Talk:Nanook of the North

Film: Canadian / Documentary / Silent / Core / American

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More Citations[edit]

This is an all right beginning. It leaves many questions hanging in the air and there are some statements (and maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention) that I don't know what they're based on. Gingermint (talk) 22:50, 22 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The Romance of the Far Fur Country[edit]

This recently-restored documentary, which predates Nanook, may have some relevance to this article. 31.52.198.186 (talk) 14:57, 21 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

In popular culture[edit]

That section makes little sense to me. Nanook means "polar bear" in Inuktitut, and it can't be assumed that all animal names in popular culture derive from the movie's sole influence. I suggest that all the ones which do not refer directly to the movie be removed. --Perilisk (talk) 18:00, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'm confused[edit]

it says Cunayou is the child but it also says it's one of his wives; which one is it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.181.35.236 (talk) 01:14, 15 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Allakariallak's death?[edit]

The death scenario is referenced to two books that I don't have access to. Do they really seem to be well-researched and unimpeachable? As much as I would like to know that Allakariallak didn't die, lost in the snow, of starvation, there are some prominent film critics and historians who have written that he did. The Roger Ebert reference given for this very article, for instance. Another who says so is Mark Cousins, in "Chapter 2: 1918-1928-The Triumph of American Film and the First of Its Rebels" of The Story of Film: An Odyssey. It's a documentary written, directed, and narrated by Cousins, adapted from his 2004 book The Story of Film that's currently being presented on Turner Classic Movies over 15 weeks: http://www.tcm.com/storyoffilm/index.html Perhaps Ebert and Cousins have fallen for a cinematic urban legend? Or perhaps it was the authors of the two books who fell for a different cinematic urban legend, one that paints a more relieving picture? Any further insight among article authors here will be interesting to read. Thank you for your time, Wordreader (talk) 06:09, 10 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The story about Allakariallak's starving to death was promulgated by Flaherty himself, and was widely reported at the time. The references (12 and 13) in the article offer reliable sources that confirm that he died, not from starvation but of pneumonia, probably the result of an infection contracted from outsiders. The references are a good place to start. Ebert and others are just relying on the earlier mentions in print, which were uncritically repeated by many critics and historians. Clevelander96 (talk) 20:20, 1 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Plot and Production[edit]

The Plot is too short and needs to be expanded also more information on the film's production should be added since the film is so significant.--Paleface Jack (talk) 17:18, 1 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

first feature-length documentary.[edit]

"The film is considered the first feature-length documentary."

That is most likely not the case. Arnold Fanck had filmed 2 feature-length documentarys before Nanook:

Das Wunder des Schneeschuhs (1920)
Im Kampf mit dem Berge (1921)

Soulman (talk) 21:24, 4 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

American?[edit]

I know this question is going to reek of knee-jerk nationalism, but I am legitimately curious why the film is described as "American." If the director (employee of HBC, raised in Toronto) filmed in Quebec, with Canadian cast, and his funding was secured from a Canadian consortium, wouldn't that make the film Canadian?

I'm really not interested in a patriotic debate here, I'm just asking for factual clarification. My apologies in advance if the answer is an obvious one. — Muckapedia (talk) 8^e déc. 2015 11h59 (−4h)

Where is Canada located if not in AMERICA? Last time I checked it was neither in Europe nor Asia nor Africa..... 95.90.241.28 (talk) 00:34, 26 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

1) The word is obviously being used as a national demonym, not a continental one. One rarely refers to a "European film" or an "Asian film". 2) Even if it were being used in a continental sense, it would be more usual in English to specify "North American" or "South American" as the two are considered separate continents in most English language sources. Given these facts, "American" in the sentence is most likely to indicate a connection to the United States of America. However, as the original poster points out, everything about this film seems linked to Canada. So, why "American" and not "Canadian"? --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 14:39, 30 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Adacemic Engagament section[edit]

I've reverted the edit by Hernandez717 [[1]]. If there is to be a separate section for academic work on Nanook, that should first be discussed here, and it would have to include a variety of work by scholars, not just that of one individual, the significance of whose work (relative to others) is unclear. Clevelander96 (talk) 15:26, 10 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion[edit]

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

Robert J Flaherty - 1922 - Nanook Of The North (Nanuk El Esquimal).ogv

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 07:51, 21 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Featured picture scheduled for POTD[edit]

Hello! This is to let editors know that File:Nanook of the North.webm, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for December 20, 2022. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2022-12-20. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Adam Cuerden ^(talk)_{Has about 8.2% of all FPs. Currently celebrating his 600^th FP!} 15:39, 20 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Nanook of the North is a 1922 American silent film written and directed by Robert J. Flaherty, which depicts the life of an Inuit family. From 1910, Flaherty worked for Sir William Mackenzie searching for mineral deposits along the Hudson Bay for the Canadian Northern Railway, and in 1913 he decided to start filming the lands and people of the area, using a glass-plate still camera and movie camera. He then spent 1914 and 1915 shooting hours of film of Inuit life, but his work was lost in 1916 when he dropped a cigarette onto the original camera negative. After four years of raising money, including from French fur company Revillon Frères, Flaherty returned to filming in 1920–21. As a main character, Flaherty chose the hunter Allakariallak. The film was produced in full collaboration with the Inuit. In 1989, Nanook of the North was among the first group of twenty-five films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Film credit: Robert J. Flaherty

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Uncited statement[edit]

"Kabloonak is a 1994 film about the making of Nanook of the North. Charles Dance plays Flaherty and Adamie Quasiak Inukpuk (a relative of Nanook) plays Nanook." If this is true, it should say "Kabloonak is a 1994 film about the making of Nanook of the North. Charles Dance plays Flaherty and Adamie Quasiak Inukpuk (a relative of Allakariallak) plays Nanook." Or even ""Kabloonak is a 1994 film about the making of Nanook of the North. Charles Dance plays Flaherty and Adamie Quasiak Inukpuk (a relative of Allakariallak) plays Allakariallak ("Nanook")." However, there is no citation and the Kabloonak article doesn't mention any such relationship. The citation in that article is not online, so I don't know if it the source mentions a family connection. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 14:33, 30 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]