So the good joes at Flicker Alley (the ones behind the Chaplin at Keystone boxset, which I own and you should own) are releasing a new version of Nanook of the North. Ever fascinating, ever problematic, Nanook is one of my favourite silent films. This release includes some interesting extras, including a rare Norwegian talkie, The Wedding of Palo, which explores similar themes.
I posted a blog entry about Nanook a little while back. It was based on a live screening I'd attended at TIFF Bell Lightbox, in Toronto. The screening was accompanied by an Inuit throat-singer. Though the presentation wasn't entirely successful, it was certainly a memorable night.
This is a very exciting new issue -- not only for Nanook, which we've had earlier in the generally quite good Criterion edition, but for the brilliant film The Wedding of Palo, produced with the help of famed explorer Knud Rasmussen and starring a cast of West Greenlandic Inuit; it's far more dramatic, more deadly, and more passionate than Nanook. The set is also planned to include the Carnegie expedition films of "Captain" Kleinschmidt, which predate Nanook by 11 years, and have been almost completely unseen since then. I can't wait to have a look at these discs!
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to Palo. Flicker Alley is good people, too.
ReplyDeleteHuh. Just read your original 'Nanook' post - too bad about the apparent lack of authenticity. Why can't people just let the truth alone without warping it.
ReplyDeleteI have just posted my review of this Blu-Ray set here -- hope it will be of interest!
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