Featured Audience Ratings

• Austen R

  
  I kind of knew what I was getting into... I just wasn't expecting a plot of any sort... The Naked Prey is an experimental film by actor and auteur, Cornel Wilde. Wilde seeks to portray man as animal by having man hunt man, and inter-splicing the film with stock footage of… More
  I kind of knew what I was getting into... I just wasn't expecting a plot of any sort... The Naked Prey is an experimental film by actor and auteur, Cornel Wilde. Wilde seeks to portray man as animal by having man hunt man, and inter-splicing the film with stock footage of animal hunting animal. (Sometimes it's man hunting animal [and vice-versa], but that's commonplace.) It's a very "Hobbesian" premise, and I think that's what Wilde intended. (Read up on the work of Thomas Hobbes.) Speaking of Wilde, his performance is stellar. He was in his 50's and was ill, and he still forced himself to run for miles for the sake of the project. The pursuers also turned in believable performances. The hunting and torture scenes at the beginning of the film were tastefully handled, but are still quite horrific. Of course, the blood is very fake-looking, but at least the blood's there! (This movie still maintains its R-rating!!) Of course, some of the torture scenes don't need blood to insure the viewer that they are, in fact, horrible ways to die. The movie has some outstanding sequences, like the elephant hunt, the torture ceremony, and the wildfire scene; which is one of my favorite sequences from any movie. While the movie's graphic and unpleasant at times, it has sweet moments, like when Cornel Wilde escorts the kid he rescues from a village that is pillaged by slave-traders. (Another Great Sequence) The movie's also just really entertaining. It never really drags, and it has an interesting ideology that drives it. The Criterion Collection DVD features a high-quality transfer, and it comes with a high recommendation from me. The Naked Prey receives a 95% from me! (Bonus points for the tribal score made for the film!)

• Randy T

  
  I suspect <i>The Naked Prey</i> is Cornel Wilde's answer to a mid-life crisis. It was his way of saying, "Look at me! I'm the producer, the director and the star." He even co-wrote the musical score. Wilde, as a character credited simply as 'the… More
  I suspect <i>The Naked Prey</i> is Cornel Wilde's answer to a mid-life crisis. It was his way of saying, "Look at me! I'm the producer, the director and the star." He even co-wrote the musical score. Wilde, as a character credited simply as 'the Man', spends the vast majority of his screen time running around Africa clad only in a small loincloth. Okay, so he had a pretty good physique for a 50 year old man, but come on! No middle-aged white man is going to outrun, outsmart, and outlast a war party of Zulu tribesmen in a footrace across the Serengeti. The Naked Prey is not a horrible film, in fact it's downright entertaining. But let's be absolutely truthful about calling it for what it is. It is 96 minutes of pure, unadulterated machismo.

• Ken S

  
  1966's version of Apocalypto. A great chase film that's a lot of fun.

• Universal D

  
  "No middle-aged white man is going to outrun, outsmart, and outlast a war party of Zulu tribesmen in a footrace across the Serengeti. The Naked Prey is not a horrible film, in fact it's downright entertaining. But let's be absolutely truthful about calling it for what… More
  "No middle-aged white man is going to outrun, outsmart, and outlast a war party of Zulu tribesmen in a footrace across the Serengeti. The Naked Prey is not a horrible film, in fact it's downright entertaining. But let's be absolutely truthful about calling it for what it is. It is 96 minutes of pure, unadulterated machismo"...and so one of my buds here at flixsterino said quite truthfully, but we are talking about movies. fantasy. entertainment. and so, with that in mind, let me add that this film achieves. hemingway would love this.

• Tim S

  
  An excellent chase film with some beautiful cinematography and atmosphere.

• Steve K

  
  Quite the experience. A mishmash of 50's and 70's sensibilities. Wilde went to great lengths to make it realistic, down to killing real animals. Stripping man down to his primal survival instincts, the film is unique and worthwhile.

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