In the Land of the Headhunters

This video release by Milestone is a cultural treasure of the Kwakiutl First Nation. The main feature is the restored 1914 film "In The Land Of The Head Hunters." I have seen better restorations but the restorers can only do so much with what they have to work with! If the reader does not already know, most films made before 1952 or so were made using Nitrocellulose or celluloid. Nitrocellulose is not an altogether stable substance. So for any film made before 1952 it is a question of how much has the film detertiorated. In fact there are special hazardous materials regulations to be observed when transporting films made with Nitrocellulose stock. The film story is set in a time before European contact on the North American Pacific coast. The story line itself is probably a fiction. But the ceremonies, the masks, the costumes, and the people are authentic. There is an edited 1973 version with a sound tract called "In The Land Of The War Canoes." There was still another feature, a modern 21st century performance by Gwa wina dancers of their First Nation's ceremonial dances in traditional costumes.

In The Land of the head hunters, by Edward S Curtis, is a nice addition to my Native American History Collection. The time and work the Edward Curtis put into this movie, was huge. His love, patience and journalism of American History is noted. Some of the movie is boring or silly, but what Edward Curtis was trying to convey in time-period clothing, transportation and Native beliefs, and Taboos, was quite an artful endevour. I am thankful that he spent his life preserving what otherwise would be lost forever.

I remember seeing clips from this film in documentaries and have tracking the origins of the clip for years. I was finally able to track it down to this film made over a century ago. From a film historian point of view, it's really cool to own because of the fact that it's the first major motion picture with an all Native American cast. On the other hand, the film is in really terrible shape. While some of the footage looks pretty decent for 1914, other scenes are either missing entirely or terribly damaged beyond repair. One scene was so badly preserved, it looked so horrible I actually wished it was left out the cut entirely and replaced with a screenshot of the sequence or at least some text. Let this act as a reminder of film preservation. As for what is there, it is rather fascinating to witness how Edward S. Curtis wanted to show how the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest might have lived before European settlers ever set foot there. I would only recommend this for major film fanatics like myself.

Fascinating historical document and great restoration of damaged fragments of a deteriorated antique film--possibly the first ever documentary film in which Edward Curtis attempted to recreate traditional tribal customs and rituals of the Kwakiutl tribe of the Pacific Northwest, using the device of a fictional love story to frame the dances and ceremonies he had the tribal members recreate from memory, after all such traditions had been outlawed by the Canadian government.

It is amazing that this epic video has been preserved and that the film was shot over 100 years ago. My book club read the book The Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher by Timothy Egan and this movie was a wonderful conclusion to our study of Edward Curtis.

Lots of extras, some of which are a bit odd. But an excellent piece of early re enactment documentary. Very interesting.

I always wanted to see this, as I am a fan of Curtis's work

It was very interesting and we enjoyed watching it from a historic and cinamatic point of view

There are 2 discs, one with the original music and the other with dialogue and English subtitles. This was more than I expected, and the extras of interviews, etc. was very interesting.

Rien à redire sur l'envoi, délai respecté, emballage OK. Par contre, si on comprend bien que le travail a été ardu pour récupérer ce très vieux film, une fois regardé, le DVD se révèle assez décevant. DVD valable pour inconditionnel.

Awesome movies! It arrived late but thats ok. It arrived and in great shape.

EXCELLENT SERVICE. EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS.