Grizzly Man (2005)

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog (written by)

Release Date:

7 December 2005 (France)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Tagline:

In nature, there are boundaries.

Plot:

A devastating and heartrending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzlies in Alaska.

Plot Keywords:

Bear | Grizzly Bear | Alaska | Animal | Death

Awards:

12 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Werner Herzog	...	Himself / Narrator / Interviewer (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carol Dexter	...	Herself, Treadwell's mother
Val Dexter	...	Himself, Treadwell's father
Sam Egli	...	Himself (Egli Air Haul)
Franc G. Fallico	...	Himself (Coroner)
Willy Fulton	...	Himself, pilot
Marc Gaede	...	Himself (Ecologist)
Marnie Gaede	...	Herself (Ecologist)
Sven Haakanson Jr.	...	Himself, Alutiiq Museum Director
Amie Huguenard	...	Herself (archive footage)
David Letterman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jewel Palovak	...	Herself
Kathleen Parker	...	Herself (Close Friend)
Warren Queeney	...	Himself (Actor, Close Friend)
Timothy Treadwell	...	Himself (archive footage)
Larry Van Daele	...	Himself, bear biologist

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

USA:103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | UK:15 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | Sweden:Btl | Australia:M | Finland:K-7 | Singapore:NC-16 | Italy:T | USA:R | South Africa:13L

Filming Locations:

Katmai National Park, Alaska, USA

Company:

Discovery Docs

Trivia:

Werner Herzog listened to the audio tape that records the last moments of Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard as they're killed by grizzly bears. Contrary to some beliefs, he never owned the tape. It is owned by one of Timothy's friends who has never listened to it. However, out of respect for the late couple, Herzog declined to feature it in the film although there is a scene with Herzog listening to the footage.

Quotes:

Sam Egli: That bear, I think, that day, decided that he had either had enough of Tim Treadwell or that something clicked in that bear's head that he thought 'Hey, you know, he might be good to eat.'

Movie Connections:

Featured in 2006 Independent Spirit Awards (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Coyotes

A dangerous passion

If there was anyone at all to take this story to the screen, Werner Herzog, the distinguished German director, would have been our first choice. Mr. Herzog, a man who knew madness first hand, as his association to Klaus Kinsky proved, is a man that could make this documentary work in the way it does.

We follow an obsessed man, Tim Treadwell, whose love for the grizzly bears consumed him. Mr. Treadwell's own life, away from that setting, was nothing to speak of, but let him loose in the Alaska wilderness and he became a figure as large, as the bears he loved and cared for so much. Tim's passion for the grizzlies took him to appoint himself as the savior of the animals. This was a man that didn't pay attention to the dangers around him, because as all consumed individuals in search of greatness for achieving something, he lost track of what was real and what wasn't. Tim even gets his girlfriend Amie Huguenard involved in his quest for protecting the bears. At the same time, Mr. Treadwell is seen also with the foxes of the area, who didn't pose the same danger as the great brown bears.

What Mr. Herzog has achieved is to show us the man in the mission he set out for himself, expanding in the material Mr. Treadwell had amassed on his own. The director shows us breathtaking views of Alaska, as probably never has been shown before. The cinematography takes our breath away. The Katmai National Park has never been seen in its glorious splendor before.

"Grizzly Bear", like "The March of the Penguins", currently playing in local cinemas, is a welcome diversion from the typical summer Hollywood fare of films that are big on special effects that don't add anything to our enjoyment because the adhere to the same tired old formula.