When we think of nomadic people, those who travel tremendous distances between seasons to seek the best feeding grounds for their livestock, we think of a long ago custom that hadn't been practiced in generations. But former New York Times reporter Merian C. Cooper was doing research for the American Geographical Society when he got the idea to film a still-existing group migration in the Persian region of the Middle East. Filmmaker Ernest Schoedsack and another friend, Marguerite Harrison, a former United States spy in Soviet Union and Japan after The Great War, and who provided essential funding for the project, planned to follow members of the Bakhtiari tribe in its annual migration from Turkey to Persia.
The team's mesmerizing account of the never before filmed journey of the Bakhtiari's premiered in March 1925 as "Grass: A Nation's Battle For Life." The trio were the first Westerners to accompany the 50,000 tribespeople, along with their thousands of domesticated animals, crossing the raging Karun River and trekking over the snow covered Zagros Mountains. Some lives, both human and animals, are lost annually through the migration. Schoedsack's camera captures the hardships in sweeping shots. One highlight is his stunning footage of tribespeople traversing the dangerous Karun River. Inflating sheep bellies as floatation devices for their rafts, they pile on layers of live, bleeping sheep who obediently lay down on the rafts before their crossing. Larger animals are required to swim against the swift rapids to reach the distant shore, all the while a few drowning in the process.
"Grass" is one of cinema's first ethnographic documentaries highlighting a rare societal group with unique customs. Robert Flaherty's 1922 "Nanook of the North" was the acknowledged debut of the category, with its portrayal of the Northern Indigenous Eskimos. But Cooper and Company were not familiar with Flaherty's work and edited their footage in a completely different manner, showcasing thousands without the necessary staging that Flaherty took in a few of his sequences.
As one New York Times critic wrote at the time of its initial showing, "There is drama interspersed with captivating comedy, and the audience last night applauded some of the wonderful photographic sequences and at other times they were moved to laughter by the antics of the animals." Cooper had shown a rough version of the film in January 1925 for The Explorer's Club in New York City, with the public release a couple of months later.
The migration of the Bakhtiari still takes place, but not anywhere near the numbers of 100 years ago, and with a more modern, safer mode of transportation. Today, the animals are transported by truck while the shepherds travel some distance by train. As early as 1947, Cooper wanted to make a sequel to "Grass," only to be told by Schoedsack to forget the idea; he had been informed by Persian friends that the tribesmen make most of the trek by modern conveyances.
Cooper and Schoedsack teamed up later to produce the classic 1933 movie 'King Kong.' Cooper directed just a handful of movies after "Grass." His fame is more as a film producer for a number of movies, especially with director John Ford, whom he collaborated in producing 1952's 'The Quiet Man' and 1956's 'The Searchers,' with actor John Wayne.
The team's mesmerizing account of the never before filmed journey of the Bakhtiari's premiered in March 1925 as "Grass: A Nation's Battle For Life." The trio were the first Westerners to accompany the 50,000 tribespeople, along with their thousands of domesticated animals, crossing the raging Karun River and trekking over the snow covered Zagros Mountains. Some lives, both human and animals, are lost annually through the migration. Schoedsack's camera captures the hardships in sweeping shots. One highlight is his stunning footage of tribespeople traversing the dangerous Karun River. Inflating sheep bellies as floatation devices for their rafts, they pile on layers of live, bleeping sheep who obediently lay down on the rafts before their crossing. Larger animals are required to swim against the swift rapids to reach the distant shore, all the while a few drowning in the process.
"Grass" is one of cinema's first ethnographic documentaries highlighting a rare societal group with unique customs. Robert Flaherty's 1922 "Nanook of the North" was the acknowledged debut of the category, with its portrayal of the Northern Indigenous Eskimos. But Cooper and Company were not familiar with Flaherty's work and edited their footage in a completely different manner, showcasing thousands without the necessary staging that Flaherty took in a few of his sequences.
As one New York Times critic wrote at the time of its initial showing, "There is drama interspersed with captivating comedy, and the audience last night applauded some of the wonderful photographic sequences and at other times they were moved to laughter by the antics of the animals." Cooper had shown a rough version of the film in January 1925 for The Explorer's Club in New York City, with the public release a couple of months later.
The migration of the Bakhtiari still takes place, but not anywhere near the numbers of 100 years ago, and with a more modern, safer mode of transportation. Today, the animals are transported by truck while the shepherds travel some distance by train. As early as 1947, Cooper wanted to make a sequel to "Grass," only to be told by Schoedsack to forget the idea; he had been informed by Persian friends that the tribesmen make most of the trek by modern conveyances.
Cooper and Schoedsack teamed up later to produce the classic 1933 movie 'King Kong.' Cooper directed just a handful of movies after "Grass." His fame is more as a film producer for a number of movies, especially with director John Ford, whom he collaborated in producing 1952's 'The Quiet Man' and 1956's 'The Searchers,' with actor John Wayne.