When a team in the arctic find a frozen man in the ice, the begin to thaw him out to get data on his life. Unexpectedly, he wakes up. Not certain what to do they send for an anthropologist to come and try and help communicate with the man lost in time.
This was one of the best films I saw in the early 1980’s. It’s a film that moved me to tears at a time when I didn’t really cry at the movies. It’s a film that 40 years on still haunts me even though most of the world seems to have forgotten it.
I think the problem with the film is that when it came out most people who went to “science fiction” films wanted spaceships and monsters. They didn’t want thoughtful films about the condition of the universe unless something blew up. I’m overstating it, but the truth is other than the basic concept this is not really fantastical.
On the other hand, I ate the film up and John Lone, who played the iceman, became one of my favorite actors. There is a humanity in his performance that breaks your heart when he realizes he will never see his family again simply because too many centuries have passed.
To be honest, I don’t know if this film would have ever been a hit. While the film made some money it didn’t return its investment. Perhaps if it wasn’t marketed to the masses it might have found a niche audience (say the one that loved Quest for Fire). With no fanatic audience the film is one of hundreds that has fallen by the wayside. It’s a shame since the film is a wonderful examination of what it means to be human, of loss, of the role of science and many other things.
This film is, for the most part a glorious film. Its doesn’t deserve to be lost. It needs to be rediscovered and enjoyed.
Track it down.
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