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The Call of the Wild

The Call of the Wild

Adventure · Drama · Family · 1972

John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.

Movie details

The Call of the Wild

“Sweeping action-adventure.. against the perils of the frozen north!”

1972 Adventure · Drama · Family 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Call of the Wild?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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When twelve-year-old Donn Fendler gets tired of waiting for his father and brothers to join him on the summit of Maine's highest peak, he decides to find his own way back to camp. But Donn doesn't count on a fast-moving fog that obscures the path. He doesn't count on falling down an embankment that hides him from sight. And he doesn't count on taking a turn that leaves him alone to wander aimlessly for nearly two weeks in the empty mountain wilderness.

The Prince and the Pauper

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Jack London's classic story from 1903 about Buck, a dog kidnapped from his home in California and taken to the Yukon where he is mistreated until a prospector discovers him and relates to his situation. Although the two are bonded, Buck yearns to run free with the wild dogs in the wilderness.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ken Annakin

Written by

Harry Alan Towers · Wyn Wells · Peter Yeldham · Hubert Frank

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston

John Thornton

Raimund Harmstorf

Raimund Harmstorf

Pete

George Eastman

George Eastman

Black Burton

Maria Rohm

Maria Rohm

Mercedes

Juan Luis Galiardo

Juan Luis Galiardo

Seze

Sancho Gracia

Sancho Gracia

Taglish Charlie

F

Friedhelm Lehmann

Charles

Court is in session

Put The Call of the Wild on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.