Man of Aran

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Man of Aran
Directed by	Robert J. Flaherty
Produced by	Michael Balcon
Written by	Robert J. Flaherty
Starring	Colman 'Tiger' King Maggie Dirrane Michael Dillane
Music by	John Greenwood
Cinematography	Robert J. Flaherty
Release date(s)	October 18, 1934 (U.S. release)
Running time	76 min.
Country	United Kingdom
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Man Of Aran (1934) is a documentary film by Robert J. Flaherty, a docufiction on life on the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. It portrays characters who live in premodern conditions and their hardships, documenting their daily routines such as fishing off high cliffs, farming potatoes where there is little soil, and hunting for huge basking sharks to win their liver oil for lamps. Some situations are fabricated, such as one scene in which the shark fishermen are almost lost at sea in a sudden gale. Additionally, the family members shown are not actually related, having been chosen from among the islanders for their photogenic qualities.

A documentary (1977) about the making of the documentary, which is included in the special features of the DVD, relates that the Aran Islanders had not hunted sharks in this way for over fifty years at the time the film was made. Man of Aran shows us Flaherty's re-creation of culture on the edges of modern society, even though much of the primitive life depicted had been left behind by the 1930s. It is impressive, however, for its drama, for its spectacular cinematography of landscape and seascape, and for its concise editing.

Robert J. Flaherty
Nanook of the North (1922) • Moana (1926) • The Twenty-four Dollar Island (1927) • Tabu (1931) • Man of Aran (1934) • Elephant Boy (1937) • The Land (1942) • Louisiana Story (1948)