Grizzly Man

Last updated

Grizzly Man
Grizzly man ver2.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Werner Herzog
Written byWerner Herzog
Produced by
Starring
Narrated byWerner Herzog
Cinematography Peter Zeitlinger
Edited by Joe Bini
Music by Richard Thompson
Production
companies
Distributed by Lions Gate Films
Release date
  • August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12)
Running time
104 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.1 million [2]

Grizzly Man is a 2005 American documentary film by German director Werner Herzog. It chronicles the life and death of bear enthusiast and conservationist Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard at Katmai National Park, Alaska. The film includes some of Treadwell's own footage of his interactions with brown bears before 2003, and of interviews with people who knew or were involved with Treadwell, in addition to professionals who deal with wild bears.

Contents

Treadwell and Huguenard, both from New York, had bonded over their common passion for bears and animal conservation, and she would occasionally accompany him on his trips to the park. Having stayed past the summer season one year, the pair were attacked and killed in the park by a bear on October 5, 2003. The couple's remains were discovered by a patrolling pilot, and an audio recording of the attack was found among the remains; the bear was later encountered and killed by the pilot's rescue team.

The film was co-produced by Discovery Docs and Lions Gate Entertainment. The film's soundtrack was composed by Richard Thompson.

It received widespread acclaim from critics and is now considered to be among the best films of the 2000s and of the 21st century. [3] [4]

Synopsis

Herzog used sequences extracted from more than 100 hours of video footage shot by Treadwell during the last five years of his life. He also conducted and filmed interviews with Treadwell's family and friends, as well as bear and nature experts. Park rangers and bear experts commented on statements and actions by Treadwell, such as his repeated claims that he was defending the bears from poachers. A bear researcher clarifies that the incidence of poaching on Kodiak Island was low, but the director of the Alutiiq Museum notes that Treadwell's actions may have put the bears at risk by habituating them to human contact. Treadwell also claimed that he had "gained the trust" of certain bears, sufficient to approach and pet them. A local pilot speculates that the bears were so confused by Treadwell's direct, casual contact that they were not sure how to react to him.

In 2003, Treadwell was camping in Katmai National Park with his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard. Treadwell usually left the park at the end of summer but that year stayed into early October. This put him and Huguenard at greater risk, as bears are aggressive during this period and search for food to store up calories for hibernation during the winter. Herzog speculates that staying later in the season ultimately resulted in the couple's being attacked and killed.

Willy Fulton was the pilot who discovered the few remains of the couple and reported to the National Park Service. He notes that he saw a lone handyman's arm with a wristwatch, and could not keep the image out of his mind. After an investigation, the coroner and park police gave the wristwatch to Jewel Palovak, an ex-girlfriend of Treadwell. He had bequeathed her his belongings. These included his video camera, which captured an audio record of the attack.

In addition to presenting views from friends and professionals, Herzog narrates and offers his own interpretation of events. He concluded that Treadwell had a sentimental view of nature, thinking he could tame the wild bears. Herzog notes that nature is cold and harsh; Treadwell's view clouded his thinking and led him to underestimate danger, resulting in his death and that of Huguenard.

Palovak gave permission to Herzog to listen to the audio record of the attack. He refrained from making this a part of the film, but was filmed while listening, and showed how this distressed him. Herzog initially advised Palovak to destroy the audio recording rather than listen to it or keep it.

In a later interview, he repudiated his own advice, saying it was:

Stupid ... silly advice born out of the immediate shock of hearing—I mean, it's the most terrifying thing I've ever heard in my life. Being shocked like that, I told her, "You should never listen to it, and you should rather destroy it. It should not be sitting on your shelf in your living room all the time." [But] she slept over it and decided to do something much wiser. She did not destroy it but separated herself from the tape, and she put it in a bank vault. [5]

Production

Treadwell spent thirteen summers in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Over time, he believed the bears grew to trust him; they allowed him to approach them and he had touched them. He gained some national notoriety for his association with the bears and founded Grizzly People with his friend Jewel Palovak. They worked to protect bears in national parks by raising awareness.

Park officials repeatedly warned him that his interaction with the bears was unsafe to both him and to the bears. "At best, he's misguided," Deb Liggett, superintendent at Katmai and Lake Clark national parks, told the Anchorage Daily News in 2001. "At worst, he's dangerous. If Timothy models unsafe behavior, that ultimately puts bears and other visitors at risk."

Treadwell filmed his exploits, and used the films to raise public awareness of the problems faced by bears in North America. In October 2003, at the end of his thirteenth visit, he and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were attacked, killed, and partially eaten by a bear. The events that led to the attack are unknown.

Producer Erik Nelson had begun work on developing a narrative television special based on Treadwell's life and career. However, during a chance encounter with German director Werner Herzog at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Festival, Nelson was persuaded to turn the project into a feature-length documentary and to give Herzog directing duties. With the project being developed as a documentary, they contacted Jewel Palovak in order to use Treadwell's archival footage.

