Eight Below
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| Eight Below | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Frank Marshall |
| Produced by | Patrick Crowley David Hoberman |
| Written by | David DiGillio |
| Starring | Paul Walker |
| Music by | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography | Don Burgess |
| Editing by | Christopher Rouse |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 17, 2006 |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $120,455,994 (Worldwide) |
| Preceded by | Nankyoku Monogatari |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Eight Below is a Walt Disney Pictures film directed by Frank Marshall and written by David DiGilio, which was released on February 17, 2006 in the United States.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
In 1993, Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) is a guide at an Antarctica research base under contract with the National Science Foundation. UCLA professor, Dr. Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood) arrives at the base and presses Shepard to take him to Mount Melbourne to attempt to find a rare meteorite from the planet Mercury. Shepard does so against his own intuition, which tells him that it is too late in the season (January) to complete such a treacherous route. Worried about the snowmobiles breaking through the thinning ice or falling in a crevasse, Shepard tells his boss and McClaren that the only way to get to Mount Melbourne is by dog sled.
Shepard and McClaren make it to Mount Melbourne but are immediately called back to base camp due to an approaching storm. McClaren begs for some time, and Shepard gives him half a day.
Shepard pauses to patch up one of the dogs (Old Jack) whose paw is bleeding. McClaren, while walking around to get a better radio connection with base, slides down an embankment when a soft ledge gives way. His landing at the bottom cracks the thin ice and McClaren ends up breaking through. Shepherd is able to get his lead dog Maya to bring a rope to McClaren and the dog team pulls him from the water.
Now, battling hypothermia, frostbite and near whiteout conditions, it is the dogs' stamina and keen sense of direction that gets Shepard and McClaren back to base. They are immediately evacuated, along with all other personnel, due to the storm, which is expected to intensify. With too much weight in the plane to carry both people and dogs, the human team medically evacuates Shepard and McClaren with a plan to return later for the dogs. The dogs are temporarily left behind, but the storm is worse than expected and it soon becomes apparent that no rescue will be attempted until the next spring.
Back at home, Shepard experiences angst about leaving his dogs and stops working as an Antarctic-conditions guide. Five months later, and after a heart-to-heart session with an older, veteran guide, Shepard decides to throw his all into rescuing the dogs. Before leaving for the trip, Shepard patches things up with McClaren, and tells him about his intentions to rescue the dogs. McClaren learns that Shepard does not have enough money to pay for the trip, but tells him that he cannot help him. Soon afterwards, McClaren sees a drawing of the dog team made by his young son, with the title: "My Hero is... THE DOGS WHO SAVED MY DADDY." McClaren realizes the magnitude of his ingratitude and uses the remaining balance of his grant money to finance a rescue mission.
The dogs must struggle for survival alone in the Antarctic wilderness until Shepard and McClaren eventually return to rescue them, more than six months later. Six of the eight dogs survive. The two who die are Dewey and Old Jack. Maya, the lead dog, barely manages to survive after being bitten on the leg by a leopard seal.
[edit] Background
The 1958 ill-fated Japanese expedition to Antarctica inspired the 1983 hit movie Nankyoku Monogatari. Eight Below is the fictional adaptation of the events of the 1958 incident moved forward to 1993, the last year that sled dogs were used in Antarctica.[1]
[edit] Sled dogs
In the 1958 event, fifteen Sakhalin Husky sled dogs were involved. In Eight Below there are eight dogs in the story—two Alaskan Malamutes (Buck and Shadow) and six Siberian Huskies—and only six out of the eight survive. Each actor-dog had help from other dogs who performed stunts and pulled sleds. In all, over 30 dogs were used to portray the film's eight canine characters.[2]
[edit] Cast
- Paul Walker as Jerry Shepard
- Bruce Greenwood as Davis McClaren
- Moon Bloodgood as Katie
- Jason Biggs as Charlie Cooper
- Gerard Plunkett as Dr. Andy Harrison
- August Schellenberg as Mindo
- Wendy Crewson as Eve McClaren
- Belinda Metz as Rosemary
- Connor Christopher Levins as Eric McClaren
- Duncan Fraser as Captain Lovett
- Dan Ziskie as Navy Commander
- Michael David Simms as Armin Butler
- Daniel Bacon as Bureaucrat #2
- Laara Sadiq as Bureaucrat #3
- Malcolm Stewart as Charles Buffett
[edit] Release
[edit] Critical reception
Reviews, in general, were positive. Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times liked the film, and said "Eight Below succeeds as an effective story."[3] BBC liked the movie as well, but did not like its long length.[4] Reel.com liked it, saying "the movie succeeds at drawing you into their incredible adventure".[5] However, the San Francisco Chronicle disliked the film, saying "The movie is overly long and much too intense for small children, yet it's filled with dialogue and plot turns that are too juvenile to thrill adult audiences."[6] William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reacted favorably ("the dog actors will melt your heart"), but pointed out, as did other reviewers, that "Antarctica buffs" will be critical of errors, such as portraying midwinter events occurring in "balmy, blazing daylight at a time Antarctica is locked in round-the-clock darkness and temperatures of 140 degrees below."[7]
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 71% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 137 reviews."[8]
[edit] Box office
According to Box Office Mojo, the film opened at #1 on February 17, 2006, with a total weekend gross of $20,188,176 in 3,066 theaters, averaging to about $6,584 per theater. The film closed on June 1, 2006 with a total worldwide gross of $120,453,565 ($81,612,565 domestic and $38,841,000 overseas).[9]
[edit] Awards
Wins
- ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards: ASCAP Award, Top Box Office Films, Mark Isham; 2007.
Nominations
- Satellite Awards: Satellite Award, Best Youth DVD, 2006.
[edit] References
- ^ Rechtshaffen, Michael (2006-02-15). Eight Below. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
- ^ "A True 'Survivor' Story, Dog Version", The Washington Post, 2006-02-16, pp. C12. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (2006-02-17). Eight Below. rogerebert.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
- ^ Smith, Neil (2006-04-16). Eight Below. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
- ^ Knight, Tim. Eight Below. Reel.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
- ^ Hartlaub, Peter (2006-02-17). Man's 8 best friends get the cold shoulder. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
- ^ Arnold, William (2006-02-17). 'Eight Below' warms the heart despite faux paws. seattlepi.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
- ^ Eight Below at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: June 6, 2008.
- ^ Eight Below at Box Office Mojo.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by The Pink Panther |
Box office number-one films of 2006 (USA) February 19, 2006 |
Succeeded by Madea's Family Reunion |
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