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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
Look, if you’re into the history of nature photography or just like watching old footage of stampeding animals, this is a weird little relic to dig up. If you need a plot, clear characters, or anything resembling a modern narrative flow, you are going to be bored out of your mind within three minutes. It is a very specific kind of strange that only makes sense if you’re a total film history nerd.
It’s barely a movie, honestly. It’s more of a long, grainy observation of pure, unadulterated panic.
Watching these animals flee a fire is genuinely stressful. You can tell Hubbard wasn't worried about lighting or framing; he was just trying to keep the camera steady while everything went to hell. The dust clouds are massive. You spend most of the runtime squinting at the screen, trying to figure out which blurry shape is a gazelle and which is just a patch of scorched grass.
There is this one moment where a group of wildebeest just... they stop moving for a second. It is so awkward. It feels like they realized they were on camera for a second before remembering the fire was still behind them. 🦒
It’s a far cry from the studio polish you’d see in a picture like Min and Bill. There’s no dialogue, obviously. No forced romance. Just the sound of wind and the occasional crackle of flames if you’re lucky enough to hear a decent transfer. It makes some of the more staged dramas from the same era, like Huckleberry Finn, feel like they’re from another planet entirely.
I caught myself wondering if the cameraman was actually safe. Probably not. He was right in the middle of it. That kind of guts is rare now.
It is definitely not something you watch for the story. It is something you watch to see a guy stand in the middle of a burning jungle because he thought people back home would want to see it. It is messy. It is loud in its own quiet way. And it really doesn't care if you're comfortable watching it.
