allegedly

[Chokefragilistico]

What is the real lengt of

Nanook of the North, Robert FLAHERTY, 1921

90 minute? or 8:05minute?? Thank you!

[adam22chase88]

I just dont think this is filmed from an objective standpoint. I would no put this in the category of an ethnographic film.

[KeiMariIced]

I'd disagree. It may not meet contemporary standards of ethnography, but for it's time it was rather revolutionary. In retrospect, it's hard to believe anything was ever done 'objectively'.

[carbiduis]

You take yourself a little too serious.

[longboardfreak661]

Hey. I am growing tired of this nonsense.

I am the real Robert.

Reach me at 1 928 202 8667

[erickdahen]

Mr robert, could you please tell me how to live as long as you have? and also please breake the mistery, was this film staged??? I know original footage got burned, but you re did it.

[longboardfreak661]

my father passed away april first.rip

i do believe most of the film was original

the remainder was shot in a small village on the minnesota canada border

[xychr0]

this is an unbelievable example of a culture recorded by film. nanook's culture is amazing.

[dadoulf]

oui, pourquoi le bébé est-il à poil? alors que les parents portent des moumouttes super épaisses!!! où est le service social????

[BigEdDunkel]

Enough out of you, impertinent frog.

[dadoulf]

what????

[rahamitz]

great movie! been collecting old old movies and this is one of the best i have...

[lkh380]

does anybody know where i can get this full version video?

[residualbill]

I think I remember this from when I was in school. Was there another take of this story, that wasn't a documentary but a scripted movie? I seem to remember the name "Nanook" and that he offered to a visiting white man to go and "laugh with his wife". The white man declined the offer and Nanook took it as an insult. What was the title of that one?

[B1ggz13]

Art it may be but this film is just a depiction of the beginning of the end of the Inuit way of life as it is shown by Flaherty. From here on it was down hill. The period from 1930 to 1960 is an especially embarrassing chapter in the history of the Canadian Government and is a repeat of the incredibly inhumane and disrespectful treatment of indigenous people which occurred through the USA with the American Native Indian. Try reading Melanie McGrath's "The Long Exile" for a better insight.

[oblivion300]

This is the first recorded documentary but Nanook died a few months after it was made. Oh and by the way they look happy in the filming, I'm sure they were glad other people were able to see there culture.

[hisboo911]

obviously its cool. so why is the baby naked?!

[JosephFlaherty]

hey people..stop studying me..its freaking..im still alive..if u want proof...call 1 867 980 9944 ...ask for robert flaherty and they well tell u that im not there..lolstop studying me!

[rnech]

The real Robert Flaherty lives in Florence, Alabama and can be reached at (256) 766-9917

His son, Junior, lives in Columbiana, AL. He can be reached at (205) 678-8202.

They'll be glad you called!

[JosephFlaherty]

yeah..im Robert Joseph Pauloosie Flaherty also...im from Nunavut canada...and he was my great grandpa...

[Archigearour]

Your great grandpa made the film, not you.

[Corez6]

hahahaha

[yoyoyo2388]

This is a 1 of the first featurelength forms of expository documentary. I personally think it is a wonderful film despite how constructed it was. Flaherty wanted the film 2 b entertaining 2 the white western society so it had 2 fit into the dominate ideology of the time; this being that all none white people were native, simple or childlike. This was paticularly shown in a later scene of Nanook biting the record. Of course this documentary was editing! It was just in a far more simplictic way.

[teniagirl]

i want to thankyou from Madrid, Spain. This video helps me to study flaherty in my subject of History of Cinema at the University :D

[MissStPatrick]

Actually, most of the events in this film were staged. Nanook isn't his real name and that wasn't his real family. Furthermore, Flaherty insisted that Nanook go hunting with a harpoon... they had guns by that time. The ending, in which Nanook and his family are supposedly in peril of dying was implausible, as there were nearby French-Canadian and Inuit settlements. And finally, the igloo used in the movie was only half-built and the family is only pretending to sleep. This is'nt a documentary.

