Alright, going to do this Savage Journey movie first today, it's on the Drive-In Classics 50 Movie Pack. It's about the origins of the Mormon Church and their journey across the west, until they land in Utah. Never seen this one, could be alright. Why it's in the Drive-in Classics is beyond me, makes me think there will be a lot of violence. It's also from 1983, so that should make it a bit more entertaining.
IMDb: Savage Journey
After I finish this movie and review, I will be doing the next movie, which is actually a request. V for Vendetta. So you can expect to see both of those today.
Review:
This movie was pretty good, I'm not gonna lie. I knew little about the beginning of the Mormon religion, this movie was actually quite educational in that respect. Of course, that's assuming this movie is true and, even if it is, not exaggerating anything too bad. I think the acting and dialogue was well done, however, this movie is heavily biased towards Mormonism.
Pros:
Scenery: All of the scenery is really good looking. So good, in fact, I can't tell if it was shot in nature, or in a studio. Since this movie involves a lot of traveling, the scenery is something they needed to do well. In my opinion the scenery is pretty good and definitely helps the movie feel more realistic.
Desert, desert, desert, and Oh look, more desert
Acting: Religion is a hard subject to translate to film. If you poorly represent a major figure from that religion, you can get some serious heat. Savage Journey chose the right actors for the right roles. It seems like it was thought through very thoroughly. The performances from all the leads are very entertaining and believable.
Cons:
The "Savage" Journey: I don't mean to demean the hardships these people endured. I'm sure it was horrible for them. However, I can think of at least 5 journey's way more savage than theirs. For example, the locusts (see below). They lost maybe 20 or 30 people over the years due to savageness.
The Great Locust Massacre: Apparently this film has something against locusts. So here's the timeline, as I see it. The Mormons move into the Great Salt Lake Basin. Encroaching on the poor locust's homeland. The Mormons start planting crops. Meanwhile, the locusts are starving, after having their land taken by the white man. They begin to feed on the Mormon crops, if only to live another day. Then the Mormons go apeshit, and beat them with brooms, stick, 2x4s, etc. Hundreds of poor innocent locusts die, only because they were trying to live another day. And as if that was the end of their suffering. That's when their mortal enemy the birds come along, and the white man cheers as the birds eat all the innocent locusts. Horrific tragedy, is that in your American History book, I think not.
The worst day in locust history
VERY Biased: I'll be first to say that all religions are evil. More people have dies in the name of God and Religion than I can even imagine. However, I have a gut instinct that this film, is blowing it a little out of proportion. They make it seem as if everybody is evil except the Mormons. Every other character in the movie, is either killing Mormons or betraying Mormons. I think there is only one non-evil non-Mormon in this entire film. To be completely honest with you, I had more sympathy for the locusts than I did for the Mormons.
FINAL SCORE:
6/10
This film was insightful and well written, like I said, I hadn't heard this story before. I found this movie to be interesting, however, I will most likely not watch it again. However, I am glad I saw this movie.
Purchase "Savage Journey":
I can't offer anything in the way of the full movie. If you're interested it's parted out on YouTube, just head over there and search "Savage Journey 1983". The movie is in public domain, so, as far as I know, it's not illegal to download it from a website you find on Google. Say for example, this one. However, I am not a copyright lawyer and if you get in trouble it's not my fault. kthxbai.
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