The Naked Prey

source: The Naked Prey

The Naked Prey

This is one of the finest motion pictures ever undertaken by an actor who also directs and produces. Cornel Wilde is absolutely remarkable. The camera shots are so well done that Wilde was obviously paying attention when he was an actor only. I ADORE this film. It still causes all the emotions that I felt so many, many years ago. Acting, for such little dialog, is simply superb. What a scene stealer that little girl was, and such a beautiful child. Looking back over so many decades of film-going I have to say this is one tidy little film and really, for entertainment value and more, it is very hard to beat. AMAZING, in a word. Mel Gibson, good as he is, could have learned from Cornel Wilde.

Though I never have seen any other works of Cornell Wilde, but I must say I really enjoyed, "The Naked Prey". This movie tells the photogenic tale of a group of men taking a trecherous journey in the African jungle. All the other men get killed except for Cornell Wilde's character who was forced to fend for himself in the jungle alone. I believe this movie brought a new meaning to the expression, "Survival of the fittest". You might agree once you see it, too! A very extraordinary movie. So, if you like history or movies having to do with the jungle then this one is perfect for fans of the history or jungle genre! I give The Naked Prey 4 1/2 out of 5 stars! A definate must-see!

Naked Prey is a member of the small number of films that reduce dialogue and fully utilize the visual medium to tell a tale. These movies frequently use natural settings and indigenous animals to express the apathy of the world to the struggles of an individual who is in crisis mode. The cinematography is engaging and the story is compelling. Other films that aim for and achieve this rarified level of accomplishment are Quest for Fire (1981) and The Night of the Hunter (1955, the only movie directed by Charles Laughton, an academy award winning actor). Naked Prey successfully achieves the often contradictory goals of simultaneously entertaining and providing an intelligent forum for discussion. It's a nice change, for a change.

What a rare and glorious film. The Africans, the Whites, the Arabs -- all thrashing about a primitive world blindly lurching for profit, vengeance, pride, and redemption. The animal scenes are bit canned, but the hardy authenticity of tribal southern Africa is marvellous. You can tell these are not extras from Culver City. It's a movie not afraid of blood and savagery. You root for the cunning and feel the fear on both sides. And the ending does make sense to those who know that men appreciate even an enemy who has fought bravely.

Not a lot of dialog in this one but it doesn't need it. Cornel Wilde is the manager of a charter safari to bag Elephants and encounters a group of local semi-friendly tribesmen who want a gift for their chief. Wilde says yes but his employer says no. The tribesmen a short while later cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war on the safari. Wilde is the sole survivor after the rampage and executions and because of his earlier good intentions to give a gift is allowed a head start into the jungle. After he reaches a designated point the chase is on. Superb character study of a man who must use all of his knowledge and resources to not only survive but evade.

I saw this movie when I was 16 (1966) and it has remained with me since. Upon viewing it in later life, it is still as good as it was then. This film has very little speaking in it, but the action will keep the viewer sitting on the edge of his seat until the climatic end. In short, this is a GREAT movie. It is about man's struggle against man and man's struggle against nature. It is about the fragility of man, whose arrogance and brutality lead him to believe he is superior to other men and nature. Enough philosophizing. Watch this on as large a screen as possible. By the way, Cornel Wilde was reportedly an expert swordsman.

Boy, this is about a simple an action story as you're going to find, but it works, and has its interesting moments. Almost the entire film is devoted to a safari guide/hunter being chased (for the kill) by members of a angry tribe. Those tribe members had been insulted by an obnoxious member of the safari group and this good-guy guide (Cornell Wilde) has to run for his life. Along his escape for survival, we, the viewers, are treated almost to a National Geographic-type tour of the African jungle with many wild animals, crocodiles, poisonous insects, snakes and - the most species of them all: naked women! The film looks dated here and there but it's now over 40 years old. There is not much English dialog in here, but it's not needed.

The Naked Prey is one of my favorite adventure movies. It is pure visual cinema. By that I mean the film can be shown anywhere in the world to any age audience without translations or sub-titles. Everyone viewing the action will understand everything that is happening on the screen whether they understand the languages or not. Like the movie Zulu, the antagonists are African tribesmen, but in both films, I never had the sense the natives were evil villains. Rather, the story is about the clash between two alien cultures, a life-or-death struggle that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Like Psycho, The Naked Prey should be taught in every film class around the world. It is perfect and pure just the way it is.