Into the Wild (film)

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Into the Wild

Promotional film poster
Directed by Sean Penn
Produced by Sean Penn
Art Linson
Written by Jon Krakauer (book)
Sean Penn (screenplay)
Starring Emile Hirsch
Marcia Gay Harden
William Hurt
Jena Malone
Catherine Keener
Vince Vaughn
Hal Holbrook
Kristen Stewart
Music by Michael Brook
Kaki King
Eddie Vedder
Cinematography Eric Gautier
Editing by Jay Cassidy
Distributed by Paramount Vantage
Release date(s) September 21, 2007
Running time 148 min
Country United States
Language English
Budget $15 million
Gross revenue $49,550,616 [1]
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Into the Wild is a 2007 film based on the 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer about the adventures of Christopher McCandless. It was directed by Sean Penn, who also wrote the screenplay, and stars Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone, Marcia Gay Harden, Vince Vaughn, William Hurt and Catherine Keener. It premiered during the second edition of the Rome Film Feast and a limited release was given on September 21, 2007, and a wide release on October 19.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Into the Wild recounts the life of Christopher McCandless, an actual student-athlete at Emory University, as told by his sympathetic sister. In response to a materialistic, manipulative, and domineering father, McCandless destroys all of his credit cards and identification documents, donates $24,000 (nearly his entire savings) to Oxfam, and sets out on a crosscountry drive in his well-used but reliable economy car towards his ultimate goal: to live alone and off the land in Alaska. Along the way, he loses his automobile to a flash flood, inspiring him to hitchhike his way there after burning the remainder of his dwindling cash supply. Taking an unintentionally circuitous route, he encounters many unconventional individuals on his itinerary as he purposefully trudges onward to his final destination, arriving in the wilds of Alaska nearly two years after his initial departure. He starts living in a "Magic Bus"[2] serving as a shelter for people walking in the area (though in the film there is nobody else). Resourceful, McCandless finds joy in living off the land, and begins to write a book of his adventures. Unfortunately, as the spring thaw arrives, he is cut off from civilization by waterways. As his food supply lessens, he resorts to eating plants. Although he consults a brought-along book about the edibility of plants, he confuses an edible and a poisonous kind, which turns out to be fatal. As he dies, he continues to write, detailing his painful demise as a dramatic denouement to his autobiography.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Filming

The scenes of graduation from Emory University in the film were shot in the fall of 2006 on the front lawn of Reed College. Some of the graduation scenes were also filmed during the actual Emory University graduation on May 15, 2006.[3] The Alaska scenes depicting the area around the abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail were filmed on the actual site. The production made four separate trips to Alaska to film during different seasons.

[edit] Critical reception

Into the Wild received strong positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 83% of 155 reviews of the film were positive, resulting in a "Fresh" rating.[4] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 73 out of 100, based on 38 reviews.[5]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4 stars out of 4 and described the film as "spellbinding". Ebert wrote that Emile Hirsch gives a "hypnotic performance", saying "It is great acting, and more than acting". Ebert said "The movie is so good partly because it means so much, I think, to its writer-director", Sean Penn.[6]

The American Film Institute listed the film as an AFI Movie of the Year for 2007.[7]

National Board of Review named it one of the Top Ten Films of the Year.

[edit] Top ten lists

The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.[8]

[edit] Awards

[edit] Wins

[edit] Nominations

  • Cinema Audio Society
    • Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures

[edit] Box office performance

In North America, Into the Wild initially opened in limited release, in four theaters and grossed $212,440, posting a per-theater average of $53,110. For the next several weeks, the film remained in limited release until it expanded to over 600 theaters on October 19, 2007; in its first weekend of wide release, the film grossed just $2.1 million for a per-theater average of $3,249. As of March 23, 2008, the film has grossed $18,349,124 domestically and $29,224,879 worldwide. In total, the film has grossed $47,574,003. [14]

[edit] Home video release

Into the Wild was released on 4 March, 2008 as a standard DVD,[15] Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition DVD,[16] and standard HD DVD.[17] The standard DVD contains the feature film, audio commentary, and trailer. The special edition DVD and HD DVD additionally contain two special features entitled The Story, The Characters and The Experience. The Blu-ray Disc edition will be released in France on 16 July 2008. [18]

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: Into the Wild (soundtrack)

The soundtrack is performed by Eddie Vedder, guitarist and lead singer of Pearl Jam, Jerry Hannan with his song "Society", and Kaki King. Vedder won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song for the song "Guaranteed".

[edit] References

  1. ^ Worldwide Total Gross data from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=intothewild.htm as of March 20, 2008
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Remake of "Nerds" Film Scrapped. The Emory Wheel. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
  4. ^ Into the Wild (Rotten Tomatoes). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
  5. ^ Into the Wild (2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
  6. ^ Roger Ebert (2007-09-28). :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews :: Into the Wild (xhtml). Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
  7. ^ No Country for Old Men, Juno named to AFI's Top 10 of year. CBC (2007-12-17). Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  9. ^ Travers, Peter, (December 19, 2007) "Peter Travers' Best and Worst Movies of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-20
  10. ^ a b David Germain; Christy Lemire (2007-12-27). 'No Country for Old Men' earns nod from AP critics. Associated Press, via Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
  11. ^ 65th Golden Globe Awards Nominations & Winners. goldenglobes.org. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  12. ^ Nominees - 80th Annual Academy Awards. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  13. ^ HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION 2008 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2007. goldenglobes.org (2007-12-13). Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  14. ^ Into the Wild (2007). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  15. ^ Amazon.com: Into the Wild: Emile Hirsch,Marcia Gay Harden,William Hurt,Jena Malone,Brian Dierker,Catherine Keener,Vince Vaughn,Kristen Stewart,Hal Holbrook,Bart the Bear (II),Haley Ramm,Steven Wiig,Kathleen Mattice,Parris Mosteller,Dan Burch,Haley Sweet,Joe Dustin,Zach Galifianakis,Thure Lindhardt,Bryce Walters,Sean Penn: Movies & TV
  16. ^ Amazon.com: Into the Wild (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition): Emile Hirsch,Marcia Gay Harden,William Hurt,Jena Malone,Brian Dierker,Catherine Keener,Vince Vaughn,Kristen Stewart,Hal Holbrook,Bart the Bear (II),Haley Ramm,Steven Wiig,Kathleen Mattice,Parris Mosteller,Dan Burch,Haley Sweet,Joe Dustin,Zach Galifianakis,Thure Lindhardt,Bryce Walters,Sean Penn: Movies & TV
  17. ^ Amazon.com: Into The Wild [HD DVD]: Emile Hirsch,Marcia Gay Harden,William Hurt,Jena Malone,Brian Dierker,Catherine Keener,Vince Vaughn,Kristen Stewart,Hal Holbrook,Bart the Bear (II),Haley Ramm,Steven Wiig,Kathleen Mattice,Parris Mosteller,Dan Burch,Haley Sweet,Joe Dustin,Zach Galifianakis,Thure Lindhardt,Bryce Walters,Sean Penn: Movies & TV
  18. ^ http://www.dvdrama.com/news-26541-preview-into-the-wild-en-dvd-blu-ray.php (French)

[edit] External links

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