Eight Below (2006) on Netflix
Jerry Shepard, a guide at an Antarctic base, takes Dr. Davis McClaren to Mount Melbourne for a rare meteorite. A storm forces an evacuation, and his eight sled dogs are left behind.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.3/1072,217 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes72%
Trailer
Plot summary
At a National Science Foundation research base in Antarctica, guide Jerry Shepard is asked to take professor Dr. Davis McClaren to Mount Melbourne, where a rare meteorite from Mercury lies. The ice conditions are poor, so the two travel by dog sled. An approaching storm calls them back, and on the return McClaren slips down an embankment, breaks his leg and falls into freezing water. Maya, the lead dog, carries a rope to him, and Shepard pulls him out. The men battle hypothermia and frostbite while the dogs lead the way to base. There the crew is evacuated at once. Shepard is promised the pilot will return for the dogs, so he tightens their collars and leaves them behind.
Cast
- Connor Christopher Levinsas Eric McClaren
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Eight Below (2006)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- In the 1958 event behind the story, 15 Sakhalin Husky sled dogs were abandoned when the expedition team was unable to return to the base. When the team returned a year later, two dogs, Taro and Jiro, were still alive; seven were dead, still chained up, and six were unaccounted for.
- William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reacted favourably to the dog actors, but pointed out, as did other reviewers, that Antarctica buffs would be critical of errors such as portraying midwinter events in "balmy, blazing daylight at a time Antarctica is locked in round-the-clock darkness and temperatures of 140 degrees below."
- The animal filming was supervised by the American Humane Association and the film carries the standard "No animals were harmed" disclaimer, despite an on-set incident in which a trainer used significant force to break up an animal fight.
- The eight sled dogs on screen were played by a much larger pack: in all, over 30 dogs were used to portray the film's eight canine characters.
- The film carries a dedication to a fellow film-maker: Eight Below was dedicated to the memory of Koreyoshi Kurahara, the director of Antarctica, who died in 2002.
