Grey Owl (1999)

The story of the life and work of the Canadian fur trapper-turned-conservationist who claimed to be an aboriginal North American.

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writer:

William Nicholson (screenplay)

Stars:

Pierce Brosnan, Stewart Bick, Vlasta Vrana

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierce Brosnan	...	Archie Grey Owl
Stewart Bick	...	Cyrus Finney
Vlasta Vrana	...	Harry Champlin
Annie Galipeau	...	Pony
Neil Kroetsch	...	First Hunter
Serge Houde	...	Second Hunter
Peter Colvey	...	Hotel Guest
Nathaniel Arcand	...	Ned White Bear
Jacques Lussier	...	Hotel Manager
Lee-Roy Jacobs	...	Hotel Porter
Jimmy Herman	...	Chief Pete Misebi
John Dunn-Hill	...	Sim Hancock
Graham Greene	...	Jim Bernard
Gordon Masten	...	Gus Mitchell
Chip Chuipka	...	First Trapper

Storyline

Archie Grey Owl is a trapper in Canada in the early 1930s when a young Iroquois woman from town asks him to teach her Indian ways. They live in the woods, where she is appalled at how trapped animals die. She adopts two orphaned beaver kits and helps Archie see his way to stop trapping. Instead, he works as a guide, a naturalist writer, and then the Canadian government hires him to save the beaver in a conserve by Lake Ajawaan in Prince Albert National Park. He writes a biography, which brings him attention in Canada and invitations to lecture in England. Before he leaves, he and Anahareo (Pony) marry. In England, his secret is revealed. Will Anahareo continue to love him?

---

Plot Keywords:

canada | beaver | iroquois | writer | love | 

---

Taglines:

He Fought To Change The World

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Western

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last film to be released by Largo Entertainment.

---

Goofs

When Archie is skinning a deer he has it hung up by the neck. Normally game is hung by the hind legs and bled from the neck before it is skinned or butchered.

---

Quotes

[last lines]
Cyrus Finney: He never spoke in public again. That night, when we watched Archie strip away all pretense of being an Indian; I knew that what he was saying was far more important than who he really was. Afterwards, he slipped silently into the night and went back to his remote cabin on Lake Ajawaan. He died there, suddenly, of pneumonia, two years later, in April, 1938. In recognition of what Archie was trying to achieve, the North Bay Nugget agreed to hold my story while he lived. They ran it ...

---

Connections

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

User Reviews

Worthy and graceful

I saw the British premiere of this in Bridgend, South Wales - Richard Attenborough was met with generous applause, his film with polite applause. It is a film equally of the heart and of the head, with emotions and affecting performances never quite being allowed to get in the way of the beautiful photography.

Charming in its own way and with a fascinating tale to tell, Grey Owl never quite gets fired up in the same way as historical rivals like Braveheart and Titanic. And this, possibly shamefully, probably just ironically, would seem to be due to the very thing that Attenborough is keen to sell his own movie on - its lack of violence, action, sex and, above all, excitement.

Still, a graceful and involving film - one which deserves the tag 'worthy' more than many others.

Details

Country:

UK Canada

Language:

English Ojibwa Sioux French

Release Date:

1 October 1999 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Grey Owl

Filming Locations:

Chelsea, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$162,360, 3 October 1999

Gross USA:

$632,617

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$632,617

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beaver Productions, Ajawaan Productions, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1