jesheldon
Lifetime Total
1+
IMDb Member
20 years
Reviews
Congorilla (1932)
From a time before either WWII or the Great Depression ...
Unlike some of the posters on this page, I find this and many of the other Johnsons' fine films to be entrancing. Working in a time without the extreme telephoto lenses of recent years and with only very primitive camera and sound equipment, they have managed to create something of lasting value that offers worthwhile insight into the life and time of both the animals and the people they were filming. Both the people and the animals have been altered dramatically since that time.
One writer seems to feel that most or all of their scenes were faked when actually they were quite real but sometimes done with a perspective of entertaining the audience (the filmmakers were, after all, in the entertainment business and the films had to appeal commercially to audiences else there would be no more).
The Johnsons actually had very great rapport with the native people they dealt with and were if fact greatly criticized by the white African establishment for being "too close" to their film subjects. They very much respected these people and enjoyed them and the feeling was reciprocated as can be observed in the films. There was no "put down" either actual or implied despite what some infer from the terminology used.
The Johnsons also accomplished many firsts in their career - first sound film made entirely in Africa; first use of airplanes for wildlife large scale filming; first to fly over both Mts. Kenya and Kilimanjaro; first to show a moving picture on a scheduled commercial airline flight (which flight was captained by Eddie Rickenbacker a well-known figure at the time); first to film many wild and hostile tribes in the South Seas and Borneo.
When they left Borneo (their last film) in 1937 they left the government of that country a gift with a treasure trove of several thousand still photos of people and places which were destroyed by the Japanese occupation during the WWII time frame and a visual record of that time is only now being rebuilt by Malaysia - a country deeply interested in how their culture developed over time,
Those criticizing the Johnsons for "staging" scenes might try to approach elephants in the wild as Martin and Osa did on many occasions to film them since they did not have the zoom-to-the-moon ability of today's lenses. Try staring down a Rhino - as Osa did on several occasions - with only a relatively meagre rifle to protect you when you closely approached such dangerous animals. THEN let's talk about "staged scenes". And, in fact, the Johnsons were both pilots but chose not to fly the planes realizing that they were not exceptional pilots - which skill was required by some of their locales (and considering their aircraft).
Martin and Osa Johnson should rightly be viewed considering the time in which they lived and worked and not with some 21st century judgmental viewpoint. They were truly pioneers in their field and the museum that still exists to showcase their work and times does so perhaps better than these films might. I find the films quite absorbing when viewed with some understanding, though.
One writer seems to feel that most or all of their scenes were faked when actually they were quite real but sometimes done with a perspective of entertaining the audience (the filmmakers were, after all, in the entertainment business and the films had to appeal commercially to audiences else there would be no more).
The Johnsons actually had very great rapport with the native people they dealt with and were if fact greatly criticized by the white African establishment for being "too close" to their film subjects. They very much respected these people and enjoyed them and the feeling was reciprocated as can be observed in the films. There was no "put down" either actual or implied despite what some infer from the terminology used.
The Johnsons also accomplished many firsts in their career - first sound film made entirely in Africa; first use of airplanes for wildlife large scale filming; first to fly over both Mts. Kenya and Kilimanjaro; first to show a moving picture on a scheduled commercial airline flight (which flight was captained by Eddie Rickenbacker a well-known figure at the time); first to film many wild and hostile tribes in the South Seas and Borneo.
When they left Borneo (their last film) in 1937 they left the government of that country a gift with a treasure trove of several thousand still photos of people and places which were destroyed by the Japanese occupation during the WWII time frame and a visual record of that time is only now being rebuilt by Malaysia - a country deeply interested in how their culture developed over time,
Those criticizing the Johnsons for "staging" scenes might try to approach elephants in the wild as Martin and Osa did on many occasions to film them since they did not have the zoom-to-the-moon ability of today's lenses. Try staring down a Rhino - as Osa did on several occasions - with only a relatively meagre rifle to protect you when you closely approached such dangerous animals. THEN let's talk about "staged scenes". And, in fact, the Johnsons were both pilots but chose not to fly the planes realizing that they were not exceptional pilots - which skill was required by some of their locales (and considering their aircraft).
Martin and Osa Johnson should rightly be viewed considering the time in which they lived and worked and not with some 21st century judgmental viewpoint. They were truly pioneers in their field and the museum that still exists to showcase their work and times does so perhaps better than these films might. I find the films quite absorbing when viewed with some understanding, though.
The Last of the Mohicans (1971)
As many of the comments indicate, this is a superb presentation of LOTM.
Filmed in the Scottish Highlands, this rendition of LOTM is the most faithful to the Cooper novel of all of them (and there have been many including the popular 1992 Hollywood version which was markedly different from the novel in many places). Perhaps the next most accurate LOTM is the 1920's B&W version - though not nearly as faithful as this Masterpiece Theater piece.
M/T originally presented in in their first year, 1971, as a series of 8 episodes of 45 minutes each and later had a non-M/T version of 13 episodes of about 30 minutes played by a few public TV stations in the mid-'70s. The main difference was the M/T version had an introduction (somewhat flawed as I recall) by Alastair Cooke.
The 13 episode version (same as M/T except for intro) does exist - we are watching it currently on DVD. The double Emmy award-winning producer of this '71 version (John McRae) says that the BBC destroyed the production masters in about the mid-'70s but he feels it was one of his best efforts and also says that it was nominated for the Emmy at the time (but didn't win).
M/T originally presented in in their first year, 1971, as a series of 8 episodes of 45 minutes each and later had a non-M/T version of 13 episodes of about 30 minutes played by a few public TV stations in the mid-'70s. The main difference was the M/T version had an introduction (somewhat flawed as I recall) by Alastair Cooke.
The 13 episode version (same as M/T except for intro) does exist - we are watching it currently on DVD. The double Emmy award-winning producer of this '71 version (John McRae) says that the BBC destroyed the production masters in about the mid-'70s but he feels it was one of his best efforts and also says that it was nominated for the Emmy at the time (but didn't win).