In The Land Of The War Canoes VHS Video Native American Series Documentary

Detailed Condtion : What You See Is What You Get! (WYSIWYG) I DON'T use STOCK IMAGES, so what you see in the photos is the actual item you will receive. All items are in Very Good to NEW condition as noted in the listing. See my photos and listing details for additional information!

This listing is for In The Land Of The War Canoes VHS Video Native American Series.

Actors: Stanley Hunt, Sarah Constance Smith Hunt, Mrs. George Walkus, Paddy 'Malid, Balutsa

Directors: Edward S. Curtis

Writers: Edward S. Curtis

Format: Black & White, NTSC

Language: English

Rated: NR - Not Rated

Number of tapes: 1

Studio: Milestone Video

VHS Release Date: 1992

Run Time: 47 minutes  

If you like Nanook of the North, I recommend In the Land of the War Canoes. Unfortunately this is all that survives of the only motion picture made by the "super-photographer of the American Indian", Edward S. Curtis, "In the Land of the Headhunters". This film predates Nanook of the North, and it is known that Robert Flaherty visited Curtis to view this film, before he made Nanook. The film has been retitled for two reasons. A)the previous title is considered sensational and outdated (the kwakiutl had not practiced head hunting for many generations) and B)the film has been significantly altered, (in order for it to be presentable, after much of it was destroyed in a fire). The newer film is an erudite reconstruction that involved visiting the original tribe. There are no known complete prints surviving, so this is what we will have to settle for.

In the interest of being concise I'll skip to some great references made to reviewers of the oringal film, in the text of this book of photographs: Edward S. Curtis in the Land of the War Canoes: A Pioneer Cinematographer in Pacific NW:

W. Stephen Bush 1914 review: ..."It is said that Mr. Curtis is a profound student of Indian Lore. This is evident enouph from the photographs, but it does not at all explain his success with this subject on the screen. The cause of that must me sought in an extraordinary perception of artistic and dramatic values, in an uncommon skill of selection and in a sort of second sight with the camera."..."Mr. Curtis conceived this wonderful story as an epic. It fully deserves the name. Indeed, it seemed to me that there was a most striking resemblance all through the film between the musical epics of Richard Wagner and the theme and treatment of this Indian epic..." and Vachel Lindsay in 1915: "This work of a lifetime, a supreme art achievment, shows the native as a figure in bronze. Mr Curtis' photoplay The Land of the Headhunters..., a romance of the Indians of the North-West, abounds in whole bronzes."

What is so fascinating about this film, aside from the subject matter, is how cinematic it is, and considering this in respect to this being the only film made by this photographer. He seems to have an absolutely inspired intuition for drama and the play between realism and form. It is unfortunate we will never see it as the author intended, but the process of viewing a "film artifact" is also very exciting. I know no better example of one. This film is equally recommended for cinephiles and Native American enthusiasts.

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