Bear Island (1979)

Director:

Don Sharp

Writers:

Alistair MacLean (novel)
Murray Smith (additional material) ...
(more)

Release Date:

August 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Below freezing and beyond fear... Will anyone survive its terror?

Plot:

A group of people converge on a barren Arctic island. They have their reasons for being there but when...

Plot Keywords:

Isolation | Weather | Arctic | Gold | Ice

Cast

Donald Sutherland	...	Frank Lansing
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Heddi Lindquist
Richard Widmark	...	Otto Gerran
Christopher Lee	...	Lechinski
Barbara Parkins	...	Judith Rubin
Lloyd Bridges	...	Smithy
Lawrence Dane	...	Paul Hartman
Patricia Collins	...	Inge Van Zipper
Michael J. Reynolds	...	Heyter
Nicholas Cortland	...	Jungbeck
August Schellenberg	...	Marine Technician
Candace O'Connor	...	Laboratory Assistant
Joseph Golland	...	Meteorological Assistant
Bruce Greenwood	...	Technician (Tommy)
Richard Wren	...	Radio Operator
Mark Jones	...	Cook
Hagan Beggs	...	Larsen
Michael Collins	...	Ship's Captain
Robert Stelmach	...	Ship's Radio Operator
Terry Waterhouse	...	Helicopter Crewman

Directed by
Don Sharp

Writing credits
Alistair MacLean		(novel)
Murray Smith		(additional material)
David Butler		screenplay
Don Sharp		screenplay

Produced by
William Hill	....	associate producer
Peter Snell	....	producer

Original Music by
Robert Farnon

Cinematography by
Alan Hume		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Tony Lower

Casting by
Stuart Aikins		(as Stuart Aitkins)

Production Design by
Harry Pottle

Art Direction by
Peter Childs
Kenneth Ryan

Makeup Department
Sandy Cooper	....	makeup assistant
Michael Morris	....	makeup assistant
Phyllis Newman	....	makeup artist
Wally Schneiderman	....	makeup artist
Leila Seppänen	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Brian Burgess	....	production supervisor (as Brian D. Burgess)
Fitch Cady	....	unit manager: second unit

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vic Armstrong	....	second unit director
Don Brough	....	assistant director
Stuart Freeman	....	assistant director
Don McCutcheon	....	assistant director
Bill Mizel	....	assistant director (as William Mizel)
Alan Simmonds	....	assistant director
Roy Stevens	....	assistant director

Art Department
Denise Exshaw	....	set dresser
Brian Gamby	....	prop man
Dai Moran	....	draughtsman
William Simpson	....	construction manager: Canada
Ken Softley	....	construction manager: UK (as Kenneth Softley)

Sound Department
Rowland Fowles	....	boom operator: UK
Chris Greenham	....	sound editor
Gerry Humphreys	....	dubbing mixer (as Gerry Humphries)
John Iles	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Brian Simmons	....	sound mixer
Rob Young	....	boom operator: Canada (as Robert Young)

Special Effects by
David Harris	....	special effects
Lee Routly	....	special effects
John Thomas	....	special effects
Roy Whybrow	....	special effects

