Cold River (1982) User Reviews

A Small Film that packs a punch!

[Sylviastel · 7/10 · 6 January 2013]

Granted, this film is based on the young adult novel entitled "Cold River." It's set in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York far away from New York City. It was also filmed on location as it follows a father, his young daughter Lizzie, and her stepbrother Tim as they rough it in 1923 in the woods. The story is deliverance for kids without being too gory. Although once the kids are on their own, they have to use their skills in order to survive in Adirondack Mountains. The other actors in the film include the wonderful and legendary Elizabeth Hubbard who plays mom and stepmother in the film. Even for a few minutes, she's worth watching. The kids' journey to survive is a long battle against nature and evil as well in the woods. The winter is pretty rough in upstate New York near Canada. The film director showed how brutal it can be while filming on location. Most films aren't made much in upstate New York.

Lacked appropriate emotions

[djf-84710 · 5/10 · 5 August 2021]

This movie would have been better if they had a more emotional response to seeing their father/step father dead in the frozen snow! Both of their reactions were so lackadaisical that it ruined the entire movie.

Good storyline but...

[dansandiford · 7/10 · 19 May 2013]

Could really use a remake...Original needed more effort..I agree with a earlier review of exceedingly dull cinematography for such a beautiful and dramatic place( a winter shot of the Seward range near Cold River would have been nice!)..pretty dull writing as well ...I will say in the age of email, Wiki and Google a producer and director can easily find and add better and more accurate detail (i.e. the canoe is actually an Adirondack Guide Boat ..a beautiful boat, and native to that region of the Adirondacks) ..Could have integrated some the of more colorful hermits and guides of the Adirondacks too but I did enjoy it was shot on location in an area I know well!

Understandably obscure

[Wizard-8 · 25 March 2003]

One of the last releases by Pacific International Enterprises (the folks behind the WILDERNESS FAMILY movies), COLD RIVER seems to have been a troubled production. Many of the tell-tale signs can be seen in the closing credits, which list a 1979 copyright date and an unusual number of assistant directors and photographers. It's also evident in the movie itself, mainly from a present day prologue and epilogue. These bookends not only barely connect with the events in the main body, but has no real satisfying conclusion - just like the main story told between them!

The rest of the movie is pretty unsatisfying as well. Despite being almost completely shot outdoors, the movie is surprisingly dull to look at, due both to dark and murky photography and bland locations. It also moves at a pace that's slow as our protagonists trudging through the snow. The kids don't have that much dialogue (that's of real substance, anyway), so it's hard to get involved in their hardship and struggle. Robert Earl Jones does add a little life temporarily when his character appears.

I haven't read the novel this movie is based on (which must be popular, because it's still in print after about three decades), but I'm pretty confident fans of it will be disappointed with this adaptation.

Good story, but terrible interpretation

[martyharly · 2/10 · 30 August 2016]

I am a late night movie watcher, and most of the time, those movies are terrible. This one fits that category. First off, the dialogue and acting (the kids) was terrible. It was almost as if the writer felt kids couldn't handle more complex sentences. Scenes did not flow logically from one incident to another. I liked the brief appearance of Richard Earl Jones, but then he suddenly disappeared without explanation. The kids hardly seemed to suffer; they were walking through miles of snow, but they never seemed cold. Its not a bad story; but could have been done much better. Except for the "rape' scene, this could easily be rated "G", so kids of all ages could watch it.

Uh oh! Pa found his camera again!

[eeturnitee · 2/10 · 2 May 2023]

"Cold River" A Non-Review by Professor Popinjay

Another movie about two kids lost in the wilderness? Oh no! Did Pa find his Super 8 camera again? And after we tried so hard to hide it from him after his last cinematic masterpiece Black Thunder Mountain. Okay so it's not the same "film maker" as that movie but after seeing Black Thunder Mountain first I can't help but harken back to it due to Cold River's similarities.

This one seemed to have a slightly higher production value as it features James Earl Jones...'s father. That's right Robert Earl Jones shows up in this film and helps these poor list kids right nicely.

So this is starting to come back to me. It's not the old West but it sure seems like it. It's probably like late 1950's or 60's. The family starts in a fairly modern house and either they go back in time and I just missed the scene where that happens or it's still modern times and there's just a bunch of weirdos in the woods and Robert Earl Jones lives in a cabin pretending to be an old timey trapper. All I know is, this film starts with a middle aged woman getting onto a plane after a debate with some kind of government council.

Flashback to the kids (obviously the middle aged woman is the girl in the story), they go camping with their dad. He dies somehow... oh yeah, spoiler alert. Sorry. Then the kids get tracked by some weirdo. Then they meet Darth Vader's father and he dies. NOoOoOoOoO! Then the weirdo comes back and steals Christmas (Not joking). Then some soldiers show up and are like "What the heck are you kids doing!?!" Or that might've been the ending to Lord of the Flies. I can't remember and I don't care!

Cut back to the girl now all grown up on the plane thinking about how terribly things went at the council. Turns out she was formally protesting the building of a dam on the river in that territory because she had had such a WONDERFUL time there as a girl and would HATE to see that place ravaged by modern progress. I don't make much sense of that though. If I had been through what those kids endured I'd be like "Yeah, flood the place. Pave the entire area. Build a shopping mall there. Freaking weirdo breaks into Darth Vader's deceased dad's wilderness shanty and steals my Christmas and takes up residence! Hope you're still living in his cabin when they bulldoze it!"

Sorry, that got dark for a second there. I'm back now. What movie was I talking about?

That's right, I remember now. So, yeah, Lord of the Flies is a great commentary on unaccountable human nature and the slow progress of civilization when only one kid in the group has heat vision. The End.

It rung true to me.

[rd1485 · 8/10 · 20 August 2012]

I'm giving this film high marks because I enjoyed the scenery, screenplay and acting. There are gripping moments to this story, and the violence which occurs is suspenseful. Sure, it's somewhat episodic, and the direction is choppy at times, but I am a fan of films without "filler", especially when they take place in the wilderness, where attempts to create distractions can pervert the experience of true setting. This is a story about a stepsister and stepbrother lost in the wilderness and learning some lessons about hardships and personal bonds. It is not for the attention-span deficient. The action which takes place is satisfying, and I enjoyed the casual pace of the story leading up to the denouement. Acting is strong, and there are good morals to the story also.

Rare little find

[MikeK-7 · 8/10 · 29 December 1999]

This movie was kind of good, ruined by poor acting and the stupid kids. The locations, however, were lovely and well photographed. I don't know what else to say, except for the fact that you'll have to look pretty hard to find this film. I don't believe you can buy it any more, and nearly impossible to rent.