The Revenant

Released in January this year, The Revenant, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu was widely popular. Emmanuel Lubezki was responsible for the stunning cinematography throughout the film. I am analysing the bear attack scene which was very brutal and graphic. The narrative follows frontiersman Hugh Glass as he sustains terrible injuries from the bear attack, trying to make his way back home to avenge his son’s death.


A mid close up opens the scene to which the audience see Hugh Glass, at this point the audience are not aware that the bear is about to attack as all that can be seen is a blurred outline. In a sense this gives mystery due to the fear of the unknown as besides some sound effects we are in the dark. The framing of this seen shows Glass's face which allows the audience to see he is concentrating as he can hear something, it could possibly be an establishing shot too as we get an idea of the surroundings (if you've ever seen the film before). Following this the camera then pans left and suddenly moves as the bear begins its hunt.



For the most part of the next nine seconds, the audience are positioned to watch the bear as it mauls Glass, the wide shot gives the audience full view of the bear’s large body. The shot then pans forward and backward continuously, we can see Glass fighting his hardest but it having no effect, the shot stays at this point for a millisecond before it tracks the movement of the bear as it viciously drags and tugs. More than half of the shot is the bear’s body and the rest we see Glass, this depicts the size of the bear in comparison. The camera work in this shot looks like it may have been hand held as the shot seems shaky and unstable. On the other hand, I think in certain parts of this scene it seems that the shot is not moving so the camera would be stationary as we just watch the struggle until the shot continues to move. I noticed there is also what look like mid close up low angle shots as we watch the bear continue to drag Glass.


One of the key features in this scene is the low angle shots; these intensify not only the animal’s enormity but its ferociousness. It makes the audience consider the size and weight of the animal as it crushes Glass. Furthermore, The Revenant was made, produced and edited for the big screen; if we think about the layout of a cinema screen the audience are positioned below, so they would feel intimidated and scared just like Glass. In addition, the low angle shots allow the audience to have empathy for Glass as his facial expressions can be witnessed in great detail conveying his pain and agony but also his terror in moments he would feel close to death. I think in certain aspects we can also see the effects of the life he leads, his weathered face and overgrown hair and beard for example. The shot pans forward and backwards, at one point after the pan forwards the shot goes black as it seems the bear is covering the camera lens. This may just be for effect but I think that it could be to give the impression of Glass's physical state at that point- he is ready to give in, close to becoming unconscious.


The low angle wide shot after the close up of Glass’s face show the strength of the bear as he easily grabs Glass and swings him from side to side. In this moment of intensity it is one of the best parts of the scene to highlight that throughout the scene the fast pace of the camera accentuates the frenzy and chaos of the attack.



It's important to note that throughout this scene there is no light. Everything is very dark and dreary as if the whole setting is covered in a grey sheet. It’s dingy and depressing emulating the despair of Glass and his situation.




The scene ends as we see the bear throw Glass down the steep hill into a ditch, due to Glass stabbing the bear it then tumbles down after finally collapsing on top of Glass. Even though this is a high angle shot, it still makes the bear appear larger than Glass because, like other shots, we can only just make him out.