The movie.....A Walk In The Woods

[Traveler]

Naw, this is where Uncas is killed and thrown down the mountain, and Alice leaps down after him from Last of the Mohicans. It looks somewhat different due to extensive trail work.

If thats the location, its in Chimney Rock SP, NC.

[gpburdelljr]

In Butch Cassidy they jumped off a cliff in CO, pretty fair distance from this trail section, even the trees are wrong for it. However, the tip of the hat concept is interesting. Did either actor say anything about jumping or did Redford look down then slip out of character to wink at the camera? Something like that would be a pretty good clue it was placed there for that.

I think he said something like "I think we're sc*****", and if I remember right there was a similar line in Butch Cassidy.

[Tuckahoe]

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I loved it!

After 100+ years of film history, you'd think that most folks would learn that books and films "based on books" are entirely two different creatures. Why would anyone think that a film titled "A Walk in the Woods" would be any different?

While the AT and hiking are a prominent part of the film, this is not a movie about the Appalachian Trail or hiking. It's not exactly a comedy, not an overwrought drama...to me it was more a dialog between two long out of touch -- and as someone else said, estranged -- friends reflecting on where life had brought them.

I thought it was beautifully shot, with some stunning views of the southern Appalachians, which the tv and DVD will never do justice.

I have never been of the opinion that the film will have an impact on thru-hiker numbers or that it will cause an upswing in those attempting the trail. After seeing the film, I am more firmly entrenched in that belief.

[Hoofit]

how many times you walked the AT?

i set out to thru hike it in 2010 and but for a bad case of Lyme Disease would have made it.
I' m going back next summer to New York State and hiking the remaining 800 or so miles.

[rafe]

Lightweight movie but then that was Bill Bryson.

Lightweight as a hiker, yes, and he makes no bones about that. Calls himself a "buttercup." As an author and observer of human nature, he's big-time. Also happens to be a world-class authority on the English language and has written several works of nonfiction.

Too early for critics, I wanna hear what others have to say...

[Hoofit]

Lightweight as a hiker, yes, and he makes no bones about that. Calls himself a "buttercup." As an author and observer of human nature, he's big-time. Also happens to be a world-class authority on the English language and has written several works of nonfiction.

Too early for critics, I wanna hear what others have to say...

Too true.
I like his books, he's a funny guy, just wasn't a committed hiker. I thought they could have done more with the movie, that's all. In a way, I'm glad that it won't be a big Blockbuster as there is enough hikers on the A.T.

[RabbitHole]

That scene when they're stuck was filmed on a set, the rocks were totally fake. The movie was very meh. I'm glad though that it won't really influence many people to go hike the AT. I don't think Robert Redford was even trying to act he kinda just recited the lines in a calm manner the whole time.

[kibs]

I checked the user ratings on IMDB. It's a small sample so far but what was odd was that it was the younger crowd giving the film the higher ratings.

Not sure how bad it will affect the overcrowding on the trail but I got till 2018 & already plan to start at Harpers Ferry.

[cascader]

Seriously, the most recent issue of Journeys has an article that says where a lot of the non-AT filming was done. I don't have it handy at the moment, but the answer might be there.

Speaking of the ATC Journeys magazine--

the ATC seems to have given the movie a lot of promotion, and I kept seeing ATC quoted in the press in ways that endorsed the movie.
Does anyone know if the ATC has a financial stake in the film--did Redford cut them in for a little revenue share in exchange for goodwill and promotion?

Haven't seen the movie yet but glad to hear that some of you think it won't increase AT traffic. A lot of us in the 100 mile wilderness this August, both thru's and section hikers, were glad that we were finishing this year and not next, esp. given the movie Wild's effect on the PCT this year.

I am an oldster BTW and I loved Wild, both the book and the movie--here's to wildness in all its forms.

[ki0eh]

Thought the movie was nice. Redford's dialogue was a bit wooden in the beginning but seemed more natural as the movie went on.

Whoever picked the music was the one asleep at the switch IMHO. Missed an opportunity to showcase mountain music. The bear scene would have been really funny if they had selected "dueling banjos" to go with it.

[Red Cinema]

Spoilers.











I agree with earlier comments: "Meh." And: "Not likely to cause a big increase in thru-hikers."

Low budget; little attention to easy details like equipment wear, grungy hikers, and while frequently sharp on trail details, it gets low-resolution about trail geography after the Shenandoah NP. (And as someone else noticed, the whole "fell down a small cliff and got trapped" scene is a sound stage.

Amusing product/company placement by REI. Equivalent if less obvious ATC representation (and can one really get a ride on an ATV right on the trail)?

Problematic writing, but I feel for the screenwriter given the job of turning Bryson's brilliant book into a movie. The book is about the AT, of course, but it is also about ecology, Americana, small town economics, and the friendship bit. Tuck in anecdotes about weird hikers such as wossername and the gear head and there's a lot of baggage on the drama train.

Still, some beautiful trail on the screen. So while people who already know Bryson's book will likely see this, if not immediately in the theater then at some point on a smaller screen, and while AT people in general will probably do the same in good numbers, I don't imagine it will be that successful. It does make me want to re-read Bryson's book--always dangerous, as it increases the chance I'll bolt for the woods against all sensible notions.