[Jesusisyhwh]

Yes it is a documentary. It is the first of its kind. The hunting methods, fishing methods, and igloo building were all accurate of how Allakariallak's ancestors lived. It is also interesting to note that Alllakariallak died of starvation 2 years after this film was made.

[Gabotas21]

What you mentioned is absolutely true, nevertheless, this was one of the only references they had from this, and even though Nanook -or whoever he is- was forced to do this documentary they were the only reference civilized people had from this place at this time, Flaherty tried to recuperate some ancient customs, however he was criticized by all anthropology community.

[ohworldgirl]

So is it true or false that Nanook died two years later after the completion of this film. Also - how do you know this was not Nanook's family? Thanks.

[Gabotas21]

He didn't die at all, maybe he disappeared just because Flaherty didn't want anyone to know what he had done... etnography is supossed to be an observation where you don't influence or act, by the way, I know that because I study Anthropology and I have to read a lot...

[perilouspete]

Paul Graf likes men!

[lovefornothing5]

this vid was tooken in the l920's or so..next to the hudson bay (in canada) most of the time this bay was frozen in the vid..robert j flaherty then made this video iin the l940's (redone) making it better

[MissLeigh78]

tooken?

[xxbuttonupxx]

doing my essay now. having to decide whether this is a useful film of salvage ethnography or not... i think

flaherty could get away with it in his era but no way could u get away with the misrepresentation of certain scenes nowadays!

[kd876]

dont think he was shot, swear he ran out of food and staved to death, after lookin for dear or someting :s

writin essay now,,,,, boring shit :(

[Isaiasm2006]

Fuck yeah, Robert Flaherty! xD

[MARiley01]

The Long Exile, by Melanie McGrath discusses the making of this film and the people depicted in it in depth. Alakariallak, the man who portrayed Nanook did die about a year after the filming of this. Nyla, whose real name was Maggie Nujarluktuk had a child with Robert Flaherty.

[pbant25]

this bored the arse off me in media, except when like 5 people came out of one boat! wtf?! I'm writing an essay about it right now (yawn)

[EyeLean5280]

You poor thing.

Not only are you too deficient to appreciate this lovely bit of the filmmaker's art, you are also too jaded to reflect for even a moment upon how much better you have it than a starving arctic hunter-gatherer who's been pushed into a tighter and tighter corner by modern society.

Quit whining and get a life.

[kickcameron]

A) This is hardly art. It is fakery plain and simple and should not have been classed as fact in any way, shape or form.

B) You do not need to be so rude when addressing somebody else. People will have differing opinions, just as I predict that my opinion listed above will not be a popular one. Your aggressive sarcasm was uncalled for.

C) Speaking as a person who is also writing an essay on it? This is boring as shit.

Thank you and good night.

[EyeLean5280]

a) The vast majority of those qualified to discern which films rise to the level of art would include Nanook on their list. Not every painting in the Met will excite you, but that does not disqualify them as art.

b) You are right. I chose to be rude on a whim - not out of necessity. Still, nothing about pbant's post invited respectful debate.

[EyeLean5280]

c) I bet you love one or two things I would find insufferably dull. But I know better than to call them "boring."

They are not boring; I am just bored by them. There is a difference.

I lack that certain appreciation that is required to enjoy football, for instance, but that doesn't take away all the talent, hard work and intelligence it takes to make a great football game.

Even a mediocre football game is an amazing creation. I may switch the channel but I would never blame the game.

[kickcameron]

A) This is hardly art. It is fakery plain and simple and should not have been classed as fact in any way, shape or form.

B) You do not need to be so rude when addressing somebody else. People will have differing opinions, just as I predict that my opinion listed above will not be a popular one. Your aggressive sarcasm was uncalled for.

C) Speaking as a person who is also writing an essay on it? This is boring as shit.

Thank you and good night.

[RandomCrazyLady2007]

thanks for this, studying for media.

yeh most of this documentary is pretty much staged, and aparently even Nanook wasn't even his real name, according to wikipedia.

anyway thanks for clip!

