Iceman (film)
Encyclopedia
Iceman is a 1984 science fiction film
from Universal Studios
. The screenplay was written by John Drimmer and Chip Proser, and was directed by Fred Schepisi. The cast included John Lone
, Timothy Hutton
, Lindsay Crouse
and Danny Glover
.
It was filmed in color with Dolby sound and ran for 100 minutes. The DVD
version was released in 2004.
) is brought to an arctic base when explorers discover the body of a prehistoric
man (John Lone
) who has been frozen in a block of ice for 40,000 years. After thawing the body to perform an autopsy, scientists discover to their amazement a real possibility to revive him and they attempt to resuscitate the "iceman" and are successful.
While being revived, the dazed caveman is alarmed by the surgical-masked figures; only Shephard has the presence of mind to remove his mask and reveal his humanity and somewhat familiar face to the terrified caveman, permitting the caveman to settle back into a more peaceful sleep and make a full recovery.
The scientists place the caveman in an artificial, simulated environment for study. The caveman quickly discovers the modern apparatus and environmental controls, and understands he is still far from home. Shephard believes that the caveman's culture may provide clues to learning about the human body's adaptability, citing ceremonies such as firewalking and the Sun Dance
. Several other scientists in the research base see the potential in studying the caveman's DNA and his survival in the ice, as they see it mainly as a case to advance medical science by "freezing" the sick or injured in order to suspend their bodies until treatment.
Shephard's affinity with the caveman grows to the degree that he begins to defend the caveman's right to be considered a human being and not a scientific specimen. Despite opposition from the rest of the staff, Shephard initiates an encounter with the caveman. Shephard names him "Charlie" after the iceman introduces himself as "Char-u". Shephard and Charlie bond, but it becomes obvious to the anthropologist that Charlie misses his world; he is terrified and confused by the unknown world in which he awakens.
An eminent linguist is brought to the Arctic base to help understand Charlie's language. As Shephard begins to communicate with Charlie, he realizes that he will never be able to help Charlie understand that the world and community he came from have long since disappeared. This fact is made even more poignant when Shephard introduces Charlie to a female colleague. Assuming that the woman is Shephard's mate, Charlie makes chalk marks which indicate that he likely was a married man with children before he was frozen.
Shephard strives to understand what motivates Charlie and why, of all the cavemen, he should survive being frozen. At one point, Shephard begins to sing "Heart of Gold
", inspiring Charlie to sing one of his own songs. Charlie's seemingly incidental bird-like line drawings in the ground resembling body markings on his chest take on a new significance when the base's helicopter strays over the roof of the base's artificial tropical eco-zone, causing Charlie to take on an almost obsessive zeal as he climbs towards the roof. Shouting the word Beedha over and over, he lifts his arms towards the helicopter in a sign of obvious worship. Even though the helicopter pulls away from the dome, Shephard knows that Charlie can now think of nothing else.
Charlie escapes after watching Shephard exit the biosphere and in a panic of seeing unfamiliar modern devices and believing there are enemies, spears Maynard. Recapturing Charlie, the other scientists, led by Dr. Singe (David Strathairn
), focus on what they can learn from him, using him as a subject rather than a person. They attempt to re-freeze the iceman in order to study the effect of thawing on Charlie's physiology and determine what benefit may result. The incident goes awry as Charlie nearly dies in the attempt.
Shephard consults local Inuit
who recognize the name that Charlie chanted and explain that it is a mythical bird -- a messenger from the gods who comes to take good people to heaven, while sinners are sent to a kind of purgatory
. Shephard has long known that Charlie has a spiritual dimension and now sees that he was on a dreamwalk pilgrimage, a mythical quest for redemption. His people were dying in the sudden ice age; he must have offered himself to the gods in the form of a self-sacrifice or appealing to the gods to redeem his tribe.
Shephard defies all protocol to help Charlie to escape, because he realizes that Charlie would never survive in the modern world, and Charlie's peace-of-mind and fulfillment are of prime importance to Shephard. Delighted with his freedom, Charlie races on ahead of Shephard as they pass by glaciers and vast ice-shelves, and a crevasse opens up in front of Shephard, cutting him off from Charlie. Meanwhile, the other personnel give chase.
