Grey Owl (film)

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Grey Owl
Grey Owl (film) cover.jpg
UK theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Attenborough
Written by William Nicholson
Produced byRichard Attenborough
Jake Eberts
Claude Léger
Starring
Cinematography Roger Pratt
Edited by Lesley Walker
Music by George Fenton
Production
companies
Distributed by 20th Century Fox (United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany and Sweden)
Remstar Distribution (Canada)
New City Releasing (United States)
Summit Entertainment (International)
Release dates
  • 10 September 1999 (1999-09-10)(Spain)
  • 1 October 1999 (1999-10-01)(Canada)
  • 3 November 2000 (2000-11-03)(UK)
Running time
117 minutes
Countries United Kingdom
Canada
United States
Language English
Budget$30 million [1]
Box office$632,617 [1]

Grey Owl is a 1999 biographical film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Pierce Brosnan in the title-role of the real-life British schoolboy turned Native American trapper Archibald Belaney, known as "Grey Owl", and Annie Galipeau as his wife Anahareo, with brief appearances by Graham Greene and others. The screenplay was written by William Nicholson. The film was released on 10 September 1999 in Spain and 15 February 2000 in US. It was the last film made by Largo Entertainment before it went defunct in 1999.

Contents

Plot

Archibald Belaney from England grows up fascinated with Native American culture—so much so that, in the early 1900s, he leaves the United Kingdom for Canada, where he gradually reinvents himself as trapper Archie Grey Owl, and pretends to have Native American ancestry. Influenced by his new wife, Anahareo, Belaney renounces trapping and hunting, and becomes a noted conservationist.

Cast

Production

The film was shot in the English town of Hastings, Quebec towns Chelsea and Wakefield, Jacques Cartier Park and Saskatchewan's Prince Albert National Park.

Director Richard Attenborough said in an interview that he and his brother, noted presenter and naturalist David Attenborough, had attended "Grey Owl's" De Montfort Hall, Leicester lecture in 1936, depicted in the film, and been influenced by his advocacy of conservation. [2] The Northern Cree Singers contributed music and are also featured in the film. [3]

Canadian naturalist and canoe tripper Hap Wilson taught Pierce Brosnan how to throw an axe and paddle a canoe for his role. [4]

Release

The film opened 1 October 1999 on 70 screens in Canada. [5] [1]

The film premiered on video in the United States on 15 February 2000. It eventually opened on 3 November 2000 in the United Kingdom. [6]

Critical reception

The film was met with negative reviews. It has a 17% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. [7] William Gallagher of the BBC said, "if you like cuddly animals or you fancy Pierce Brosnan, you're in luck". [6]

The film won one Genie Award at the 20th Genie Awards, in the category of Best Costume Design for Renée April. [8]

Box office

Grey Owl flopped at the box office upon its limited release grossing $162,360 in its opening weekend in Canada and a total of $632,617 against its $30 million budget. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Grey Owl". Box Office Mojo .
  2. ↑ Country Life: Volume 194, 2000
  3. ↑ La Rose, Lauren (6 February 2017). "Grammy award nominees Northern Cree will kick off ceremony in L.A." CBC News . Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  4. ↑ "About us".
  5. ↑ Klady, Leonard (4 October 1999). "'Double' decks 'Kings' at B.O.". Daily Variety . p. 1.
  6. 1 2 "Grey Owl (2000)". BBC . 31 October 2000.
  7. ↑ "Grey Owl". Rotten Tomatoes .
  8. ↑ Playback Staff (23 July 2001). "Costumes: from tripe to chain mail". Playback . Retrieved 24 March 2017.
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