Best Wilderness Movies & TV Shows

Survival expert Ray Mears takes an epic adventure into Canada’s unforgiving yet stunning wilderness, covering over 1,000 miles

Veteran wildlife conservationist Bradley Trevor Grieve leads an elite team into uncharted Alaskan wilderness in search of Grandfather, a bear locals believe is the largest to ever roam the earth.

Lars Monsen travels across Canada, encountering wildlife around every corner.

Every year, two million zebras and wildebeest thunder along the Serengeti plains on a pilgrimage to the grassy highlands. Witness the largest mass migration on the planet, a high-stakes journey fraught with danger and drama.

Witness the epic nature of Wild Scandinavia: orca, puffins and eagles rule the fjords; wolves and lynx patrol magical forests; polar bears and musk ox survive arctic extremes. Basejumpers and reindeer herders also embrace the wilderness.

The story has been told before, but never like this. An occupied desert nation. A radical from the wilderness on hunger strike. A girl whose mysterious dance will change the course of the world. This charged retelling turns the infamous biblical tale on its head, placing the girl we call Salomé at the centre of a revolution. Internationally acclaimed theatre director Yaël Farber (Les Blancs) draws on multiple accounts to create her urgent, hypnotic production on the stage of the National Theatre. ‘Epic. A near-perfect production.’ Guardian (on Les Blancs)

Explore wild, wondrous Vancouver Island, where the ocean nurtures all life, from bald eagles who go fishing to sea wolves who swim in frigid waters.

David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.

The story of life on our planet by the man who has seen more of the natural world than any other. In more than 90 years, Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Addressing the biggest challenges facing life on our planet, the film offers a powerful message of hope for future generations.

Dan Snow leads a team of adventurers on an epic journey across the Canadian wilderness, following in the footsteps of the 19th-century Klondike gold rush. Their mission? To find their own gold.

David Attenborough presents a documentary series exploring how animals meet the challenges of surviving in the most iconic habitats on earth.

The unlikely friendship of a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse traveling together in the boy’s search for home.

Untamed Romania provides insight into the stunning natural wonders of Romania, with the Carpathian Mountains, the Danube Delta, and Transylvania as its major areas of interest.

Craig and his friends, Kelsey and JP, venture out into a kid-controlled wilderness in the creek.

After a legendary mountain man's tragic death in the remote Alaskan wilderness ( J. J. Johnson ), two of his four sons set off to find their father's gold treasure as set forth by the provisions left in his will . It soon turns into an epic journey through the remote back country of Alaska. They run into a band of notorious cut-throat river rats, determined to claim the gold for themselves. Filmed on location in the wilds of Alaska, it's got Hollywood all over it ! Outdoors, hunting, bad guys, moving to the wilderness, and GOLD ! With a bit of greed mixed in. It's a great storyline.

In 2004 Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman embarked on an epic challenge to bike 20,000-miles across 12 countries and 19 time zones in just 115 days. Watch as two friends ride around the world together and, against all the odds, realize their dream.

Two isolated families meet for a summertime celebration. Food is abundant and the future seems bright, but Ningiuq, a wise old woman, sees her world as fragile and moves through it with a pervasive sense of dread. Ningiuq and her grandson Maniq are dropped off on a remote island, where, every year, the family dries the catch and stores it for winter. The task is soon finished. As summer turns to fall, they wait in vain for the others to pick them up. Written by Anonymous (IMDb.com)

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.

A four-part series set over a year in Africa and focuses on each season, revealing the different conditions they bring. Temperatures, rain, and light change every animal as they adapt to the new season.

An intimate portrait of the ingenuity and resilience of three different animal families as they face the seasonal extremes and fierce predators of the Brazilian wilderness.

Examines the pre-ministry life of Jesus starting with his baptism with John the Baptist. From there Jesus embarks on his self- exploration journey into the wilderness for 40 nights. He is tempted by the Devil thrice in various forms.

Home to some of the world's best fishing and hunting, Kodiak Island is a sportsman's paradise. Made up of virtually untouched wilderness, 'The Rock,' as it's known to locals, is also frequented by deadly predators and erratic weather. Experience the struggles of three multi-generational families risking it all to make a living in this dangerous environment.

King Lear has ruled for many years. As age begins to overtake him, he decides to divide his kingdom amongst his children, living out his days without the burden of power. Misjudging his children’s loyalty and finding himself alone in the wilderness, he is left to confront the mistakes of a life that has brought him to this point. Antony Sher plays King Lear, one of the greatest parts written by Shakespeare in this, one of Shakespeare’s most epic and powerful plays.

The seven episodes explore North America: where civilization collides with untamed wilderness. Just feet beyond our own backyards rages a spectacle we never see. Join us as we step into this hidden world teaming with life - across impossible mountains and endless deserts. Dive into unexplored forests and crash into rugged coasts. This vast continent offers boundless rewards for those brave enough to take on this land - and call her home.