[iefdams]

There is an error in the title. It wasn't shot in 1921. It took him 7 years to finish this movie.

He started filming in 1912, and finished in 1919.

[mydogmika]

The film was shot from August 1920 to August 1921,and released in 1922.Just take a look at films released in 1922.

[francophile1482]

He took his first footage in 1912, but it was all lost in a fire. A few years later, he made the trip back to the North, this time with the intention of making a film (before the filming had been sort of incidental of having a camera on the trip). The second time, he brought a whole crew to make a movie.

[futurewolf42o]

he starved to death a year after this documentary was shot. true story.

[NethDugan]

Is there a chance of putting the rest of this up?

[Zitalein]

It was for me always very funny to watch that family-canoo -- but now I think it must be there some film-trick in that scene: I just can't believe, that all those people have found their place "under" Nanook. What's your opinion?

[tlahuak]

It is a camera trick the one you are talking about

[lovefornothing5]

no..its just how it was bac then..u dumb ass..this was the first vid ever made..and they cant fuckn re.edit this by putting it on the comp THERE WASNT COMPS BAC IN THAT TIME..it just that the kids were small smart ass

[lovefornothing5]

they cant do editing becuz its bac in the day..they ddnt hav comps.

[lovefornothing5]

they cant do editing becuz its bac in the day..they ddnt hav comps.

[DragonnSlayerr]

intro to film! wooT!

[ceefax101]

yeah nanook was pretty much staged. You've gotta remember the equipment they were using at the time was very cumbersome and difficult to use. But i think he took the staging too far. Like he made the use spears and stuff when they really hunted with guns. He says it was to capture the spirit of the people but i dont think thats enough to warrant it.

[nathanpollard]

sad....hey i got a staffy called nanook! but iv watched something else wot made me look at him in a diffrent way a much more loving and teary way....

[alelo40]

Sorry guys but I have to tell you none of you is totally correct about the "acting" in this film. The truth about it is that even though Flaherty did spent a lot of time around the Inuit people and became familiar with them, for the shooting of this film he decided in some shots to reenact their actions in order to get a better description of them to picture the best way he could imagine the richness of this culture.

[lars3939]

and thank heaven for that, so that he could document increasingly obsolete aspects of their authentic life before they faded completely into a mere memory. And its beautiful.

[nanajack7]

Actually Nanook's real name was Alakriallak and Nyla's name was Maggie Nujarluktuk. These facts and a wonderful description of these folks and the making of the film can be found in a recently published book entitled THE LONG EXILE. ' A Tale of Inuit Betrayal andSurvvival in the High Arctic'.by Melanie McGrath and published by Alfred A. Knopf.

[motasdirector]

this is not acting at all you stupid dumbass!!! Flaherty lived with nanook for a long time, so he can get used to the camera, thats how you do a documental.. learn some!!! and after that all his material was burned, but he came back and he did it allover again.. not acting though but with an idea of what he experienced!!!

[dutchclogs]

So sad, Nanook and family died in a snow storm shortly after the movie was made.

[denizxyz]

thanks

[yamkatchka]

Hi I really need to show this video in a documentary class im taking, would you mind telling me how to download this video?

[moacircba]

try download cinemaforge program

[artelevisual]

u all know this is acted for camera? is like the osbournes back in the day

[Archinek]

It´s true only from 50%. E.g. André Bazin wrote about this film clevery pointing - the best succes of Flaherty is record on the instat living Inuits. By the way do you think can somebody acting born children. Look at Nanuk when children bron he is smiling. Than when he acted this so Nanuk was the best actor on the world.

[Shmee6000]

his canoe is like the tardis

[xreeferbx]

so true. so true.

[aalig123]

That's not it is it?? what about the igloo with the hole cut in the roof to accomodate the camera?? and wasnt it 1922?

[furrisima]

This documentary is a great piece of a art. It's a gate through past.

[nanookbanda]

MUUCHAS GRACIAS...estabamos buscando algo de este documental desde hace ratoo..GRACIAS!

[mamarracha]

Thanks, i'm studying this 'documentary' in college.