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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 781
Released: March 4, 2008 |
| Our Price: $12.94 |
| Used Price: $2.57 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
This is the true story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch). Freshly graduated from college with a promising future ahead, McCandless instead walked out of his privileged life and into the wild in search of adventure. What happened to him on the way transformed this young wanderer into an enduring symbol for countless people -- a fearless risk-taker who wrestled with the precarious balance between man and nature.
Description of Into the Wild:
A superb cast and an even-handed treatment of a true story buoy Into the Wild, Sean Penn's screen adaptation of Jon Krakauer's bestselling book. Emile Hirsch stars as Christopher McCandless, scion of a prosperous but troubled family who, after graduating from Atlanta's Emory University in the early 1990s, decides to chuck it all and become a self-styled "aesthetic voyager" in search of "ultimate freedom." He certainly doesn't do it halfway: after donating his substantial savings account to charity and literally torching the rest of his cash, McCandless changes his name (to "Alexander Supertramp"), abandons his family (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden as his bickering, clueless parents and Jena Malone as his baffled but loving sister, who relates much of the backstory in voice-over), and hits the road, bound for the Alaskan bush and determined not to be found. For the next two years he lives the life of a vagabond, working a few odd jobs, kayaking through the Grand Canyon into Mexico, landing on L.A.'s Skid Row, and turning his back on everyone who tried to befriends him (including Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker as two kindly, middle-aged hippies and Hal Holbrook in a deeply affecting performance as an old widower who tries to take "Alex" under his wing). Penn, who directed and wrote the screenplay, alternates these interludes with scenes depicting McCandless' Alaskan idyll--which soon turns out be not so idyllic after all. Settling into an abandoned school bus, he manages to sustain himself for a while, shooting small game (and one very large moose), reading, and recording his existential musings on paper. But when the harsh realities of life in the wilderness set in, our boy finds himself well out of his depth, not just ill-prepared for the rigors of day to day survival but realizing the importance of the very thing he wanted to escape--namely, human relationships. It'd be easy to either idealize McCandless as a genuinely free spirit, unencumbered by the societal strictures that tie the rest of us down, or else dismiss him as a hopelessly callow naïf, a fool whose disdain for practical realities ultimately doomed him. Into the Wild does neither, for the most part telling the tale with an admirable lack of cheap sentiment and leaving us to decide for ourselves. --Sam Graham
Into the Wild Reviews:
Misunderstood 
2009-12-06 - A great effort by Penn. This is an artful film without being over the top or sentimental.
But, what I would really like to address after reading the many 'bad' reviews here (and of the book) is something else entirely.
Something about the nature of Chris Mcandless, and the real story that's being told here.
So many people I have talk to and who's reviews I have read are quite upset by Mcandless.
They call him idealistic and spoiled - mean spirited and selfish. His is a mirror.
These people dont seem to understand that this journey is about a quest for true emotional and spiritual freedom, a quest for meaning and for God, if you will.
Ultimately this is not about his upbringing or his parents or his selfish nature.
Our people too dense to see that the outward things only bring up the deeper issues that we all face as human beings? Perhaps this is the fault of Krakauer or Penn - but I dont think so.
If you cannot see the universal struggle for man in this story (for that is what the story is all about) then this film is definitely not for you. Or perhaps it is, but you just cant, or dont see it.
Although the film tells the story of Mcandless's life and the outward things that bother him - the things that ultimately motivate him are something else altogether. There is something that the human needs more than anything. Does have to be spelled out? In this society perhaps it does.
At the end of the story Chris becomes forgiving, truly lets go, and I believe becomes truly happy. A life well lived in my opinion. How many people do you know that die in this way?
Read the book or watch this again if you confused by what I just said.
The climax is the single most important element of the story. How can you miss this? Look deeper. Look longer. This is not just 'selfishness and idealism (which is what we all struggle with isnt?) but the need for a redemption that is only found when one truly gives up everything seeking it. And I do mean everything.
it's always the same pattern... 
2009-12-02 - Rich boy scorns hard-working parents, longs to live a "real" life and not waste it like other sheep who follow the norm and -- horrors! -- follow the rules. Interesting that only young rich white men have this particular chip on their shoulders; a moving movie about a spoiled, unwise, arrogant young man who ironically does nothing but waste his life.
Teacher Based Opinion
2009-11-23 - This item was purchased to supplement a novel unit of the same name. The movie is an excellent adaptation of the novel, not something often said from my mouth, however the "R" rating may make it difficult to show in class. The nudity scenes are easily skipped, without causing detriment to the movie. The movie highlights the most important part of the novel, while not losing the voice and randomness that Krakauer created in the novel. I would gladly recommend the movie to anyone.
Awesome Film
2009-11-19 - Shipment arrived on expected date. Smooth transaction. Good quality and good film make the time to purchase worthwhile.
Great movie about the meaning of life 
2009-11-11 - Actually this review is about the movie. The dvd worked perfectly. The movie is simply a must for all who wish to see things, both past and present, from a unique and different perspective. The story of Chris McCandless makes you think about what's really important for you, in your life as a human being, and how hard can be to strive to achieve your ends.
