The Bear (1988)

An orphan bear cub hooks up with an adult male as they try to dodge human hunters.

Director:

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Writers:

James Oliver Curwood (novel), Gérard Brach (screenplay)

Stars:

Tchéky Karyo, Bart the Bear, Youk the Bear

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bart the Bear	...	The Kodiak Bear
Youk the Bear	...	The Bear Cub
Tchéky Karyo	...	Tom
Jack Wallace	...	Bill
André Lacombe	...	Le chasseur aux chiens

Storyline

The director of Quest for Fire (1981) creates yet another film in nature with almost no human dialogue in this picturesque story of an orphaned bear cub who is adopted by an adult male bear and must avoid hunters. Bart the Bear stars in this anthropomorphic fantasy.

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Plot Keywords:

19th century | year 1885 | bear | 1880s | survival | 

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Taglines:

He's an orphan... at the start of a journey. A journey to survive.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

While animatronic bears were used for several of the fighting scenes, live animals including bears, dogs, horses, and honey bees were used on location for filming. A trained, 9-foot tall Kodiak bear named Bart played the Kodiak bear, while a young female bear named Douce ("Sweet" in English) took on the role of the grizzly cub, with several alternates.

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Goofs

The rock that kills the mother bear is noticeably smaller than the boulder that rests atop the dead bear.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bill: [examining bear tracks] That's a huge male; bet he's more'n fifteen hundred pounds.

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Connections

Featured in Pretend It's a City: Hall of Records (2021)

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Soundtracks

End Title Theme
Music adapted from "June: Barcarolle"
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (uncredited), from "The Seasons"
Played by Orchestra

User Reviews

I thought it was excellent when I was younger, its even better now that I am older

The Bear was an art film veiled in the guise of a nature film. I never looked at the roving vistas and sharp cinematography, because when I first watched this, I was more concerned with the bear cub. This is certainly a minimalist film, but the execution was so well done, the power of the images speaks more than the occasional piece of dialogue that is spoken throughout the movie. While it can never be described as kids movie, I think kids might be interested in it due to the very National Geographic-like quality of the film (only without the voice overs). While it has been a long time since I last watched this film (about four years ago), the interesting imagery and the simple, yet meaningful story of survival will always stick with me.

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

27 October 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Bear

Filming Locations:

Austria

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,676,530, 29 October 1989

Gross USA:

$31,753,898

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$31,753,898

Company Credits

Production Co:

Price, Renn Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 89 min (uncut) 85 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1