Into the wild

People here will have mixed feelings about it. There was a thread here about 3 weeks ago that discussed Chris McCandless, and much of the discussion was negative. I have not read the book nor seen the movie, but I have done some background research on Mr. McCandless. I will not share my opinion, but don't be surprised if some people here don't think highly of him.
 
I dont think to well of him from a survival perspective. Not a very good decision maker IMHO. However still an interesting story.........Another person underestimating the wilderness.
 
I loved the book because it was morbidly fascinating, like slowing down to look at a car accident on the highway.

I found myself simultaneously inspired by McCandless's adventurous spirit while being totally repulsed by the way he did things. It was a strange contradictory feeling.
 
Brian Jones said:
I loved the book because it was morbidly fascinating, like slowing down to look at a car accident on the highway.

I found myself simultaneously inspired by McCandless's adventurous spirit while being totally repulsed by the way he did things. It was a strange contradictory feeling.
Click to expand...

totally agree. Ive thought many times bout cashing in the chips and dissapearing off the grid for awhile, so I cant knock him for that.
C'mon K-mart boots for the alaskan bush??? Are you serious??
 
Brian Jones said:
I loved the book because it was morbidly fascinating, like slowing down to look at a car accident on the highway.

I found myself simultaneously inspired by McCandless's adventurous spirit while being totally repulsed by the way he did things. It was a strange contradictory feeling.
Click to expand...

Thats the way I felt, to the letter. Very good description Brian.
 
I went and saw the movie with my fiencee. The whole time we were watching it, I was thinking "yea, i could do it!". I know the whole time my fiencee was watching it, she must have been thinking "Don't you even think about it". I told her that I study survival skills to get back to her from a bad situation, not to run away from her.

IMHO, it was a good adventure story, but a bad survival movie.
 
BJ, good synopsis.

Was that a Buck 110 or Schrade in the movie?
Also, I may have spotted a quick shot of a fixed blade he was using... anyone?

The book was well done, imo.

I think the movie was very well made too and pretty faithful to the book.
Not an easy thing to do with all the flashbacks but great filming techniques in this one. Refreshing because it was done without using the standard Hollywood movie formula.
 
I thought the movie was very well done and had some great cinematography. Admittedly, the ubiquitous scenes showing of McCandles facing some panaramic view with arms streteched out - I feel the glory of nature - did get tiring three of four times in repetition.

Contrary to many of the past negative opinions expressed here in the past, I thought that the movie did not glorify the main character. It basically reinforced that he had real psychological problems and an inability to connect with his loving family, sister, parents and other humans who clearly reached out to him. His run to the wild was clearly a result of his emotional character flaws and as true tragedies goes, this flaw was basically unknown to the character.

The end product is him not surviving. Does it make it a bad survival movie because he failed to live through the ordeal? To me the answer is no, his unpreparedness and lack of training contributed to his failures which were portrayed as real mistakes - e.g. not bringing enough food, not knowing how to dress the moose after he shot it etc. I for one respected the movie for the message of tragedy that it conveyed. At least it didn't show too many stupid human tricks being rewarded in survival like most movies these days.
 
I saw "Into the Wild" a few days ago and I have also read the book. The cinematography was great, but the movie left a lot to be desired. A lot of detail was left out that was included in the book and some details were just flat out wrong. The scene where he was kayaking down Marble Canyon or whereever that was is not in the book at all. It says he used a canoe and left from somewhere near Lake Havasu where there are no rapids. The scene where he meets the Danes by the riverside is not in the book at all. As usual, Hollywood had to play up scenes that were minor in the book for dramatic effect. The girl who likes him at the Slabs was supposed to be younger than she is portrayed to be and they did not really get togther much at all according to the book. There is some speculation in the book about him maybe being gay or a virgin or something along those general lines. But romance and adventure are what sell movies, so I guess Hollywood had to do this. The soundtrack was really good. A couple of the Eddie Vedder songs are excellent.

Pretty good overall though at conveying the essence of the book I have to agree.
 
Never read the book but really enjoyed the movie. You have to take
it what it is, a story about a man who desired to do more then the status quo.
As for 'survival' skills.... he did pretty well for a long time with very little.
Sure he screwed up in Alaska and did some pretty dumb things but even
experienced people screw up usually thru overconfidence or indifference.
Read Deep Survival and see how many experts bite it by constructing false
mental models based on their years of experience.
 
I loved the book and look forward to seeing the movie. I think its a great book about survival...a lesson on what NOT to do. Couldn't help but like the guy, despite his mistakes.
 
Both the book and movie are worth checking out.
The real tragedy is that McCandless seemed to have overcome his demons while in the bush, but then died there. I don't remember if the movie shows this very well, but passages from his diary in the book give the sense that he really learned a lot about himself out there.
From a survival standpoint it shows what can be done by even an inexperienced and ignorant person. If he had done just one of several different things (i.e. brought a map, forded the river, dressed the Moose properly, made check-in arrangements, etc) he probably would have lived.
The one thing about the book that bugged me was Krakauer inserting himself into the story so much, there is an entire chapter about himself. However, he is better than most Mt. Climber-authors.
 
I would agree 100% with what Brian Jones said. It's like slowing down for a car crash!! No doubt the guy was intelligent, but when it came to survival, he made some huge blunders. If you read the book, buy the latest version, it has a much better theory on how he really died!
 
i hadnt noticed the book until someone got it for me for christmas- i wasnt sure on it but it was a wonderfully written book with an interesting story- im not mr survival but some of the things he did was just not smart- i guess the kid just thought to much- all and all a sad story- im slightly excited to see the movie- im interested in how they filmed it
 
I saw the movie than read the book, it's a really great story. The survival flaws are obvious but I think it is a motivating story, and it is easy to see what he did wrong. Those who are inspired by it won't make the same mistakes he did. The cinamatography, and the sound track are awesome!

I met some people when I went to Slab City that said they knew him, they mentioned that he came to the Slabs because he had a Girl friend there... I dunno
 
Its always easy to point out mistakes in hindsight. Then again just think about the dumb things you have done in the past ten years. Yeah we talk the talk, prepare our PSKs. But how many times did you take off without that little altoids tin? How many times did you think you have your back up knife in your pack only to find out that the knife wasn't in the pack, cause you were sharpening it the night befor?. How many times were you pulling out the drive way and got to the end of the steet when that annoying beeping came on reminding you to put on your seat belt?
 
That's why it has to be a lifestyle.
 
this is a sad story about a person with some deep seated psych issues that while working them out exposed himself to a lot of dangerous situations, and as mother nature tends to only tolerate fools for short periods of time, and given the fact that mother nature is not your psychotherapist, this fellow died trying to exorcize his demons. his death was sad but not unexpected given the harsh environment that he willingly subjected himself to as unprepared as he was.

alex
 
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