Man of Aran

Man of Aran
US DVD cover
Directed by	Robert J. Flaherty
Written by	Robert J. Flaherty
Produced by	Michael Balcon
Starring	Colman 'Tiger' King Maggie Dirrane Michael Dirrane
Cinematography	Robert J. Flaherty
Edited by	John Goldman
Music by	John D. H. Greenwood
Production company	Gainsborough Pictures
Distributed by	Gaumont British Distributors
Release dates	25 April 1934 (1934-04-25) (UK) 18 October 1934 (1934-10-18) (US)
Running time	76 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Languages	Irish English

Man of Aran is a 1934 Irish fictional documentary (ethnofiction) film shot, written and directed by Robert J. Flaherty about life on the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. It portrays characters living in premodern conditions, documenting their daily routines such as fishing off high cliffs, farming potatoes where there is little soil, and hunting for huge basking sharks to get liver oil for lamps. Some situations are fabricated, such as one scene in which the shark fishermen are almost lost at sea in a sudden gale. Additionally, the family members shown are not actually related, having been chosen from among the islanders for their photogenic qualities.

George C. Stoney's 1978 documentary How the Myth was Made, which is included in the special features of the DVD, relates that the Aran Islanders had not hunted sharks in this way for over fifty years at the time the film was made. Man of Aran is Flaherty's recreation of culture on the edges of modern society, even though much of the primitive life depicted had been left behind by the 1930s. It is impressive, however, for its drama, for its spectacular cinematography of landscape and seascape, and for its concise editing.