Stunts
Vic Armstrong	....	stunt coordinator
Vic Armstrong	....	stunts
Dave Bickers	....	stunts (as David Bickers)
Marc Boyle	....	stunts
Alex Green	....	stunts
Alf Joint	....	stunts
Dwayne McLean	....	stunts
John Wardlow	....	stunts
Paul Weston	....	stunts
Calvin Spencer	....	assistant stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Calvin Spencer	....	stunt double: Lloyd Bridges (uncredited)
Calvin Spencer	....	stunt driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
David Appleby	....	still photographer
John S. Bartley	....	gaffer: Canada (as John Bartley)
Cyrus Block	....	camera operator
Bert Bosher	....	gaffer: UK
Tony Breeze	....	assistant camera
Derek V. Browne	....	camera operator (as Derek Browne)
Derek V. Browne	....	photographer: second unit (as Derek Browne)
Theo Eglseder	....	assistant camera
David Geddes	....	second assistant camera
John Harris	....	camera operator
Tim Hogan	....	key grip
Roger Huyghe	....	best boy electric
Bruce Ingram	....	second assistant camera
David Kelly	....	assistant camera
Cameron MacDonald	....	camera operator (as Cam MacDonald)
John McCallum	....	assistant camera (as Sandy McCallum)
Donald M. Morgan	....	aerial camera operator (as Donald Morgan)
Ben Rusi	....	best boy grip
Herbert Smith	....	camera operator
Peter Smith	....	assistant camera
Dale Wilson	....	second assistant camera
Keith Woods	....	camera operator
Keith Woods	....	photographer: second unit
Arthur Wooster	....	underwater photographer
Alan Zenuk	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Peter Donaldson	....	wardrobe assistant: Canada
Lynne MacKay	....	wardrobe supervisor
Robert Watts	....	wardrobe master
Colin Wilson	....	wardrobe master: UK

Editorial Department
Eric Boyd-Perkins	....	editorial supervisor (as Eric Boyd Perkins)
Eric Boyd-Perkins	....	supervising editor (as Eric Boyd Perkins)
Geoff R. Brown	....	assistant editor
Jack Hilton	....	assistant editor

Music Department
David Farnon	....	music associate
Robert Farnon	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Robert Bowe	....	driver captain
Ken C. Johnson	....	transportation

Other crew
Marilyn Clarke	....	production assistant
Pamela Davies	....	continuity
Margaret Hanly	....	continuity
Penny Hynam	....	continuity
Leif Johansson	....	hydrocopter specialist
Patricia Johnson	....	publicist
Lesley Keane	....	coordinator: UK
Jak King	....	assistant accountant (as Jak R. King)
Sarah Lucraft	....	accounts secretary
Wayne McLaughlin	....	production assistant
Charles Mooney	....	helicopter pilot
Robin Mounsey	....	snow controller
Elizabeth Pontsa	....	payroll clerk
Douglas Pruss	....	production runner (as Doug Pruss)
John Soutar	....	helicopter pilot
Michael E. Steele	....	location manager (as Michael Steele)
Artur Tarry	....	production accountant (as Arthur Tarry)
Gail Turner	....	coordinator: Canada

Production Companies

• Bear Island
• Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents) (as Columbia Pictures)
• Selkirk Films (presents)

Distributors

• Hollydan Works (2003) (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) (DVD)
• Taft International Pictures (1980) (USA)

Other Companies

• National Screen Service  titles

Also Known As:

Alistair MacLean's Bear Island (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

118 min | Canada:110 min

Country:

UK | Canada

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Norway:16 (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Glacier Bay National Park, Gustavus, Alaska, USA

Company:

Bear Island

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When everyone is outside after the generator explosion it is blowing a blizzard, but the flames are rising vertically with minimal wind disturbance rather than being virtually horizontal, revealing that wind machines are being used just on the area where the actors are.

Good movie

I read the book and saw the movie. I enjoyed both. Donald Sutherland was excellent. This is a suspense thriller and so it goes slower than a typical action flick. If you expect this to be an action flick you will be disappointed. There are a few surprises which is typical of the writer's style.

If you want an action movie MacLean is not for you as he is the Master of Suspense and writes in a way to keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going on. If you see this from the middle, you will be bored, you must see it from the start and watch with full attention. If you miss any of the plot, you will get confused frustrated and wonder why you're watching the movie.

When you watch this, don't do anything else except watch it and I assure you that you will applaud this movie along with others like unto it like Where Eagles Dare, Guns of Navarone, Force 10 from Navarone, Ice Station Zebra, Detonator I and Detonator II, Satan Bug and a few more. The only one that dragged for me was Puppet on a Chain but I saw it chopped up on network TV so I need to see it again unchopped, unedited and not edited for television.