The helicopter emerges over an ice-shelf before Charlie. Shephard looks on helplessly as Charlie climbs up towards the aircraft and grabs hold of one of its landing skis. In an attempt to evade Charlie's grasp, the helicopter pilot pulls up, but Charlie dangles beneath the aircraft while it continues to climb high into the sky. The co-pilot offers a hand to Charlie to save him, but an elated and ecstatic Charlie cries out and releases the aircraft, seeming to float through the sky while he plunges.
Shephard's initial horror turns into joy as he realizes that Charlie has reached his goal.
for several years in the 1970s. Jewison is still attached as a producer. It eventually emerged under Australian director Fred Schepisi.
Exteriors were filmed in British Columbia and Manitoba. Schepisi worked with Australian collaborators Ian Baker for cinematography and Bruce Smeaton
for music.
(1981) and Clan of the Cave Bear
(1986), in which earlier action-fantasy films were redressed with a much stricter regard to anthropological realism. Iceman, using modern science, became one of the more refreshingly intelligent films. The film is knowingly well-informed on anthropology and biochemistry and never resorts to cheap cliche or hackneyed elements." Harlan Ellison
called the film "magnificent", citing excellent acting (particularly on the part of John Lone) and directing that contribute to genuine emotional appeal.
According to Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
, the movie is "spellbinding storytelling". "It begins with such a simple premise and creates such a genuinely intriguing situation that we're not just entertained, we're drawn into the argument [between using Charlie as a scientific specimen or a man]".
The film was released on DVD on December 28, 2004.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
from Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. The screenplay was written by John Drimmer and Chip Proser, and was directed by Fred Schepisi. The cast included John Lone
John Lone
John "Johnny" Lone is a Hong Kong born American actor of Chinese and English descent. Lone has played roles as diverse as a caveman in Iceman , the last Emperor of China in The Last Emperor , and an apparently female opera performer in M. Butterfly .-Personal life:Lone was born as Ng Kwok-leung...
, Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
, Lindsay Crouse
Lindsay Crouse
-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...
and Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
.
It was filmed in color with Dolby sound and ran for 100 minutes. The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version was released in 2004.
Plot
Anthropologist Stanley Shephard (Timothy HuttonTimothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
) is brought to an arctic base when explorers discover the body of a prehistoric
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
man (John Lone
John Lone
John "Johnny" Lone is a Hong Kong born American actor of Chinese and English descent. Lone has played roles as diverse as a caveman in Iceman , the last Emperor of China in The Last Emperor , and an apparently female opera performer in M. Butterfly .-Personal life:Lone was born as Ng Kwok-leung...
) who has been frozen in a block of ice for 40,000 years. After thawing the body to perform an autopsy, scientists discover to their amazement a real possibility to revive him and they attempt to resuscitate the "iceman" and are successful.
While being revived, the dazed caveman is alarmed by the surgical-masked figures; only Shephard has the presence of mind to remove his mask and reveal his humanity and somewhat familiar face to the terrified caveman, permitting the caveman to settle back into a more peaceful sleep and make a full recovery.
The scientists place the caveman in an artificial, simulated environment for study. The caveman quickly discovers the modern apparatus and environmental controls, and understands he is still far from home. Shephard believes that the caveman's culture may provide clues to learning about the human body's adaptability, citing ceremonies such as firewalking and the Sun Dance
Sun Dance
The Sun Dance is a religious ceremony practiced by a number of Native American and First Nations peoples, primarily those of the Plains Nations. Each tribe has its own distinct practices and ceremonial protocols...
. Several other scientists in the research base see the potential in studying the caveman's DNA and his survival in the ice, as they see it mainly as a case to advance medical science by "freezing" the sick or injured in order to suspend their bodies until treatment.
Shephard's affinity with the caveman grows to the degree that he begins to defend the caveman's right to be considered a human being and not a scientific specimen. Despite opposition from the rest of the staff, Shephard initiates an encounter with the caveman. Shephard names him "Charlie" after the iceman introduces himself as "Char-u". Shephard and Charlie bond, but it becomes obvious to the anthropologist that Charlie misses his world; he is terrified and confused by the unknown world in which he awakens.
An eminent linguist is brought to the Arctic base to help understand Charlie's language. As Shephard begins to communicate with Charlie, he realizes that he will never be able to help Charlie understand that the world and community he came from have long since disappeared. This fact is made even more poignant when Shephard introduces Charlie to a female colleague. Assuming that the woman is Shephard's mate, Charlie makes chalk marks which indicate that he likely was a married man with children before he was frozen.
