Grizzly Man (2005)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog (written by)

Release Date:

7 December 2005 (France)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Tagline:

In nature, there are boundaries.

Plot:

A devastating and heartrending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzlies in Alaska.

Plot Keywords:

Bear | Grizzly Bear | Alaska | Death | Animal

Awards:

12 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Werner Herzog	...	Himself / Narrator / Interviewer (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carol Dexter	...	Herself, Treadwell's mother
Val Dexter	...	Himself, Treadwell's father
Sam Egli	...	Himself (Egli Air Haul)
Franc G. Fallico	...	Himself (Coroner)
Willy Fulton	...	Himself, pilot
Marc Gaede	...	Himself (Ecologist)
Marnie Gaede	...	Herself (Ecologist)
Sven Haakanson Jr.	...	Himself, Alutiiq Museum Director
Amie Huguenard	...	Herself (archive footage)
David Letterman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jewel Palovak	...	Herself
Kathleen Parker	...	Herself (Close Friend)
Warren Queeney	...	Himself (Actor, Close Friend)
Timothy Treadwell	...	Himself (archive footage)
Larry Van Daele	...	Himself, bear biologist

Directed by
Werner Herzog

Writing credits
Werner Herzog		(written by)

Produced by
Kevin L. Beggs	....	executive producer (as Kevin Beggs)
Alana Berry	....	associate producer
Billy Campbell	....	executive producer
Phil Fairclough	....	executive producer
Andrea Meditch	....	executive producer
Erik Nelson	....	executive producer
Erik Nelson	....	producer
Tom Ortenberg	....	executive producer
Jewel Palovak	....	co-executive producer

Original Music by
Richard Thompson

Cinematography by
Peter Zeitlinger		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joe Bini

Production Management
Don Baer	....	executive in charge of production: Discovery Channel Inc.
Randall M. Boyd	....	post-production supervisor (as Randall Boyd)
Jessica DeJong	....	production manager
Dave Harding	....	executive in charge of production
Tom Koykka	....	production manager
Jane Root	....	executive in charge of production: Discovery Channel Inc.

Sound Department
Ken King	....	sound
Michael Klinger	....	sound post-production
Spencer Palermo	....	sound
D.D. Stenehjem	....	sound post-production

Camera and Electrical Department
Erik Söllner	....	assistant camera (as Erik Sollner)
Amie Huguenard	....	camera operator: archive footage (uncredited)
Timothy Treadwell	....	camera operator: archive footage (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Michael Anthony Brown	....	editorial assistant
Herrianne Cayabyab	....	on-line editor
Maya Hawke	....	assistant editor
Adarsh Kaushal	....	editorial assistant
Brian Patterson	....	editorial assistant
David W. Ryan	....	editorial assistant
Chris Camerote	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
David Foulk	....	editorial assistant (uncredited)
Spencer Hecox	....	on-line editor (uncredited)
David Taylor	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Danielle DeGruttola	....	musician: cello
John Hanes	....	musician: percussion and drums
Stephen Hart	....	score recording engineer
Henry Kaiser	....	music producer
Jim O'Rourke	....	musician: piano and guitar
Damon Smith	....	musician: acoustic bass
Damon Smith	....	musician: bass
Richard Thompson	....	music arranger
Richard Thompson	....	musician: guitar and bass
Henry Kaiser	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Discovery Docs
• Real Big Production

Distributors

• Atlantic Film (2006) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Cinema Mondo (2006) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Discovery Channel (2005) (USA) (TV)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Maple Pictures (2005) (Canada) (DVD)
• Revolver Entertainment (2005) (UK) (all media)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Falco Ink.  publicity
• Fantasy Studios  recorded at
• Tree Falls  sound post-production

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

USA:103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | UK:15 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | Sweden:Btl | Australia:M | Finland:K-7 | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R | South Africa:13L

Filming Locations:

Katmai National Park, Alaska, USA

Company:

Discovery Docs

Trivia:

During a BBC interview about the film, Werner Herzog was shot with an air rifle. The interview was resumed indoors and at the end Herzog was encouraged to check his wound. Though there was "a bruise the size of a snooker ball, with a hole in it." Herzog declared "It was not a significant bullet. I am not afraid."

Quotes:

Werner Herzog: I believe the common character of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Office: Phyllis' Wedding (#3.15)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Coyotes

Another complex protagonist for Herzog

Timothy Treadwell was not a well man when he spent 13 years among the brown Grizzlies in Alaska until his time ran out one day as dinner for one of them. For me "not well" means he didn't quite understand that no matter how much he "loved" the bears, they couldn't always return the favor.

For director Werner Herzog, of Aguirre: The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo fame, most of his work is devoted to eccentric and often crazed but charismatic leading men. He captures in his voice-over the essential madness of Treadwell in his new film, Grizzly Man. Using over 100 hours of the young man's footage and narration, Herzog fashions an objective documentary of Treadwell's rise and fall. At one point Herzog explains over a close up shot of a grizzly's eyes that he sees nothing but "the overwhelming indifference of nature." The emptiness of Treadwell's assertion that he knows the bears is only too evident when we listen to the animated report of the coroner as he reconstructs the mauling of Treadwell and his girlfriend. Treadwell did, however, predict he would "live and die" with his friends.

Thus, Herzog has another complex protagonist with hubris and innocence enough to guarantee early passage from life. This documentary does well showing Treadwell's love of drama, his alienation from society, and his superior naiveté when it comes to formidable animals such as the grizzly. Herzog also offers memorable photography of Alaska and Treadwell's own footage, which shows him often too close to the bears. However, Timothy did last for 13 years among them; he just seemed to forget that he could not win that game.

Treadwell says of the grizzlies, "Everything about them is perfect." Everything about Timothy is not. Grizzly Man is a cautionary tale about crossing the invisible line between man and beast, the cost of ignorance, and the allure of a personal vision, in this case that of a lost soul who discovers his calling but goes beyond what is allowed to mortals. Grizzly Man will help you overcome romantic notions about wild beasts (and pesky Alaskan black flies).