Grey Owl (1999)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writer:

William Nicholson (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 September 1999 (Spain)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Western

Tagline:

He Fought To Change The World

Plot:

The story of the life and work of the Canadian fur trapper turned conservationist who claimed to be a Native American.

Plot Keywords:

Beaver | Trapper | Canada | England | Lake

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Pierce Brosnan	...	Archie Grey Owl
Stewart Bick	...	Cyrus Finney
Vlasta Vrana	...	Harry Champlin
Annie Galipeau	...	Pony
Neil Kroetsch	...	First Hunter
Serge Houde	...	Second Hunter
Peter Colvey	...	Hotel Guest
Nathaniel Arcand	...	Ned White Bear
Jacques Lussier	...	Hotel Manager
Lee-Roy Jacobs	...	Hotel Porter
Jimmy Herman	...	Chief Pete Misebi
John Dunn-Hill	...	Sim Hancock
Graham Greene	...	Jim Bernard
Gordon Masten	...	Gus Mitchell
Chip Chuipka	...	First Trapper

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality/nudity.

Runtime:

Canada:117 min | Spain:120 min | UK:118 min

Country:

UK | Canada | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Finland:K-7 | Australia:PG | South Korea:12 | Germany:o.Al. | Spain:T | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Chelsea, Québec, Canada

Company:

Ajawaan Productions

Trivia:

Filmed in 1998, but not released until the end of 2000.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Grey Owl's publisher Champlin arrives by airplane, to convince Grey Owl to go on tour in England, the airplane shown is clearly a DeHavilland DHC-2 "Beaver" on floats. This scene is set in approximately 1935, but the DeHavilland Beaver did not make its first flight until 1947.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

GREY OWL AN UNEXPECTED GEM!

Recently I was looking for the newly issued Wide Screen DVD of FLY AWAY HOME and came upon interesting title that I had never heard of: GREY OWL. The fact that it was a Richard Attenborough Film caught my attention (he responsible for such fine films as GANDHI, CHAPLIN, and SHADOWLANDS). I noticed that the screenplay was by William Nicholson (author of SHADOWLANDS). This "Special Edition" was full of interesting sounding material and the price was just under $10.00 -- so I chanced it & bought it. WOW! What a beautiful film. Pierce Brosnan stars as Archie Grey Owl, a real life trapper in the 1930s, who came to love and respect the wild lands of Canada, and worked to help protect them. Brosnan (who starred in a James Bond film) gives a shaded, warm, powerful performance as does Annie Galipeau as the young woman who loves and influences his feeling for the creatures of the land -- especially the beaver. A fine score by George Fenton (THE CRUCIBLE) and beautiful photograhy by Roger Pratt add greatly to the effectiveness of the film. AND the extras on this DVD are something else! Includes two shorts made in the 1930s with the real Grey Owl as well as audio commentary tracks by Attenborough and Producer Jake Eberts; 2 Featurettes; and many other fine additions PLUS options for those having access to a PC with DVD-ROM features. GREY OWL has been released directly to DVD in the United States -- a fact that Richard Attenborough attributes to Hollywood's lack of interest in distributing something that isn't loaded with a lot of violence and sex. This is a film that not only informs and entertains but leaves you with something to think about. I had a very warm feeling at the films conclusion -- and a whole new love and understanding for beavers! GREY OWL is a very fine film -- worth checking out! This is one I look forward to sharing with others.