Shephard strives to understand what motivates Charlie and why, of all the cavemen, he should survive being frozen. At one point, Shephard begins to sing "Heart of Gold
Heart of Gold (song)
"Heart of Gold" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young. Released from the 1972 album Harvest, it is so far Young's only U.S. #1 single. In Canada, it reached #1 on the RPM national singles chart for the first time on April 8, 1972, on which date Young held the top spot on both the...
", inspiring Charlie to sing one of his own songs. Charlie's seemingly incidental bird-like line drawings in the ground resembling body markings on his chest take on a new significance when the base's helicopter strays over the roof of the base's artificial tropical eco-zone, causing Charlie to take on an almost obsessive zeal as he climbs towards the roof. Shouting the word Beedha over and over, he lifts his arms towards the helicopter in a sign of obvious worship. Even though the helicopter pulls away from the dome, Shephard knows that Charlie can now think of nothing else.
Charlie escapes after watching Shephard exit the biosphere and in a panic of seeing unfamiliar modern devices and believing there are enemies, spears Maynard. Recapturing Charlie, the other scientists, led by Dr. Singe (David Strathairn
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
), focus on what they can learn from him, using him as a subject rather than a person. They attempt to re-freeze the iceman in order to study the effect of thawing on Charlie's physiology and determine what benefit may result. The incident goes awry as Charlie nearly dies in the attempt.
Shephard consults local Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
who recognize the name that Charlie chanted and explain that it is a mythical bird -- a messenger from the gods who comes to take good people to heaven, while sinners are sent to a kind of purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
. Shephard has long known that Charlie has a spiritual dimension and now sees that he was on a dreamwalk pilgrimage, a mythical quest for redemption. His people were dying in the sudden ice age; he must have offered himself to the gods in the form of a self-sacrifice or appealing to the gods to redeem his tribe.
Shephard defies all protocol to help Charlie to escape, because he realizes that Charlie would never survive in the modern world, and Charlie's peace-of-mind and fulfillment are of prime importance to Shephard. Delighted with his freedom, Charlie races on ahead of Shephard as they pass by glaciers and vast ice-shelves, and a crevasse opens up in front of Shephard, cutting him off from Charlie. Meanwhile, the other personnel give chase.
The helicopter emerges over an ice-shelf before Charlie. Shephard looks on helplessly as Charlie climbs up towards the aircraft and grabs hold of one of its landing skis. In an attempt to evade Charlie's grasp, the helicopter pilot pulls up, but Charlie dangles beneath the aircraft while it continues to climb high into the sky. The co-pilot offers a hand to Charlie to save him, but an elated and ecstatic Charlie cries out and releases the aircraft, seeming to float through the sky while he plunges.
Shephard's initial horror turns into joy as he realizes that Charlie has reached his goal.
Cast
- Timothy HuttonTimothy HuttonTimothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
as Dr. Stanley Shephard - Lindsay CrouseLindsay Crouse-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...
as Dr. Diane Brady - John LoneJohn LoneJohn "Johnny" Lone is a Hong Kong born American actor of Chinese and English descent. Lone has played roles as diverse as a caveman in Iceman , the last Emperor of China in The Last Emperor , and an apparently female opera performer in M. Butterfly .-Personal life:Lone was born as Ng Kwok-leung...
as Charlie, the Iceman - Josef SommerJosef SommerJosef Sommer is an American film actor.He was born Maximilian Josef Sommer in Greifswald, Germany and was raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemons Sommer, a professor of art history at the University of North Carolina. He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology...
as Whitman - David StrathairnDavid StrathairnDavid Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
as Dr. Singe - Philip AkinPhilip AkinPhilip Akin is a Canadian actor who has been active for over thirty years in stage, film, and television. He has had featured roles in major American films such as The Sum of All Fears, S.W.A.T., and Get Rich or Die Tryin’...
as Dr. Vermeil - Danny GloverDanny GloverDanny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
as Loomis - Amelia Hall as Mabel Maynard
- Richard MonetteRichard MonetteRichard Jean Monette OC, DHum, LLD was a Canadian actor and director, best-known for his 14-season tenure as artistic director of the Stratford Festival of Canada from 1994 to 2007.-Early life:...
as Hogan - James TolkanJames TolkanJames S. Tolkan is an American actor, often cast as a strict, overbearing, bald-headed authority figure.-Personal life:He was born in Calumet, Michigan, the son of Ralph M. Tolkan, a cattle dealer, and attended the University of Iowa, Coe College, the Actors Studio and Eastern Arizona College...
as Maynard
Production
Iceman was a project linked to director Norman JewisonNorman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
for several years in the 1970s. Jewison is still attached as a producer. It eventually emerged under Australian director Fred Schepisi.
