Man in the Wilderness

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Man in the Wilderness
Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed by	Richard C. Sarafian
Produced by	Sandy Howard
Written by	Jack DeWitt
Starring	Richard Harris John Huston Prunella Ransome
Music by	Johnny Harris
Cinematography	Gerry Fisher
Editing by	Geoffrey Foot
Release date(s)	1971
Running time	104 mins
Country	USA
Language	English
IMDb profile

Man in the Wilderness is a 1971 film about a scout for a group of mountain men who are traversing the Northwestern United States during the 1820s. The scout is mauled by a bear and left to die by his companions. He survives and recuperates sufficiently to track his former comrades, forcing a confrontation over his abandonment. The story is loosely based on the life of Hugh Glass. It stars Richard Harris as Zachary Bass and John Huston as Captain Henry.

The expedition is notable in the movie for bringing a large boat with them, borne on wheels. Captain Henry's aim of using the boat to traverse the rivers (possibly the Missouri or the Platte) comes to naught in the final scene, when the expedition comes across the drained riverbed.

The fundamental theme of the story is the spiritual redemption of an emotionally damaged man, Zachary Bass. By using flashbacks to his childhood, the director provides to the viewer the basis for Bass's emotional damage brought about by abandonment by his father and abuse by his schoolmaster. After being abandoned by his fellow trappers, his motive for survival is revealed to be driven by many things, including revenge against Captain Henry, the desire to see his wife and child (who was born after Bass left on the trapping expedition), and his need to reconcile his emotional damage. As it turns out, one of his comrades left a pocket bible with Bass. It is this bible that transforms and redeems Bass so that when he finally confronts his fellow trappers and Captain Henry, it is no longer the same hardened man that they meet. Rather, Bass has become transformed into a rational and forgiving man with no anger left in his heart.