1971's THE MAN IN THE WILDERNESS is a solid adventure yarn featuring Richard Harris as a trapper left for dead after a vicious bear mauling.
The bear attack is graphic, scary and makes me never want to go camping (not that it was high on my list to begin with anyway). The leader of the expedition, Captain Henry (the great John Huston in fine form and strange hat) decides that they must move on without waiting for Harris to recuperate and he leaves him for dead.
Beyond all odds, Harris wards off death and begins to gain his strength, driven by the quest to find those that left him behind.
The scenes of the expedition, in which the group is transporting a full size boat through the wilderness in quest of the river to take them to their destination, are really spectacular and done full scale.
Richard Harris is very good in a quiet role and the film goes in directions you probably wont expect at its conclusion.
A peaceful little gem from the early 70's with great music by Johnny Harris and solid direction from Richard Sarafian (Vanishing Point, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing).
We'll give Harris a bearskin and a solid B.
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