Exteriors were filmed in British Columbia and Manitoba. Schepisi worked with Australian collaborators Ian Baker for cinematography and Bruce Smeaton
Bruce Smeaton
Bruce Smeaton is an Australian composer, well known for a variety of Australian film and television scores in all genres - features, shorts, television, documentaries and advertisements. His scores include Picnic at Hanging Rock, Seven Little Australians, Roxanne, Iceman, and Circle of Iron...
for music.
Critical reception
Critic Richard Scheib said, "The film was part of a brief revival of the old caveman vs dinosaurs genre, along with Quest for FireQuest for Fire (film)
Quest for Fire is a 1981 film adaptation of the 1911 Belgian novel by J.-H. Rosny aîné . Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and adapted by Gérard Brach, the film stars Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nameer El-Kadi, and Rae Dawn Chong. It won the Academy Award for Makeup. Michael D...
(1981) and Clan of the Cave Bear
The Clan of the Cave Bear (film)
The Clan of the Cave Bear is a 1986 film based on the book of the same name by Jean M. Auel and was directed by Michael Chapman.-Plot:The film stars Daryl Hannah as Ayla, a young Cro-Magnon woman who was separated from her family during an earthquake and found by a group of Neanderthals...
(1986), in which earlier action-fantasy films were redressed with a much stricter regard to anthropological realism. Iceman, using modern science, became one of the more refreshingly intelligent films. The film is knowingly well-informed on anthropology and biochemistry and never resorts to cheap cliche or hackneyed elements." Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
called the film "magnificent", citing excellent acting (particularly on the part of John Lone) and directing that contribute to genuine emotional appeal.
According to Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, the movie is "spellbinding storytelling". "It begins with such a simple premise and creates such a genuinely intriguing situation that we're not just entertained, we're drawn into the argument [between using Charlie as a scientific specimen or a man]".
Box office
The film was released on April 13, 1984 grossing $1,836,120 (US). By the end of its four-week release, it grossed $7,343,032 (US)The film was released on DVD on December 28, 2004.
Legacy
- A real life "iceman" was discovered in the Ötztal AlpsÖtztal AlpsThe Ötztal Alps are a mountain range in the central Alps of Europe, part of the Central Eastern Alps. They are arrayed at the head of the Ötztal, a side valley of the Inn River southwest of Innsbruck, Austria; the line of summits forms part of Austria's border with Italy.The western border is the...
in 1991 and named Ötzi the IcemanÖtzi the IcemanÖtzi the Iceman , Similaun Man, and Man from Hauslabjoch are modern names for a well-preserved natural mummy of a man who lived about 5,300 years ago. The mummy was found in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, near Hauslabjoch on the border between Austria and Italy. The nickname comes from the...
. Similar to the film, pollen was discovered in the body of the well-preserved mummy. - The film was spoofed by the film Encino ManEncino ManEncino Man, released in Europe as California Man, is a 1992 comedy film directed by Les Mayfield and starring Brendan Fraser, Sean Astin and Pauly Shore. The plot revolves around two geeky teenagers from Encino, Los Angeles, California played by Astin and Shore, who discover a caveman in their...
starring Brendan FraserBrendan FraserBrendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American film and stage actor. Fraser portrayed Rick O'Connell in the three-part Mummy film series , and is known for his comedic and fantasy film leading roles in major Hollywood films, including Encino Man , George of the Jungle , Dudley Do-Right , Monkeybone ,...
and Pauly ShorePauly ShorePaul Montgomery "Pauly" Shore is an American comedian and actor who starred in several comedy films in the 1990s and hosted a video show on MTV in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
. - The film had been spoofed on an episode of South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
titled "Prehistoric Ice Man".