Sky Above and Mud Beneath (1960)
Directed by Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau · 92 min · Documentary
16.1 TOPICAL score · #4,928 of 6,776 films
Vote for it on the board →In September, 1959, six Europeans leave Cook's Bay on the southern coast of Dutch New Guinea, now West Papua or Irian Jaya, to trek north to the far side of the island. The journey (450 miles, as a crow flies) across unmapped territory took seven months; three Muyu porters died. Near both coasts, the expedition met villagers who invited them to observe rituals and live with them. In the interior, all villagers kept them at bay, and they depended on air lifts from Hollandia for food and supplies. They climbed above 10,000 feet, built 14 bridges, and fought leeches and malaria. The narrator focuses on describing Stone Age savages, headhunters, and cannibals.
Sky Above and Mud Beneath (1960, directed by Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau) has a TOPICAL score of 16.1 - ranked 4,928 of the 6,776 films TOPICAL scores. It scores highest on awards and historical impact, and lowest on lasting engagement. It won 1 award from 1 nomination, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. Audiences: TMDB 5.7/10 (12 ratings). Wikipedia covers it in 10 languages.
Why this score
Each bar: better than this % of the 6,776 films we score. How the score works.
- AudienceTMDB 5.7/10 (12 ratings)
- Awards1 win, 1 nomination - incl. Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film
- ImpactWikipedia articles in 10 languages
- Still read432 Wikipedia readers in the last 60 days
Starring: Pierre Dominique Gaisseau