The Last Wilderness: Watching a guy hunt with a bow in 1930s Wyoming

If you have any interest in old-school archery or just want to see how people filmed nature before Discovery Channel existed, The Last Wilderness is worth a look. It’s definitely not for anyone who gets squeamish about hunting, and if you’re looking for a plot like Captain Kidd, Jr., you are looking in the wrong place.

It’s really just a short film of Howard Hill walking around Wyoming doing cool stuff with a longbow. The scenery is genuinely nice, even if the film stock is a little crunchy with age. It feels less like a movie and more like a home video from an explorer who forgot to bring a gun but brought a lot of confidence.

The buffalo scene is… well, it’s a lot. You’re watching an animal go down in real-time, and there’s no music to soften the blow. It hits different than the fake stuff we see in movies today. You can tell Hill isn't faking it for the camera, which gives the whole thing a weird, grounded weight.

Then there’s the bear fight. I don't know how they even caught that on film. It’s messy and chaotic, and you’re basically just watching a struggle for survival while the cameraman stands there, probably holding his breath. It’s way more raw than the polished stuff in The Great Impersonation, that’s for sure. 🐻

There’s a part where a wildcat and a coyote scrap, and honestly, the editing is so choppy it feels like a fever dream. One second they’re staring, the next they’re a ball of fur, and then the cut is just… done. It doesn’t flow, but who cares? It’s real.

Howard Hill has this vibe like he’s never met a problem he couldn't solve with an arrow. It’s slightly unsettling but also kind of impressive. I kept waiting for a narrator to pop in with some grand speech, but it stays pretty quiet.

Maybe it’s not cinema in the way we think of it now. It’s more of a curiosity. You watch it, you feel a little weird about the hunting, you appreciate the wide shots of the mountains, and then you move on. It doesn't need to be deep. It’s just Wyoming, a bow, and a whole lot of teeth.

Definitely don't watch this if you're a sensitive soul. But if you like seeing how people used to just wander into the woods and film whatever happened? Give it a go. It’s honest, if nothing else. 🏹