More than many features, the creative life of Cam Archer’s debut film Wild Tigers I Have Known has been one of many twists and turns. Originally chosen to debut at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, the film premiered there with a 98 minute cut that most audiences were not the kindest to, leading the filmmaker to slash it down to a spry 80 minutes for its theatrical release the next year. It is not unheard of for a film to change between festival and theatrical release, but less frequent is for a film to have a third iteration. With this new 15th anniversary Blu-Ray release, Archer has the luxury of maturity and hindsight to once again look at his debut and shape it into what best represents his vision. This now amounts to an 88 minute version and a new audio mix that creates a more lush soundscape to accompany the dreamy visuals. With only the excised material in the supplements as a frame of reference, it would appear Archer has crafted his ultimate version of this tender, coming-of-age queer love story that basks in feelings more than plot.
At the center of this ethereal story is Logan (Malcolm Stumpf), a lonely 13-year-old junior high school student whose burgeoning homosexuality leaves him feeling like an outsider in his conservative school in what looks to be the early 90s. While the titular feline technically connects to his school mascot, it is the wild mountain lion who has been finding its way onto the school campus that sparks the curiosity of Logan. The sight of the beast has sparked fear in the community, but Logan reasons that the creature is misunderstood and has every right to be here as anything else. With a little understanding, could the world not find a way to coexist with this creature? The metaphorical nature of the creature is not the most subtle aspect about the film, but his feelings are fair. Logan does not fit in neatly with anyone; his nerdy best friend, Joey (Max Paradise), is fixated on fitting in and does not understand why Logan makes certain unfamiliar suggestions; his other classmates just call him slurs when he happens to look in their direction in a way they do not like. He has not even acted on any feelings and he is already being persecuted.
Logan’s life becomes simultaneously more complicated and more thrilling upon meeting Rodeo (Patrick White), a slightly older boy on whom he develops a crush. Rodeo is the type of “bad boy” that makes sense for a first crush, and the fact that he recognizes Logan’s crush on him but does address in favor of carrying on his heterosexual tendencies makes him a much more interesting character. Despite the excitement of a young crush, this is not the purpose of the film. The film has a loosely connected plot, but it functions more as a series of floating moments. Logan is trying on different facets of his personality to see how they fit, and naturally this includes moments that are awkward or occasionally anxiety-inducing as you worry for his safety. The application of lipstick to take a picture with his friend, or the trying on of a wig and dress and seeing how his single-mother will react leaves you reeling. Fairuza Balk (The Craft) plays the latter role, a mother who has issues that makes life harder for Logan but ultimately has a deep, maternal love for him.
It is Balk and fellow amazing character actress Kim Dickens (Gone Girl) as the attentive guidance counselor who help keep this project from becoming too esoteric. They are not major figures in the plot, but their gravitas establishes stakes in the reality that the younger cast cannot do as well. That is not to say they are not doing a great job; Stumpf has the limitations any child performer has at points, but the naturalism they bring to the role is transfixing. As a first time feature, the film makes some creative choices that seem appropriate for an “experimental” filmmaker, but Archer can be forgiven for indulging in tropes. Like Logan, he is still finding himself and clearly working through some personal issues in his art – which does add to the authenticity and emotion. Even with some slightly heavy-handed themes, the story is one that is quite lovely in the end. In this latest version, Archer does not go out of his way to spell out narrative conclusions, but he does honor the character we have been following more as an individual on a complicated journey. In the end, Archer balances emotion with artistry quite effectively in this feature worthy of your time.
Video Quality
Wild Tigers I Have Known comes to Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer of a brand new edit prepared for this release. The fact that Altered Innocence has not only rescued this film from obscurity but has also given it a beautiful presentation is very impressive. This transfer maintains the intentionally blown out digital HD aesthetic which allows the environment to look as artificial as the character feels in it. There is a great amount of depth to the image that fans should appreciate. Overall clarity and detail is very strong, and skin tones are natural and consistent with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Colors are well saturated with vivid hues popping off the screen, especially in some of the clothing choices. Black levels are deep and hold up well with crush not serving as a noticeable issue. This new presentation is quite striking and a real win for this feature.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a LPCM 2.0 track that accurately captures the intended dreamy soundscape of the film. The music is used well to establish the mood of the story, and this track handles it elegantly throughout the duration of the film. There is never a moment where it threatens to overwhelm competing sounds, and it maintains a good balance so that dialogue comes through clearly. The bustling school hallway environmental sounds are rendered well alongside everything else. There does not seem to be any majorly noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear. Altered Innocence has given this film a perfectly preserved audio presentation that brings the movie to life in a most pleasing manner.
