In the Land of the Head Hunters

In the Land of the Head Hunters

Infobox Film
name = In the Land of the Head Hunters


image_size = 200px
caption = Kwagu'ł girl, Margaret Frank (nee Wilson) was featured in Curtis' "In the Land of the Head Hunters". Here she is shown in a portrait by Curtis wearing abalone shell earrings. Abalone shell earrings were a sign of the noble class.
director = Edward S. Curtis
producer =
writer = Edward S. Curtis
narrator =
starring = Maggie Frank
music =
cinematography = Edmund August Schwinke
editing =
distributor =
released = December 7 1914
runtime = 47 min
country = USA, Canada
language = silent film
English intertitles
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0004150

"In the Land of the Head Hunters" (also called "In the Land of the War Canoes") is a 1914 silent film fictionalizing the world of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples of the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, written and directed by Edward S. Curtis and acted entirely by Kwakwaka'wakw natives.cite web|url=http://www.curtisfilm.rutgers.edu/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 |title=Web site for "In the Land of the Head Hunters" re-release, a joint project of U'mista and Rutgers University |accessdate=2008-06-22] It was selected in 1999 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [cite web|url=http://www.loc.gov/film/nfrwww.html |title=Films selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress 1989-2005 |accessdate=2008-08-27] It was the first feature-length film whose cast was composed entirely of Native North Americans; the second, eight years later, was Robert Flaherty's "Nanook of the North".

Original release

Earlier, Curtis had experimented with multimedia. In 1911 he created a stage show, with slides, a lecture and live musical accompaniment, called "The Indian Picture Opera". He used stereopticon projectors, where two projectors dissolved back and forth between images. This was his prelude to entering the motion picture era.fact|date=June 2008

The film opened in New York City and Seattle, Washington in December 1914, with live performances of a score by John J. Braham. Braham had access to wax cylinder recordings of Kwakwaka'wakw music, and the promotional campaign at the time suggested that his score was based on these; in fact, there were few snatches of Kwakwaka'wakw music in the score. Although critically praised, the film was a commercial failure.Aaron Glass, Brad Evans, Andrea Sanborn, Project statement, p. 2-3 of the program for presentation of "In the Land of the Head Hunters", Moore Theatre, Seattle, Washington, June 10, 2008.]

alvaging the film and score

A single damaged, incomplete print of the film was salvaged from a dumpster and donated to Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History in 1947. Bill Holm and George Quimby re-edited this print in 1974, added a soundtrack by Kwakwaka'wakw musicians, and released the result as "In the Land of the War Canoes". Independently, some other damaged clips from the film made their way to the UCLA Film & Television Archive. The score had been filed at the library of the Getty Research Institute, but without a title that tied it to the film. [cite web |last=Getty Center |url=http://www.getty.edu/visit/events/head_hunters.html |title=Premiere film screening and Gwa'wina traditional dance presentation. In the Land of the Head Hunters |date=June 5, 2008 |accessdate=2008-08-27] The 2008 restoration brought together these materials.

Documentary or melodrama?

"In the Land of the Head Hunters" has often been discussed as a flawed documentary: it combines many accurate representations of aspects of Kwakwaka'wakw culture, art, and technology from the era in which it was made with a melodramatic plot based on practices that either dated from long before the first contact of the Kwakwaka'wakw with people of European descent or were entirely fictional. Curtis appears never to have specifically presented the film as a documentary, but he also never specifically called it a work of fiction.

Some aspects of the film do have documentary accuracy: the artwork, the ceremonial dances, the clothing, the architecture of the buildings, and the construction of the dugout, or a War Canoe reflected Kwakwaka'wakw culture. Other aspects of the film were based on the Kwakwaka'wakw's orally transmitted traditions or on aspects of other neighboring cultures. The film also accurately portrays Kwakwaka'wakw rituals that were, at the time, prohibited by Canada's potlatch prohibition, enacted in 1884 and not rescinded until 1951.

