The Best Adventure Movies | Outside Online

You Are Here:

Home >> Evolution of the Adventure Hero

Q&A: Climbing El Capitan with Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Ivo Ninov listen
Q&A: Maggie Anthony On Son Eric Volz listen
Q&A: Photographer Danny Clinch listen
Q&A: "Coca Is It!" Author Joshua Hammer listen
Q&A: "Strange Bird" Author Carl Hoffman listen
Out of Bounds: That '70s Guy listen

What kind of dog will make me look manlier? answer
Is there a sport that safely combines my twin passions for guns and kayaks? answer
How come most of the world's cultures enjoy eating goat, but Americans don't? answer

Why do mosquito bites itch? answer
Are elite athletes just lucky genetic mutants? answer
Can women really tolerate cold water better than men? answer

Online Favorites

Special Issues

Photo Galleries

Outside Magazine, June 2005

Outside Goes to the Movies
Evolution of the Adventure Hero
From Tarzan and Bogie to Spicoli and Depp, a look at the rise of cinema's indestructible action archetype

By Steven Kotler

1920 The Mark of Zorro: Swashbuckling and silent, Zorro (Douglas Fairbanks) becomes Tinseltown's first adventure icon.

1932 Tarzan the Ape Man: Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller has gold-winning shoulders and the willingness to wear a loincloth on camera.

1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood: Hollywood takes men in tights seriously with Errol Flynn's gentleman bandit combining fancy swordplay and suave sophistication.

1950 Rio Grande: Ten-gallon hats, bandannas worn with rakish esprit, trotting off into sunsets—is there a western cliché that came before the Duke?

1951 The African Queen: Bogart's boozy riverboat captain, Charlie Allnut, brings gravitas and dry wit to the adventure stud.

1956 Moby Dick: As Captain Ahab, Gregory Peck tracks his beast, gets his butt kicked, and . . . dies lashed to the great whale's back. Well played!

1960 Spartacus: Who is Spartacus? Kirk Douglas is Spartacus! And he proves that men can wear sandals and miniskirts and still be tough as nails.

1962 Dr. No: Sean Connery is Bond—James Bond—a tuxedo-wearing, babe-shagging, licensed-to-kill Brit spy. Vodka martini sales go way up.

1963 The Great Escape: Steve McQueen establishes the strong, silent type, and more and more men let their motorcycles do the talking.

1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Newman and Redford dish rugged charm, subtle humor, and fine acting as the infamous Wild West duo.

1973 Enter the Dragon: And enter Bruce Lee, auteur of the combat sequence. Lee choreographs all his own fights based on jeet kune do, his own form of martial art.

1975 The Eiger Sanction: As mountaineer Jonathan Hemlock, Clint Eastwood (who also directs) trades his pistol for automatic weapons and alpine espionage.

1977 Star Wars: Luke and Han enter the pop pantheon, as does Chewie (Peter Mayhew), loyal—and hairy—as a sheep dog.

1979 Alien: "This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off." So says Sigourney Weaver, the first ass-kicking outer-space babe.

1982 The Man From Snowy River: Ah, a man and his horse . . . ride down a sheer cliff! Welcome to the club, Jim Craig (Tom Burlinson).

1982 Fast Times at Ridgemont High: "All I need is a cool buzz and some tasty waves and I'm fine." Sean Penn steps up as stoner surf master Spicoli, bane of a certain Mr. Hand.

1982 Conan The Barbarian: Arnold Schwarzenegger hits the silver screen, sword swinging—and we all buy gym memberships, hoping to get huge.

1985 Better Off Dead: John Cusack schusses Squaw Valley's K-12 chute to impress the belle of his high school. Who says angst-ridden teens can't be heroes, too?

1985 Pee-Wee's Big Adventure: Gotta love a guy whose dream is to win the Tour de France.

1986 "Crocodile" Dundee: Paul Hogan is an Aussie croc hunter in New York. A cliché is born.

1988 Die Hard: As John McClane, Bruce Willis wages a one-man war on terror long before it's cool.

1988 The Great Outdoors: In the misadventurous spirit of Tim Cahill, John Candy and Dan Aykroyd take their turns as bumbling outdoorsmen of the big screen.

1992 A River Runs Through It: Brad Pitt puts fly-fishing on the map. We're still trying to figure out what the hell "shadow casting" is.

1992 The Last of the Mohicans: Daniel Day-Lewis pulls off Hawkeye, pioneer-turned-Indian. Not bad for an English actor!

1993 CliffHanger: Absurd, sure, but revel in the spectacle of Sly dangling in the Dolomites. "Yo, Adrian, I'm on belay!"

1993 Free Willy: Orcas make great pets. Er, actually, no, they don't. Willy (Keiko) proves it.

1994 The River Wild: Meryl Streep—performing most of her own stunts—is Gail, a retired river guide and the ultimate backcountry supermom.

1997 Seven Years in Tibet: Pitt again, now as Austrian alpinist and Dalai Lama chum Heinrich Harrer. free tibet sticker, anyone?

1997 Austin Powers: international man of mystery: Secret agent Powers (Mike Myers) ranks somewhere between Pee-wee and Chewbacca—but is oh-so quotable!

1999 The Matrix: Keanu Reeves's Neo navigates a virtual wilderness. Nice metaphor for the modern workplace.

2000 The Perfect Storm: Swordfishing-boat captain Billy Tyne (George Clooney) takes on an angry Ma Nature. Guess who wins?

2001 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The ultimate nerd-pleaser: Angelina Jolie as an archaeologist, in Lycra, traipsing through a humid Cambodian jungle.

2002 The Scorpion King: The Rock stole the show in The Mummy Returns, so he gets his very own prequel.

2002 xXx: Vin Diesel wheelies into the spotlight as Hollywood's beefcake du jour.

2002 Blue Crush: Kate Bosworth, we love you. Will you marry us?

2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: Johnny Depp is swishy pirate and rake Jack Sparrow. Finally, someone brings a little class to the rogue's rogue.

2004 The Day After Tomorrow: As a fearless climatologist, Dennis Quaid battles nature at its very, very worst. Global warming was never so exciting.

2004 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: Bill Murray brings heady dysfunction and an ever-present doobie to his role as a Jacques Cousteau–like undersea explorer bent on avenging his best friend's death at the jaws of the elusive "jaguar shark."

2005 Sin City: Frank Miller's graphic novel gone cinematic gives us a resurrected Mickey Rourke as noir vigilante Marv, a righteous comic hero who leaves appalling slaughter in his wake.

• Subscribe to Outside and get a FREE Gift!

• Give the gift of Outside Magazine!

• Subscribe to Outside Online's free weekly e-mail newsletter featuring gear reviews, fitness advice, galleries, podcasts, and more.

TODAY'S NEWS UPDATE!
The Gear Junkie: Ski and Snowboard Gear...
By Stephen Regenold Winter is upon us, and with it ski areas across the country are ...