Iceman (1984)

I'll tell you why so serious

Did you people see the same film I saw?

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

If you can set aside the scientific implausibilities (or impossibilities) that abound in this movie, you can appreciate it from a number of angles. I first saw it many years ago and just watched it again - and still found it touching and relevant. Timothy Hutton starred as Sheppard - part of a scientific team in the Arctic who discover something frozen in the Arctic ice, and eventually discover that it's a Neanderthal who was somehow trapped there perhaps 40000 years ago. Intending to thaw him out and cut him up and ship various parts of his body around the world for study, the team is shocked when the Iceman comes to life. Played superbly by John Lone, the Iceman is alone, afraid and bewildered by the strange surroundings in which he finds himself, and the team basically continues to see him as a science project for lack of a better way to describe it - a specimen to be studied. But Sheppard sees him as a man and tries to understand him, communicate with him and befriend him. The interaction between the two came across as authentic, and the bond between them was believable. The viewer bonds with the Iceman too - or, if you don't, there's something wrong with you. The viewer starts to see him as a person; starts to sympathize with his plight. This is definitely a movie that pulls you in successfully.It's also a movie that - while dated in many ways - does have a strange relevance to today's world. We're not likely to ever find a frozen Neanderthal and bring him back to life. Even Otzi the Iceman (who was frozen in ice only 5000 years ago is most definitely dead and not coming back.) But there are scientists who think they can bring back extinct species like mammoths, and some speculation that eventually someone might try to bring back a Neanderthal (notwithstanding that most of us aside from Africans already have Neanderthal DNA in our bodies.) Watching this movie and thinking about that possibility - I started to wonder. Should we? Even if we could? What sort of life would we give to the poor creature? Would we treat it as a human, or would we treat it as a lab rat, subjecting it to never ending experiments and tests and studies? Would we be Sheppard - or would we be everybody else? I suspect I know the answer to that.Maybe it's best to leave the Neanderthals where they are - buried deep in our own DNA. (7/10)

I saw this again after many years, and was not disappointed. It's a well written, thoughtful SF film that doesn't insult the viewer's intelligence. John Lone is very moving as the bewildered hunter who is discovered by scientists. Timothy Hutton is credible as Shepherd, the compassionate scientist who connects with the Neanderthal, who he calls "Charlie". The film's portrayal of Charlie as a human being with a deeply spiritual side is strangely prescient, especially in light of recent discoveries about our own Neanderthal DNA. The scene where Shepherd and Charlie try to sing Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" is memorable and fun. This is a quietly effective film with a subtle message that doesn't beat you over the head with it.

A surprisingly moving film about a 40,000 year-old prehistoric man being found frozen in ice and somehow revived. This may have a plot that sounds like something out of a cheesy B sci-fi horror flick from the '50s but it's actually a very engaging, human story. An incredible acting job from John Lone is the main selling point. The rest of the cast is also really good, with even Timothy Hutton rising above being Timothy Hutton and turning in a relatable and authentic performance. It's a slow-moving film at times, but never dull unless you're the kind of viewer who needs an action scene every ten minutes. I was pretty impressed by the whole thing, going into it not expecting much given the premise. It's definitely worth a look for those who can put most of their cynicism aside and lose yourself in a movie for a little while.

After explaining to my wife the silliness of this movie, she asked "why after 40000 years would he want to live just a little longer" That's the real funny thing about this movie, is you can't ask why - just roll with it, and grunt as much as possible. Seriously, why was there a bubble - what did the world do without biosphere nonsense - Why was the blonde doctor lady such a scaredy after leading the charge with all the cutting and the medicine - I also think that they could have given Danny Glover a better roll other than the tranquilizer happy security guard. Where did the helicopter come from, and what exactly were they going to do with the pilot while they were coming out of the aircraft? Again, just grunt and smile your terrible teeth smile.