Gorillas in the Mist (1988)

The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

Harold T.P. Hayes (article), Dian Fossey (work)

Stars:

Sigourney Weaver, Bryan Brown, Julie Harris

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sigourney Weaver	...	Dian Fossey
Bryan Brown	...	Bob Campbell
Julie Harris	...	Roz Carr
John Omirah Miluwi	...	Sembagare
Iain Cuthbertson	...	Dr. Louis Leakey
Constantin Alexandrov	...	Claude Van Veeten
Waigwa Wachira	...	Mukara
Iain Glen	...	Brendan
David Lansbury	...	Larry
Maggie O'Neill	...	Kim
Konga Mbandu	...	Rushemba
Michael J. Reynolds	...	Howard Dowd
Gordon Masten	...	Photographer
Peter Nduati	...	Batwa chief
Helen Fraser	...	Mme. Van Vecten

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

gorilla | mountain | africa | nature | animal activist | 

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Taglines:

At the far ends of the earth she found a reason to live, and a cause to fight for.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gorillas in the Mist

Filming Locations:

Zaire

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$24,720,479

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$61,149,479

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,Warner Bros.,The Guber-Peters Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sembagare (John Omirah Miluwi), is based on Rosamund Carr's former house boy Sembagare Munyamboneza who set up the Imbabazi orphanage with her in 1994 after the Rwandan Genocide.

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Goofs

When Dian offers a Snickers bar to a young boy in exchange for information, it is obvious by the way the wrapper tears that it has a plastic wrapper. In 1966 Snickers bars were wrapped in paper.

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Quotes

Bob Campbell: The tub's for me. A daily scalding might just make this climate bearable.

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Connections

Referenced in Bob's Burgers: Nightmare on Ocean Avenue Street (2018)

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Soundtracks

Sugar
Written by Maceo Pinkard & Sidney D. Mitchell & Edna Alexander
Performed by Peggy Lee
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

very fine movie "based on" the life of Primate expert Dian Fossey

this movie is based on the life of Dian Fossey and her work with the gorillas in a remote part of Africa."based on" usually means that some of the content is true and parts of it are fictionalized for dramatic effect.for sure Dian Fossey did work with gorillas in Africa and was instrumental in the increase of their population.some of the details may have been altered,but the gist of the story is true.i thought it was a very entertaining,touching and heartbreaking story.i think Sigourney weaver did a great job as Dian Fossey.she really brought some passion to the character.the movie was also thought provoking and i actually became angry more than a few times about some of the incidents that occurred.i find it rare to become so actively involved with a movie nowadays.for me "Gorillas in the Mist" is at a strong 8/10