Final note of interest: at the Regal theater here in NJ, there are NO posters, displays, or other advertising. TV advertising seems light. This is suggests the money behind the film doesn't expect to see a profit.

[ki0eh]

http://www.catholicreview.org/articl...k-in-the-woods

[KDogg]

Personally, I was very disappointed in the movie. Being a back to nature kind of guy, Redford should have done a better job. I disagree that Bryson's writing couldn't have translated better into a movie. The first half of the book describes so many comedic situations between Bryson and Katz on the trail. It doesn't take a big leap of writing talent to turn that into scenes of a move. Even the scenes in the movie that gave me a chuckle could have been much better. The bear scene is funny but the fact that their food and packs were destroyed was completely ignored. Dropping off the trail six feet onto solid rock and not get injured? This was basically a typical Hollywood movie with a bunch of good but undeveloped ideas. One of the things I found to be funny in the book was that Katz was continually throwing stuff out of his pack because it was too heavy. Not sure why this didn't make it into the movie. I really can't imagine it was to placate the ATC. They don't really have that kind of clout with Hollywood.

[Pedaling Fool]

Personally, I was very disappointed in the movie. Being a back to nature kind of guy, Redford should have done a better job. I disagree that Bryson's writing couldn't have translated better into a movie. The first half of the book describes so many comedic situations between Bryson and Katz on the trail. It doesn't take a big leap of writing talent to turn that into scenes of a move. Even the scenes in the movie that gave me a chuckle could have been much better. The bear scene is funny but the fact that their food and packs were destroyed was completely ignored. Dropping off the trail six feet onto solid rock and not get injured? This was basically a typical Hollywood movie with a bunch of good but undeveloped ideas. One of the things I found to be funny in the book was that Katz was continually throwing stuff out of his pack because it was too heavy. Not sure why this didn't make it into the movie. I really can't imagine it was to placate the ATC. They don't really have that kind of clout with Hollywood.

I imagine it's because Redford is kind of an uptight environmentalists.

[ki0eh]

One of the things I found to be funny in the book was that Katz was continually throwing stuff out of his pack because it was too heavy. Not sure why this didn't make it into the movie. I really can't imagine it was to placate the ATC. They don't really have that kind of clout with Hollywood.

Reading a bit between the lines of the A.T. Journeys article indicates to me that they did seem to express desire not to have that scene, and to show a poop trowel used (he didn't buy one in the book as I recall).

By and large they did have more landscape authenticity than one expects from Hollywood. It's not like the movie Groundhog Day that translated Gobbler's Knob, a rural Pennsylvania hillside, into a town square in Illinois.

[imscotty]

In the movie 'Wild', I understand that Reese Witherspoon's pack was genuinely overloaded so that the actress could accurately feel and express the effort of hiking with a too-heavy pack.

I was thinking that if they tried to do this with Redford and Nolte I am pretty sure they would have buckled in two. Now that would have made for a great scene.

[Second Half]

I just got back from seeing it. I liked it quite a bit. It's a gently humorous buddy flick with some stunningly beautiful vistas of our beloved AT. McAfee Knob has never been captured this well on film (despite being located in northern VA in the film's geography) and the vistas in the Smokies caused audible gasps in the small audience. Kristen Schaal was a perfectly annoying Mary Ellen. Nolte was much more likable as Katz than the previews led me to believe and I loved that he carried the same Kelty pack that I use.

Redford is clearly past his prime as an actor and didn't seem comfortable in the role. And although the heavy makeup was far too noticeable he did have a few scenes where he filled the screen and charmed the camera like the Redford of old. What's not to like about that?

As a hiker you'll find many minor annoyances. My biggest was the hiking poles strapped to their packs but never used. But a few scenes rang true, particularly to us older folk. The Boy Scouts blowing by them going uphill while they struggled, the expert hikers picking their way effortlessness across the rocky stream, their collapsing on a hotel bed after weeks in the woods,etc.

I got my money's worth.

[rafe]

One of the things I found to be funny in the book was that Katz was continually throwing stuff out of his pack because it was too heavy. Not sure why this didn't make it into the movie. I really can't imagine it was to placate the ATC. They don't really have that kind of clout with Hollywood.

Yep, that was funny as heck in the book but I cringed as I read it. I think in fact that ATC really did have clout with this particular film company. I can imagine there were many discussions about what ought or ought not be shown. I think this movie is a labor of love for Redford and Ken Kwapis, and there's really not much expectation of huge ticket sales or profit.

[backpacker451]

I saw the movie today and I thought it was really good. For reference, I did not like Wild. It had more hiking related scenes compared to all the flashbacks of Wild. It had some real funny stuff. I was prepared to be let down based on the hikers opinion, but liked the trailers. You guys were right on one thing though. All, no offense, old farts who would never walk within 10 feet of the trail were watching it. I was youngest there at 20. My dad at 69 who's done the trail with me really enjoyed it, so did my mom who typically shuttles us. I also agree that it probably won't make a big of an impact on the trail judging by the audience I saw today and yes, it does not follow the book exactly, but that's what happens when you try to fit a book in a 105 minute movie. Overall, on a scale of 1-10, I give it 7-8. I will get the dvd when it comes out.

[Busky2]

Liked it. Enjoyed it. Katz was funny while Bryce was dry and witty. Some nice eye candy views brought back some great memories. HYOH, be your own critic, don't let anyone tell you what you will like or not.