Ensofter
Overrated and overhyped
Marketic
It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.
Zlatica
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
smdsweetfrog
Venting, I watched the end of a movie yesterday (Far From Home - Adventure of Yellow Dog). TERRIBLE Movie & TERRIBLE ENDING!Everyone that knows me knows I love animals AND people, all souls regardless of the body they're in. The young boy & dog are lost in the wilderness & the dog is helping/caring for the boy 100%. The helicopter drops a rescuer to the log they are on (over a ravine, about 200 ft above water) & grabs the boy & the dog is trying to protect the boy & grabs the pant leg of the rescuer & the rescuer kicks his leg free causing the dog to fall. (The dog doesn't lose his balance.) The dog is a yellow lab like my Pierce. They should have grabbed the dog first, the boy was fine & safe or somehow grabbed both of them. Anyway... So, because the so-called weather doesn't allow the helicopter to go back to rescue the dog, it's left there. OMG!!!! At that time I'm screaming every curse word I know & crying. The boy & family 'seem' to look for the dog (they post Lost Dog pictures up). The boy blows a dog whistle & the dog finds his way home. The end... I'm like, Dog, run the other way to a family that cares! I must have been a Marine in another life, never leave a soul/man behind. I hope rescuers in real life have more heart & that the movie is just a very dumb one. Ugh!!!
Jerry Doty
Very few films have ever been made that touch the hearts of people from young children to senior citizens. At 60 yrs old, I've seen virtually all of the boy and dog TV Shows & movies from the original Lassie series (1954) to Old Yeller (1957) on through present day. This film beats them all. Don't look for foul language, nudity, or extreme violence that are so prevalent in movies today. This film didn't need them. It is perfect just as it is, standing on it's own with a great story line, acting, cinematography and scoring. Excellently written. Angus does exactly what a 16 year old kid would do that has reasonable knowledge in survival skills and is lost in the wilderness: He stays put for several days, then afraid he will not be found in that location, he leaves a message where he is headed, then heads off in that direction trying to find his way to the lighthouse he saw before their boat capsized. In the process, he makes several mistakes that any kid his age would make. He tries to stay strong, but has those moments when fear of not making it overtake him.Jesse Bradford plays the role of the lost 16-year-old boy with impeccable realism, from the wide shots to the extreme closeups that bring the viewer right into his eyes and emotions. The supporting actors, from his parents, to little brother, to rescuers are excellent. They don't attempt to steal the movie, but are incredible as supporting actors.The cinematography is second to none, sparing no expense to capture the beauty of British Columbia but never missing the intimate, personal actions and close-up emotions of Angus and Yellow Dog. The music score and ambient background sounds are amazing. If anyone wants to study how a movie of this genre should be scored, this is the movie to study. You can watch the entire movie and never even notice the music or the ambient background sounds. That is the real test of these two areas of film making. They are there to enhance, but not overtake the movie, and that is accomplished in this film.If you want to watch a film that will touch your heart and that you don't have to be embarrassed by it's content when you have children or parents or grandparents suddenly walk in, this is it.
Electrified_Voltage
I saw some of this family adventure flick just over twelve years ago, when I was nine years old. I remember finding it pretty exciting at the time, but do not recall seeing the end, even though I don't know what would have stopped me. It wasn't until last year that I finally watched the entire film from start to finish. While I certainly wasn't blown away, I still thought it was at least reasonable, despite being more of a kids' movie, and since I was nine years old (nearly ten) twelve years ago, I obviously wasn't a kid anymore by then. However, watching it a second time was pretty much an average experience.Angus McCormick is a fourteen-year-old boy who finds a stray Golden Labrador near his home and names him Yellow. Angus soon goes with his father, John, on a sailing trip along the coast of British Columbia and brings Yellow along. Unfortunately, the three of them get caught in a storm, and the boat is tipped over by a giant wave! John is soon rescued, but Angus and Yellow are not found! The fourteen-year-old boy and his dog manage to get to shore in a lifeboat, but are now stranded in the wilderness. Angus' parents, John and Catherine, along with the Coast Guard, attempt to have their son found, while the boy and his recently adopted dog must do what they can to survive, eating what they can, signaling for planes to rescue them, and facing harsh weather conditions and dangerous wildlife!I'm not 100% sure about the first time I watched "Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog" from start to finish, but the second time, I noticed some attempts at humour that fail (I didn't find any of it even remotely amusing, though kids might), and did find a bit of suspense, but not very much. Also, 81 minutes may not be enough for the details in the story. For example, the film doesn't quite take enough time to introduce the life of Angus and his family before the adventure begins. It starts a bit too soon. They also probably could have thought of a better ending. In other words, I think it's fair to say that the writing is a significant problem in this family adventure."Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog" seems to be generally thought of as more of a kids' movie, which I would say is true, but I guess it could impress some adults to a certain extent. However, it also might wear thin with another viewing, which seemed to be the case for me. I'm sure if I had seen the whole thing when I was nine years old, I would have really enjoyed it, more than I ever could over a decade later. When it comes to IMDb standards, this movie doesn't have very many votes or comments, so I guess it's pretty obscure. If I wasn't shown some of the movie back in my childhood, I would probably still be unaware of its existence. So, it may not be the easiest film to find a copy of these days, but if you ask me, it's not worth a hard search, unless maybe if it's for a kid.
Mike Hart
Personally this has many memories for me, as I was friends with the editors son when I lived in Vancouver in 1993 and was lucky enough to see it being edited. I still have a cut from the reel somewhere. It brings back many memories, both from seeing the film 1st hand and also from viewing the fantastic scenery of British Columbia which has great childhood memories.Over all, it's a well shot film with some good long outdoor shots. The story is a little clichéd but what else can you expect from a family film! The dog does an amazingly good job as do the actors. They were only in their early teens when it was shot so I've gotta hand it to them for doing such a good job considering they were the main characters. There are some moments where they the supporting actors lack fluidity in their delivery and let's be honest, the concept isn't ground breaking.If your looking for a good, well filmed family film look no further. One of the lost gems in film history.