Plot

The following plot synopsis was published in conjunction with a 1915 showing of the film at Carnegie Hall:

Quotation|To gain power from the spirit forces, Motana, a great chief's son, goes on a vigil-journey. But though the tribal law forbids the thought of woman during the fasting, his dreams are ever of Naida; her face appearing in the coilng smoke of the prayer-fire he builds high upon a mountain peak. To forfend the anger of the spirits he must pass a stronger ordeal. He sleeps upon the Island of the Dead, then hunts and kills the whale; and raids the clustered sea-lion rookeries, a whole day's paddle out to sea.

Naida is wooed and won by Motana, and splendid is the wooing. But Naida, with her dowry, is coveted by the Sorcerer. He is evil, old and ugly. Waket, Naida's father fears the baleful “medicine” of the Sorcerer, and also stands in dread of the Sorcerer's brother, who is Yaklus, “the short life bringer,” and the head-hunting scourge of all the coast. Waket promises Naida to the Sorcerer. So then begins the Indian Trojan war.

Motana and his father, Kenada, and their clan resolve to rid the region of the head hunters. In their great canoes they attack the village of the Sorcerer and Yaklus. The Sorcerer's head they bring to prove his death to those who believed him “deathless.” But Yaklus escapes. After the wedding of Motana and Naida, with pomp of primitive pageantry, and dancing and feasting, in which the throngs of two great totem villages take part, Yaklus attacks and burns Motana's village. Motana is left for dead. Naida is carried away into captivity. Wild is the reveling that follows at the village of Yaklus. The beauty of Naida’s dancing saves her life. Naida’s slave boy, a fellow captive, escapes. His message brings Motana, who rescues Naida by stealth. The raging Yaklus pursues. Motana, hard pressed, dares the waters of the surging gorge of Hyal. His canoe flies through, but Yaklus is overwhelmed and drowned. ["Synopsis", program for a performance of "In the Land of the Head Hunters" at Carnegie Hall, February 9, 1915, reproduced on p. 6 of the program for presentation of "In the Land of the Head Hunters", Moore Theatre, Seattle, Washington, June 10, 2008.]

Notes

External links

*imdb title|id=0004150|title=In the Land of the Head Hunters
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JUBF0K The Indian Picture Opera (dvd)]
* [http://www.archive.org/download/inlandofheadhunt00curtrich/inlandofheadhunt00curtrich.pdf Book version of "In the Land of the Head Hunters"] (published 1915; now in public domain). PDF scanned from a copy in the Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Indian Picture Opera — is a magic lantern slide show by photographer Edward S. Curtis. In the early 1900 s, Curtis published the renowned 20 volume book subscription entitled The North American Indian . He compiled about 2400 photographs with detailed ethnological and… …   Wikipedia

  • The World of Kong — The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island is a 2005 encyclopedic book, made for the release of Peter Jackson s King Kong. The book tells all about King Kong s fictional world. It talks about everything on Skull Island, from the… …   Wikipedia

  • The Residents — Origin Shreveport, Louisiana, United States Genres Avant garde, experimental, multimedia art Years active 1966 1969–present Labels …   Wikipedia

  • The Carmelite Order —     The Carmelite Order     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Carmelite Order     One of the mendicant orders.     Origin     The date of the foundation of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been under discussion from the fourteenth century to …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • The Heroes of Olympus — (left to right) Piper, Annabeth, Hazel, Leo, Jason, Frank, Percy The Lost Hero The Son of Neptune The Mark of Athena Author …   Wikipedia

  • The Haunt of Fear — Publication information Publisher EC Comics Schedule …   Wikipedia

  • The Residents — Pays d’origine  États Unis Genre musical Avant garde Post punk musique expérimentale An …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Belgariad — is a five book fantasy epic written by David Eddings. The series tells the story of the recovery of the Orb of Aldur and coming of age of Garion, an orphaned farmboy. Garion is accompanied by his aunt Polgara and grandfather Belgarath as they try …   Wikipedia

  • The Iron Ring (novel) — The Iron Ring is a novel by children s fantasy novelist Lloyd Alexander, written in 1997.It is set in a fictional land with no name, though its culture strongly suggests Indian influences; the caste system forms the prominent conflict in the… …   Wikipedia

  • The Underland Chronicles — Merge|Gregor and the Code of Claw|Talk:The Underland Chronicles#Proposed merge|date=January 2008 The Underland Chronicles is a five part series of children’s books written by Suzanne Collins between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of an eleven… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”