What happens when you take a Young Gun, a veteran, some chick and this other guy and drop them off in the middle of the snow-coated Canadian wilderness with a few boards and enough lenses to make even Marilyn Monroe blush? We wanted to find out. And so we did all that. Then we made Depth Perception. The film invites you to join Austen Sweetin, Travis Rice, Robin Van Gyn and Bryan Fox on an expedition. It'n to learn about nature. An expedition to ride some of the best backcountry on the planet. And, occasionally, an expedition to violently fall down a mountain to the peaceful hum of a violin. Mmm. Yeah. Depth Perception is somehow as earnest as it is tongue-in-cheek.

Gordon Buchanan follows a herd of elephants in the Kenyan wilderness.

During the 1864 battle of the Wilderness, three Union soldiers and three Confederate Soldiers get seperated from their units as twilight engulfs the ravaged battlefield. The men wander alone through the dangerous woods, separate of each other, until they meet by chance on the banks of a quiet creek. The men meet and spend the night around a campfire, not realizing they are enemies until the next morning when the sun rises and a new day of battle begins.

Four landscape shots containing a replica of Ted Kaczynski’s cabin, one shot per season. On the soundtrack, Benning reads extracts from Kaczynski’s journals from the early 1970s, recording his progress at hunting and gathering, and his connection to the Montana wilderness; a hand-written folded sheet of paper detailing his acts of “monkey wrenching” and first attempts at planting bombs; two notebooks written in numerical code in 1985 and decoded by Benning in 2011; two excepts from Industrial Society and Its Future by "FC" (aka the Unabomber Manifesto) as published in The New York Times and The Washington Post in 1995; and a 2001 interview with Kaczynski by J. Alienus Rychalski, special correspondent for the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch.

Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.

A father living in the forests of the Pacific Northwest with his six young kids tries to assimilate back into society.

Ten years on from the original Frozen Planet, this documentary series takes audiences back to the wildernesses of the Arctic and Antarctica and tells the complete story of the entire frozen quarter of our planet that’s locked in ice and blanketed in snow.

After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.

Ed Wardle is dropped into the unforgiving Yukon wilderness with just basic provisions and cameras to film himself as he attempts to survive completely alone in the wild.

A friendly trapper tries to escape civilization.

Against the wishes of his parents (who are in the midst of a messy divorce), a young boy steals the ashes of his dead Grandfather and runs away into the wilderness with his dog. The boy is determined to fulfill his beloved Grandpa's dying wishes and spread his ashes atop a remote mountain. Along the treacherous journey, the boy and the dog are accompanied by the ghost of his Grandpa, who helps them on their journey, brings the family back together and gives the boy one last chance to say goodbye.

Dick Proenneke's simple, yet profound account of his 30 year adventure in the remote Alaska wilderness continues in this sequel to "Alone in the Wilderness". Watch through his eyes as he continues to document with his 16mm wind-up Bolex camera, capturing his own amazing craftsmanship, the stunning Alaskan wildlife and scenery and even a visit from his brother Ray (Jake). His epic journey takes you on a vacation away from the hustle and bustle of today's fast-paced society, and is a true breath of fresh air.

Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin in the wilderness at the base of the Aleutian Peninsula, in what is now Lake Clark National Park. Using color footage he shot himself, Proenneke traces how he came to this remote area, selected a homestead site and built his log cabin completely by himself. The documentary covers his first year in-country, showing his day-to-day activities and the passing of the seasons as he sought to scratch out a living alone in the wilderness.

An elite team of Sasquatch specialists journey into the unforgiving Oregon wilderness in search of Bigfoot. The three-week expedition, based on science and expertise, may finally pull the elusive beast out of the pages of legend and lore and into reality.

What does it take to build a house totally off the grid in some of the most unforgiving terrain on the planet? We follow a cast of characters who set out to construct three incredible cabins in the obscure Alaskan wilderness. With no roads and no building supply centers, they’ll have to get creative in a new season of Building Alaska.

While filming a documentary series about Appalachian folklore and mythology, a crew of amateur filmmakers uncover the legend of a mysterious box hidden away deep in a wilderness area known as "Jeffrey's Hell" in the Appalachian mountains of East Tennessee. As the mystery unfolds they soon discover that some secrets are best locked away and forgotten. Based on actual events.

The economic and cultural growth of town of Centennial, Colorado, through the intertwining lives of the brave men and women inhabiting it. Spanning two centuries from the settling of the area in the 1700s, to the late 1970s.

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore – and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.

Chuck Nolan, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia crashes at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and finds himself marooned on a desolate island. With no way to escape, Chuck must find ways to survive in his new home.

In this harrowing reality series, “Survivorman” Les Stroud travels to far-flung locales with little more than the clothes on his back and 50 pounds of camera equipment to battle - and try to survive - insanely harsh conditions.

Several men hiking in the mountains discover an injured skyjacker who parachuted from a plane with $600,000. They kill him, then start fighting each other over the money.

Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda find a log cabin in the woods with a voice recording from an archeologist who had recorded himself reciting ancient chants from "The Book of the Dead." As they play the recording an evil power is unleashed taking over Linda's body.

The autobiography of a Somalian nomad who was sold in marriage at 13, fled from Africa a while later to become finally an American supermodel and is now at the age of 38, the UN spokeswoman against female genital mutilation.

In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

A group of misfits encounter a young Yeti named Everest, and they set off to reunite the magical creature with his family on the mountain of his namesake.