The Emerald Forest (DVD)
Added 1/14/2010
The long awaited film has finally arrived on DVD at last!
This Film is great, especially the 'scope' cinematography. John Boorman seems to have a fascination with dams & rivers in His films, (see Deliverance main titles). The actors portraying the tribe were excellent. The film score is Brilliant! Performed by Junior Homrich & Brian Gascoigne, and can be found on the Varèse Sarabande CD label, if Your lucky enough to find one as they are way out of print.
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cult classic
Added 11/5/2009
I purchased because of a review I heard on NPR radio.It is an exclent story based on a true story.If you like it you should see "Quest for fire" about prehistoric times.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Awkward Masterpiece of Deep Ecology
Added 10/19/2009
To reveal to our "civilized" world our human roots in nature is an ambitious goal for any film. To do so using the story of hidden tribes in the Amazon, with cultures incomprehensible to "modern" humans, is remarkably ambitious. This film brings a deep ecology sensibility that is desperately needed - but just as desperately avoided in our complacent, self-loathing, materialistic culture.
"The Emerald Forest" is awkward at times. I'm not sure of the order in which the scenes were shot, but the director manages to lead us in the right direction. The acting appears to evolve(or is it our awareness that evolves?), as the viewer is lured into the contracting jungle culture of these tribes, and away from the dead world of constant construction, assimilation and expansion. What is most amazing, in a way, is the gentleness with which Boorman treats contemporary culture. This is the key to providing his ecological message the wings of flight that make our jaws drop in the midst of breattaking scenery and well-presented tribal culture and ritual.
Boorman lets the subject of his preaching be slowly revealed through the story and characters rather than bludgeoning us with immensely evil, calculating villains. As it is in reality, the insanity lies in our collective indifference, our willingness to accept a pathetic world of materialism and technology in the hopes that our connection with each other, our bodies and nature will not be missed. Incremental trade-offs leading to "higher standards of living" have left us dispossessed of our souls, seeking solace in hedonism and "pie in the sky" religions that cultivate the greed and abomination they purport so piously to eliminate.
Yet, in this process, key elements of the movie involve psychedelic drugs and nudity, albeit natural and normal in the cultures Boorman portrays. Can we be lured back into the jungle with titillation? Obviously, the life is harsh and dangers abound. Yet, this film isn't about a bunch of teenagers getting high. It is about an adult ritual of expanded consciousness and vision that is meant not to narrow consciousness as alcohol use does, but to expand it, to bring perspective and connection in the quest of vision and leadership.
Likewise, this film portrays nudity in the context of normal life and does not eroticize it. It is refreshingly ironic that, when liberated from enforced prostitution in a heavily armed brothel, the women instinctively remove the scanty clothing and adornments that have been used to make them "attractive." If clothing is a metaphor, what else does our culture uses to conceal our humanity? If hallucinogens are a metaphor, what else does our culture use to deaden our sensibilities so that we seek sexual conquest and materialistic acquisition instead of trusting, healthy relationships with the people and world around us?
Boorman's "The Emerald Forest" is an odd, but remarkable achievement that has stood the test of time quite well thus far. In 2009, this 1985 film seems even more wise than when it was created.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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I now have the dvd for my library. I'd seen the movie years ago and loved it. Item was in good shape!
0 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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The True Tarzan
Added 3/4/2009
This fact based story involves the abduction of a toddler from his parents at the edge of a Brazillian rainforest which is being quickly destroyed by the father's construction company. The parents search for many years to no avail while the boy is raised by the Indians. The boy matures and becomes a young man in the ritualistic ceremonies of the Indians. One day the father finds the boy and although they acknowledge each other the years have won the boys heart to the Indian life [and Indian girls]. When the girls are kidnapped by another tribe and sold to unscrupulous Americans to become prostitutes the father and son go into action. A mysterious ending caps off a really good adventure film.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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The Emerald Forest (DVD)
Added 1/14/2010
The long awaited film has finally arrived on DVD at last!
This Film is great, especially the 'scope' cinematography. John Boorman seems to have a fascination with dams & rivers in His films, (see Deliverance main titles). The actors portraying the tribe were excellent. The film score is Brilliant! Performed by Junior Homrich & Brian Gascoigne, and can be found on the Varèse Sarabande CD label, if Your lucky enough to find one as they are way out of print.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
cult classic
Added 11/5/2009
I purchased because of a review I heard on NPR radio.It is an exclent story based on a true story.If you like it you should see "Quest for fire" about prehistoric times.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Awkward Masterpiece of Deep Ecology
Added 10/19/2009
To reveal to our "civilized" world our human roots in nature is an ambitious goal for any film. To do so using the story of hidden tribes in the Amazon, with cultures incomprehensible to "modern" humans, is remarkably ambitious. This film brings a deep ecology sensibility that is desperately needed - but just as desperately avoided in our complacent, self-loathing, materialistic culture.
"The Emerald Forest" is awkward at times. I'm not sure of the order in which the scenes were shot, but the director manages to lead us in the right direction. The acting appears to evolve(or is it our awareness that evolves?), as the viewer is lured into the contracting jungle culture of these tribes, and away from the dead world of constant construction, assimilation and expansion. What is most amazing, in a way, is the gentleness with which Boorman treats contemporary culture. This is the key to providing his ecological message the wings of flight that make our jaws drop in the midst of breattaking scenery and well-presented tribal culture and ritual.
Boorman lets the subject of his preaching be slowly revealed through the story and characters rather than bludgeoning us with immensely evil, calculating villains. As it is in reality, the insanity lies in our collective indifference, our willingness to accept a pathetic world of materialism and technology in the hopes that our connection with each other, our bodies and nature will not be missed. Incremental trade-offs leading to "higher standards of living" have left us dispossessed of our souls, seeking solace in hedonism and "pie in the sky" religions that cultivate the greed and abomination they purport so piously to eliminate.
Yet, in this process, key elements of the movie involve psychedelic drugs and nudity, albeit natural and normal in the cultures Boorman portrays. Can we be lured back into the jungle with titillation? Obviously, the life is harsh and dangers abound. Yet, this film isn't about a bunch of teenagers getting high. It is about an adult ritual of expanded consciousness and vision that is meant not to narrow consciousness as alcohol use does, but to expand it, to bring perspective and connection in the quest of vision and leadership.
Likewise, this film portrays nudity in the context of normal life and does not eroticize it. It is refreshingly ironic that, when liberated from enforced prostitution in a heavily armed brothel, the women instinctively remove the scanty clothing and adornments that have been used to make them "attractive." If clothing is a metaphor, what else does our culture uses to conceal our humanity? If hallucinogens are a metaphor, what else does our culture use to deaden our sensibilities so that we seek sexual conquest and materialistic acquisition instead of trusting, healthy relationships with the people and world around us?
Boorman's "The Emerald Forest" is an odd, but remarkable achievement that has stood the test of time quite well thus far. In 2009, this 1985 film seems even more wise than when it was created.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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