Special Features
- Deleted Scenes: Nineteen minutes of unused footage that was included in the Assembly Cut that was submitted to Sundance but has never been screened publicly. These scenes include Logan talking to a girl on the way to swim about holding his breath and how all girls look the same in their bathing suits, Joey getting upset at Logan about the camping trip, Logan thinking about the lion more, Logan confronting one of Rodeo’s girlfriends while dressed up in women’s clothes and more. There are some good moments in here, but it makes sense why some of this footage was cut as it just underlines some of the themes too explicitly.
- Interview with Lou Stumpf: An excellent new interview in which the performer who plays Logan explains what their memories of the the film are, the ways in which the character was similar and different from their real life, their feelings on the different cuts of the film, memories of bonding with the crew, thoughts on the title and more.
- Audition Tapes: Two brief videos that show early glimpses of the performers who would be cast as Logan and Joey. There are some fun, natural moments included here.
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- Malcolm Stumpf (4:30)
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- Max Paradise (3:30)
- Logan’s Imaginary Brother: Five minutes of Super-8 footage that was not used in the film in which Logan imagines what it would be like if he had a brother.
- Unused Animated Credit Sequence Footage By Martha Colburn: Five minutes of footage that was not used is provided here that greatly expands on the opening title concept used in the film with animation over yearbook photos.
- Music Videos:
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- Imperial Teen – “Our Time” (2004)
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- Six Organs Of Admittance – “All You’ve Left” (2005) and “Goodnight” (2007)
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- Emily Jane White – “Wild Tigers I Have Known” (2006) and “Dagger” (2007)
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- Xiu Xiu – “The Fox And The Rabbit” (2006)
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- Zero 7 – “Throw It All Away” (2006)
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- Current 93 – “Black Ships Ate The Sky II (Remix by JG Thirwell)” (2006)
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- Pantaleimon – “We Love” (2007)
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- Current 93 Feat. Antony – “The Beautiful Dancing Dust (Matmos Remix)” (2007)
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- Mick Turner + Tren Brothers – “Angel No. 1” (2007)
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- Sarabeth Tucek – “Something For You” (2007)
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- Peaking Lights – “Hey Sparrow” (2011)
- Short Film
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- Bobbycrush: A ten-minute short which details a scenario similar to that in the film of a young homosexual crush and the complicated feelings that arise from that.
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- Extra Scene: A minute-and-a-half unused scene which expands upon the Bobbycrush short but was never included. Press the right arrow on your remote here to also get a nine-minute behind-the-scenes look at the production of this short.
- Interview with Cam Archer and Aaron Platt Circa 2004: A nearly seven-minute interview filmed during the Sundance Film Festival where each had a short film screening. The two discuss their history with the festival, details about their shorts and more.
- Unfinished Projects:
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- Lonely Boyhart: A 14-minute fragmented, unfinished short film is provided here which has enough interesting moments that you wish this could have come together completely. There is some missing footage, silent footage, etc.
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- Animal Boy: Another 11-minute unfinished short film is presented here silently about a boy who dreams of opening a zoo on an abandoned plot of land.
- Other Trailers: There are trailers provided for Sound + Fury, The Wild Boys, The Harvesters and A Dim Valley.
- Poster: The Blu-Ray comes with a foldout poster with art from Michael Gillette. The case also has a brief note from director Cam Archer talking about the new cut of the film on the inside cover art.
Final Thoughts
Wild Tigers I Have Known is not a groundbreaking narrative, but it is executed in a way that really hits home effectively. The youth performance from Malcolm Stumpf is surprisingly nuanced, and the known performers such as Fairuza Balk and Kim Dickens knock their small-but-meaty roles out of the park. There are some artistic indulgences from the first time director that sometimes read as pretentious, but nothing so egregious as to ruin the enjoyment of the film. Altered Innocence has released a Blu-Ray featuring an excellent A/V presentation and a stellar array of special features. If you appreciate a mature, authentic coming-of-age story then this one should leave you with a lot to contemplate. Recommended
Wild Tigers I Have Known is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Altered Innocence and Vinegar Syndrome have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.