Sigourney Weaver stars as Dian Fossey, in this true story about Fossey's study of gorillas, and her efforts to stop the decimation of the endangered apes.Written by
Ray Hamel <hamel@primate.wisc.edu>
She left everything she knew and entered a world few have ever seen. To save a wonderous creature from the cruelty of men, she went further than anyone dared. Some say she went too far. See more »
The gorilla suits used in movies up to this time had obvious anatomical differences from real gorillas; for instance, the wearer's real eyes were seen, forcing modification to the face. For this film director Michael Apted wanted to use real gorillas where possible, but some shots would have to use gorilla suits, so the difference would show. Rick Baker met the challenge and created gorilla suits good enough that Apted could do what he wanted. See more »
Goofs
In the scenes where Dian drives from the town to the mountains in a land rover, the vehicle used is Series III Land Rover, which first went into production in 1972, in 1966 the Series II was the production Land Rover, and sported a wire grill, and inset headlights, as opposed to the III's plastic grill, and lights in wings, as in the film. See more »
Quotes
Rushemba:
Mukara was here this afternoon. He is very angry with you. He says you are telling people there's typhoid on the mountain. The government needs money from the tourists. They get very mad if you scare these people away. Mukara also said last week you shot a tourist in the meadow.
Dian Fossey:
Now, that is not true. I shot way over their heads.
Dian Fossey:
They are not going to turn this mountain... into a goddamn zoo!
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Dian Fossey (Sigourney Weaver) brow beats Dr. Louis Leakey into letting go into the jungle to research mountain gorillas. She's joined by a local guide Sembagare and a National Geographic photographer Bob Campbell (Bryan Brown).
It's a well biopic from director Michael Apted of an amazing woman and an amazing life. The performances are first class. Sigourney Weaver is able to project a certain self confidence in the character.
The other thing I want to mention is the realism of the gorilla suits. It is hard to tell the difference between the real thing and the suits. It's of the utmost importance because we wouldn't want to be hampered by 'Planet of Apes' retreads.
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Dian Fossey (Sigourney Weaver) brow beats Dr. Louis Leakey into letting go into the jungle to research mountain gorillas. She's joined by a local guide Sembagare and a National Geographic photographer Bob Campbell (Bryan Brown).
It's a well biopic from director Michael Apted of an amazing woman and an amazing life. The performances are first class. Sigourney Weaver is able to project a certain self confidence in the character.
The other thing I want to mention is the realism of the gorilla suits. It is hard to tell the difference between the real thing and the suits. It's of the utmost importance because we wouldn't want to be hampered by 'Planet of Apes' retreads.