Vince Vaughn Movie:

		List Price: $29.99		Label: Paramount Salesrank: 11940 Released: December 16, 2008
		Our Price: $18.20
		Used Price: $17.99
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

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 [Blu-ray]:
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 [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Into the Wild - Kosher Version
2009-11-08 - First off; I haven't read the book the film is based on, so this will be a stand-alone review. It is a wonderful film, yet it is a quite distorted message compared to the one Christopher McCandless attempted to send out. It is probably the most "radical Right-wing" and anti-materialistic (read: anti-American) film you'll ever see come out of America that will achieve relatively big mainstream success. A low-caste non-political friend of mine once exclaimed; "That's you!" when referring to the main character, and I found that very flattering. Christopher McCandless gave away all his money, packed a rucksack full of "Right-wing" authors and after he left his dysfunctional family and beloved sister, he went hiking on his own across the US. Eventually, he decided to try to hike to Alaska, where his spiritual quest would hopefully be completed. Quite inspired by Thoreau he decided to leave behind all the friends he had met during his travels across America and travel to his beloved Alaska.

The film manages to portray the so-called "Other America" quite skilfully, the one we don't usually get to see from other mainstream sources. A nature-loving, religious, European America that actually reads books and is the America that it was envisioned to be. That being said, I don't think Penn, Hirsch or Krakauer really understand the message of McCandless, at all. I mean, have YOU ever heard of a member of the Tribe that gave away all his money and went off to find himself and God in a protest against capitalist and hollow America? Hirsch does a very good role, but it would have been better to find an actor that was genetically and phenotypically similar to McCandless (in my view).

That being said, there are so many great qualities about this film; the scenery is breathtaking, the relationships gut wrenching, the idealism so strong and Eddie Vedder's music makes this one of those films you just have to see. If only everyone in the so-called "West" would go see (and understand) the message of McCandless, perhaps we could take a step back towards discovering our European soul. The film is almost too much to watch at times, as in the dialogues between the young Christopher and the aging Ronald Frantz. Brought tears to my eyes, something which hardly happens often, to say the least. Read the books McCandless did, watch the film several times and most importantly; go into nature and think about these issues. I'm sure you'll discover much about yourself and our future in the process. 4,5 stars.

Brilliant Adaptation of a Great Book
2009-10-26 - The success of this recreation of Christopher McCandless's journey across America can be attributed largely to the outstanding work of three of its principal contributors.

Writer/director Sean Penn painstakingly retraces McCandless's steps and beautifully stages the scenes with those whom he met along the way. It would have been easy for him to be judgmental either in favor of the idealism that inspired McCandless to venture out in the first place, or chastising him for his foolishness. Instead, however, he takes a step back and lets the audience make their own judgments but hints at an understanding of both points of view along the way.

Emile Hirsch gives a breakout performance as McCandless. He embodies his character's single-mindedness and determination in spite of the many hardships he faces along the way. He reminds the audience what it's like to be young, idealistic, and full of moral indignation towards society.

Eddie Vedder, a veteran of the music scene that emerged when the events of this story took place, puts together a folksy arrangement of songs that rhapsodize the main character's thoughts and feelings. The coiled-up energy he's always had still comes through in every song, but so does a maturity that only comes with experience. It's as if he's speaking for someone in McCandless who represented his core audience with a sympathetic voice that shows his deep understanding of everything he's going through.

Remarkable supporting performances are also given by Jena Malone, Marcia Gay Harden, and William Hurt as the family he left behind, Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker as a couple of free-wheeling hippies he meets up with twice along his way, and Hal Holbrook, in one of his greatest performances ever, as the last person McCandless connects with along his way.

"Into the Wild" captures the wanderlust many people feel, but few ever act upon, and illustrates both the wonder and the danger of it in poignant detail.

Moving!
2009-10-03 - This movie is awesome! I would recommend reading the book first and then watching the movie as I did. The movie will flow more smoothly for you if do becuase it jumps around in time (I have trouble following stuff like that). Emile Hirsch did a great job. If you have a primitive urge to experience life in the raw with next to nothing then this movie should be to your liking.

Into the wild dvd
2009-09-11 - Yes the dvd came in when it was to the dvd was in great shape brand new condition thank you very much

Favorite movie
2009-09-02 - I had to own it. It's inspired me to go travel and experience the world