A team of Arctic researchers find a 40,000 year-old man frozen in ice and bring him back to life. Anthropologist Dr. Stanley Shephard wants to befriend the Iceman and learn about the man's past while Dr. Diane Brady and her surgical team want to discover the secret that will allow man to live in a frozen state.
Acting
John Lone's entirely physical performance without a word of English.
Practical Effects
The ice cave sets that actually look freezing cold.
Score
Marvin Hamlisch's haunting flute motif that becomes Charlie's voice.
Director
Fred Schepisi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
John Lone based Charlie's movements on studying apes and toddlers — he wanted the physicality to suggest someone relearning their own body after 40,000 years of stiffness.
The film was shot in an actual refrigerated meat locker; breath condensation is real, and Timothy Hutton got frostbite during the emotional climax.
US
