Call of the Wild

The best thing about this screening of Jack London's famous novel, maybe his best, is the music by Lee Holdridge, which is overwhelmingly beautiful all the way and the best illustration of London's novel. Still it falls in the shadow, like the entire film, of Ken Annakin's still more beautiful adaptation with the heart-rending music of Carlo Rustichelli. Charlton Heston in that version is also better than Ricky Schroder, a young brat, while Jack London never states his age but rather gives an impression of him of experienced maturity. Here John Thornton is only 22, and he has to learn everything the hard way from the beginning. You can't make a bad picture out of this story, while Michael Toshiyoki Uno embroiders it with abundant details of imagination of his own, above all with the splendid Indian character Charley. Thus you also get acquainted with John Thornton's sinister father, and of course the director couldn't resist adding a subplot with a villain. We have still to watch the version with Harrison Ford, but like this one it is difficult to imagine it could be better than Ken Annakin's version made under difficult conditions in Norway. This was at least made on location.