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 & 8 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 | Family | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

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)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

American author James Oliver Curwood's novella The Grizzly King was published in 1916. The story was based on several trips he took to British Columbia, and the young hunter, called Jim in the book, is based on Curwood himself. However, many of its plot elements mainly dealing with the friendship between the grizzly cub and the Kodiak bear were fabricated. Curwood's biographer, Judith A. Eldridge, believes that the incident in which the hunter is spared by a bear is based on truth, a fact that was later related to Jean-Jacques Annaud. He stated during an interview that he "was given a letter from Curwood's granddaughter revealing that what happened in the story happened to him. He was hunting bear, as he had done often, and lost his rifle down a cliff. Suddenly, a huge bear confronted him and menaced him, but for reasons Curwood could never know, spared his life." Shortly after the book's publication, Curwood once an adamant hunter became a supporter of wildlife conservation.

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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

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: John Goodman/k.d. lang (1989)

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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.