Reviews of silent film releases on home video. Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett and the Silent Era Company. All Rights Reserved.

In the Land of the Head Hunters [In the Land of the War Canoes] (1915)

Renown still photographer Edward S. Curtis’ ground-breaking motion picture documentary-drama, In the Land of the Head Hunters [In the Land of the War Canoes] (1914-1915), focuses on the Kwakiutl Native American tribe of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island.

Motana, a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw tribe, travels on a personal quest to gain the strength and wisdom which will make him as powerful as his father, a great chief.

The film premiered in New York and Seattle in a four-reel version as In the Land of the War Canoes in 1914. The film was later expanded and rereleased in a six-reel version as In the Days of the Head Hunters in 1915.

Selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, the 1915 version of the film has been restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive in cooperation with Milestone Film and Video, the Field Museum of Natural History, the U’Mista Cultural Center, and professors Aaron Glass and Brad Evans.

— Carl Bennett

The two-disc set features the following supplementary material: The 1973 version of In the Land of the War Canoes, as produced by Bill Holm and George Quimby [44 minutes, black & white]; optional English subtitles for the Kwak’wala dialogue on the In the Land of the War Canoes soundtrack; audio commentary featuring Bill Holm, Andy Everson and Aaron Glass; The Image Maker and the Indians (1979), a documentary by Holm and Quimby on the production of the film [16 minutes, color]; Turning Point Ensemble and the Score (2013) [3 minutes, color]; a featurette Documents of Encounter: The Head Hunters Reconstruction Project (2014) [38 minutes, color]; Cultural Presentation by the Gwa’wina Dancers (2008) [83 minutes, color]; a still photograph gallery, courtesy of the University of Washington Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and Mick Gidley.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region ABC Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region ABC Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .

The two-disc set features the following supplementary material: The 1973 version of In the Land of the War Canoes, as produced by Bill Holm and George Quimby [44 minutes, black & white]; optional English subtitles for the Kwak’wala dialogue on the In the Land of the War Canoes soundtrack; audio commentary featuring Bill Holm, Andy Everson and Aaron Glass; The Image Maker and the Indians (1979), a documentary by Holm and Quimby on the production of the film [16 minutes, color]; Turning Point Ensemble and the Score (2013) [3 minutes, color]; a featurette Documents of Encounter: The Head Hunters Reconstruction Project (2014) [38 minutes, color]; Cultural Presentation by the Gwa’wina Dancers (2008) [83 minutes, color]; a still photograph gallery, courtesy of the University of Washington Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and Mick Gidley.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .

The short DVD program is padded with a brief documentary on Edward S. Curtis, The Image Maker and the Indians (1979) by Bill Holm and George Quimby.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting music recordings.

As this is not a complete presentation of the film, this is not a recommended home video edition.

This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .