Eight Below, originally titled Antartica: The Journey Home,[2] is a 2006 American survivaldrama film, a remake based on the 1983 Japanese film Antarctica by Toshirô Ishidô, Koreyoshi Kurahara, Tatsuo Nogami, and Susumu Saji. It was produced by Patrick Crowley and David Hoberman, directed by Frank Marshall, and written by David DiGilio, with music by Mark Isham. It stars Paul Walker in the leading role. It also stars Bruce Greenwood, Moon Bloodgood, and Jason Biggs. It was released theatrically on February 17, 2006, by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States. The film is set in Antarctica but was filmed in Svalbard, Norway; Greenland; and British Columbia, Canada. It tells the story of a guide at an Antarctic research base who risks his life and the lives of his colleagues to save his dogs. The film received positive reviews from critics and earned $120.4 million on a $40 million budget.
In January 1993, Jerry Shepard, guide at a National Science Foundation Antarctic research base, is asked to take UCLA professor Dr. Davis McClaren to Mount Melbourne to find a rare meteorite from Mercury. Since the ice conditions are poor, the best way to the mountain is by dog sled.
Shepard and McClaren make it, but are called back to base camp due to an approaching storm. McClaren begs for more time and Shepard gives him half a day, enough time to find a fragment of the meteorite. En route back to base, McClaren slips down an embankment, breaking his leg and falling into freezing water. Shepard uses lead dog Maya to carry a rope to McClaren and pulls him out. They battle hypothermia, frostbite, and near-whiteout conditions as the dogs lead them to base. Once they are back, the entire human crew is immediately evacuated, while the dogs are left behind. Promised that the pilot will return shortly for the dogs, Shepard tightens their collars to ensure they cannot get loose. But because of the harsh weather conditions an immediate rescue cannot be attempted.
Back in the United States, Shepard tries to secure a plane to return and save the dogs, but no one is willing to finance the risky expedition. Five months later, Shepard makes one last attempt to get back. McClaren finally realizes the magnitude of his ingratitude and uses the remainder of his grant money to finance a rescue mission. They fear there is little chance any of the dogs could have survived so long, but they decide to try to rescue them anyway.
The eight sled dogs – lead dog Maya, Old Jack, Shorty, Dewey, Truman, Shadow, Buck, and the young Max – have been waiting in the freezing conditions for Shepard to return. After a few days without eating, the dogs are prompted into action as a gull flies near, and they all begin to break free, one by one. Old Jack, too weak by now, remains attached, and Maya stays to try to free him while the others chase the flock of gulls that have landed nearby. Maya sees that Old Jack has given up and she reluctantly leaves him behind when he shows no sign of wanting to leave the base. Maya joins up with the other dogs, and they all work together to attack the gulls and manage to kill a few, getting their first food in weeks.
After nearly two months on their own, having kept their strength up and still traveling, the dogs rest on a slope one night under the southern lights. Fascinated by the display, they run about and play until Dewey slips and falls down an incline, mortally wounded at the bottom. The team stays by his side, sleeping with him. Dewey dies overnight and Max loyally stays by his side while the others move on. By the time Max heads in their direction, he has lost the pack.
Maya leads the team to the Russian base, which is unsecured and full of food, while Max finds his way back to the American base, which is well locked up. Setting back out, Max recognizes the embankment the dogs traveled through on their way back from Mount Melbourne. While exploring, Max finds a dead orca, but is driven off by a leopard seal nesting inside the body. Maya and the team are nearby. They hear Max and join him. Max lures the seal away so the dogs can eat, but it doubles back and bites Maya in the leg, leaving her badly injured. In a rage, the five other dogs jump on the seal, tearing and slashing at it. The seal, overwhelmed, quickly drags itself into the water and away, after which the dogs feast on the orca. After that, the reunited team continues traveling. Starving, freezing, and exhausted, eventually the injured Maya collapses into the snow. The dogs lie down beside their leader as the snow piles up. They have been on their own for six months.
Shepard, meanwhile, has gone to New Zealand looking for a boat to take him to Antarctica. At a bar, he reunites with his friends and they make it back to base together. Upon arrival at base, they are dismayed to find the body of Old Jack, still attached to the chain, and no sign of the other dogs. They then hear barking and see Max, Shorty, Truman, Shadow, and Buck come over the horizon. After a joyous reunion, Shepard loads the dogs to leave, but Max runs off. He leads Shepard to Maya, lying in the snow – weak, but alive. With six of his eight sled dogs, Shepard and his crew head back to civilization, with the last scene showing a memorial for the two fallen dogs, Old Jack and Dewey.
The 1958 Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (Showa Station) inspired the 1983 hit film Antarctica, of which Eight Below is a remake.[3][4]Eight Below adapts the events of the 1958 incident, moved forward to 1993.[5] In the 1958 event, 15 Sakhalin Huskysled dogs were abandoned when the expedition team was unable to return to the base. When the team returned a year later, two dogs, Taro and Jiro, were still alive. Seven were dead, still chained up, and six were unaccounted for. In Eight Below, two of the dogs, Old Jack and Dewey died, while the remaining six, Max, Maya, Truman, Buck, Shadow and Shorty, survived.
Eight Below was dedicated to the memory of Koreyoshi Kurahara, the director of Antarctica, who died in 2002.
Sled dogs
In Eight Below there are two Alaskan Malamutes (Buck and Shadow) and six Siberian Huskies (Max, Maya, Truman, Dewey, Shorty, and Old Jack). Each actor-dog had help from other dogs that performed stunts and pulled sleds. In all, over 30 dogs were used to portray the film's eight canine characters.[6] The animal filming was supervised by the American Humane Association, and the film carries the standard "No animals were harmed..." disclaimer, despite an on-set incident in which a trainer used significant force to break up an animal fight.[7]
Release
Critical reception
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 73%, based on 153 reviews, with an average rating of 6.50/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Featuring a stellar cast of marooned mutts, who deftly display emotion, tenderness, loyalty and resolve, Eight Below is a heartwarming and exhilarating adventure film."[8] On Metacritic it has a score of 64% based on reviews from 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A" on scale of A to F.[10]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing "Eight Below succeeds as an effective story."[11]BBC liked the movie as well, but did not like its long length (2 hours).[12] Reel.com liked it, saying "the movie succeeds at drawing you into their incredible adventure".[13] Peter Hartlaub of 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."[14] 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 in "balmy, blazing daylight at a time Antarctica is locked in round-the-clock darkness and temperatures of 140 degrees below."[15]
Box office
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 in other territories).[16][1]
Awards
Wins
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards: ASCAP Award, Top Box Office Films (Mark Isham) 2007.
The film was released on DVD on June 20, 2006.[17] It was also released on PlayStation Portable (an original widescreen format) on June 27, 2006. The film was released on high-definition Blu-ray for an original widescreen presentation on September 19, 2006.
In North America, the DVD release has sold more than 3 million units and grossed $105 million.[1]