Palovak, co-founder of Grizzly People and a close friend of Treadwell's, had to give her approval for the film to be produced, as she controlled his video archives. The filmmakers had to deal with logistical as well as sentimental factors related to Treadwell's footage of his bear interactions. Grizzly People is a "grassroots organization" concerned with the treatment of bears in the United States. After her friend's death, Palovak was left with control of Grizzly People and Treadwell's 100 hours of archival footage. As his close friend, former girlfriend, and confidante, she had a large emotional stake in the production. She had known Treadwell since 1985 and felt a deep sense of responsibility to her late friend and his legacy. [6]

Palovak said that Treadwell had often discussed his video archives with her. "Timothy was very dramatic," she once said. She quoted Treadwell as saying, "'If I die, if something happens to me, make that movie. You make it. You show 'em.' I thought that Werner Herzog could definitely do that." [6] [7]

Release

Grizzly Man premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and its limited US theatrical release began on August 12, 2005. It was later released on DVD in the United States on December 26, 2005. [8] The Discovery Channel aired Grizzly Man on television on February 3, 2006; its three-hour presentation of the film included a 30-minute companion special that delved deeper into Treadwell's relationship with the bears and addressed controversies related to the film.

The DVD release lacks an interview with Treadwell by David Letterman, which was shown in the original theatrical release. Letterman had joked that Treadwell would be eaten by a bear. The versions televised on the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet both retain this scene.

Response

Box office

Grizzly Man opened on August 12, 2005 in 29 North America venues. It grossed US$269,131 ($9,280 per screen) in its opening weekend, ranking number 26 in the box office. [9] At its widest point, it played at 105 theaters, and made US$3,178,403 in North America during its run, with $882,902 overseas for a worldwide total of $4,061,305. [2]

Critical reception

Upon its North American theatrical release, Grizzly Man was acclaimed by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 92% score based on 136 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The site's consensus states: "Whatever opinion you come to have of the obsessive Treadwell, Herzog has once again found a fascinating subject." [10] Metacritic reports an 87 out of 100 rating based on 35 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [11]

David Denby of The New Yorker said:

Narrating in his extraordinary German-accented English, Herzog is fair-minded and properly respectful of Treadwell's manic self-invention. He even praises Treadwell as a good filmmaker: as Treadwell stands talking in the foreground of the frame, the bears play behind him or scoop up salmon in sparkling water; in other shots, a couple of foxes leap across the grass in the middle of a Treadwell monologue. The footage is full of stunning incidental beauties. [12]

Film critic Roger Ebert, a longtime supporter of Herzog's work, awarded the film four out of four stars.

"I will protect these bears with my last breath", Treadwell says. After he and Amie become the first and only people to be killed by bears in the park, the bear that is guilty is shot dead. Treadwell's watch, still ticking, is found on his severed arm. I have a certain admiration for his courage, recklessness, idealism, whatever you want to call it, but here is a handyman who managed to get himself and his girlfriend eaten, and you know what? He deserves Werner Herzog. [13]

Charlie Russell, a naturalist who studied bears for many years, lived near them and raised them for a decade in Kamchatka, corresponded with Treadwell and wrote about the film: [14]

Herzog is a skillful filmmaker so a large percentage of those who watch the movie Grizzly Man, overlook Timothy's amazing way with animals even though to me this stands out very strongly. The fact that Timothy spent an incredible 35,000 hours, spanning 13 years, living with the bears in Katmai National Park, without any previous mishap, escapes people completely. Even with his city-kid background, I found myself mesmerized by what he could do with animals. [14]

The film placed at No. 94 on Slant Magazine 's best 100 films of the 2000s. [15] In 2021, it was included on Forbes 's list of "The Top 150 Greatest Films Of The 21st Century." [16] In 2023, Collider called it the "Best Documentary of the 2000s," with Aiden Bryant writing that it is "a testament to the power of true, dedicated documentary filmmaking. It examines a subject beyond just informing the viewer of who, what, when, where, and why - it extrapolates those questions onto us all. It makes a figure like Treadwell, someone who could easily be a martyr or fool, into someone as complicated as any great protagonist in film. Herzog does something in just over 90 minutes that a million Netflix documentaries never have." [4] The Hollywood Reporter also ranked it at number 43 on its list of the "50 Best Films of the 21st Century (So Far)." [3]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Errol Morris</span> American film director (born 1948)

Errol Mark Morris is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of their subjects, and the invention of the Interrotron. In 2003, his The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. His film The Thin Blue Line placed fifth on a Sight & Sound poll of the greatest documentaries ever made. Morris is known for making films about unusual subjects; Fast, Cheap & Out of Control interweaves the stories of an animal trainer, a topiary gardener, a robot scientist, and a naked mole-rat specialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Werner Herzog</span> German director, producer, screenwriter (born 1942)

Werner Herzog is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusual talents in obscure fields, or individuals in conflict with nature. His style involves avoiding storyboards, emphasizing improvisation, and placing his cast and crew into real situations mirroring those in the film they are working on.

<i>The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser</i> 1974 film directed by Werner Herzog

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser is a 1974 West German drama film written and directed by Werner Herzog and starring Bruno S. and Walter Ladengast. The film closely follows the real story of foundling Kaspar Hauser, using the text of actual letters found with Hauser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klaus Kinski</span> German actor (1926–1991)

Klaus Kinski was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a career that spanned 40 years, from 1948 to 1988. He is best known for starring in five films directed by Werner Herzog from 1972 to 1987, who would later chronicle their tumultuous relationship in the documentary My Best Fiend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Treadwell</span> American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, and documentary filmmaker (1957–2003)

Timothy Treadwell was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of the bear-protection organization Grizzly People. He lived among coastal brown bears in Katmai National Park, Alaska, for 13 summers.

<i>My Best Fiend</i> 1999 German film

My Best Fiend is a 1999 German documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog, about his tumultuous yet productive relationship with German actor Klaus Kinski. It was released on DVD in 2000 by Anchor Bay.

<i>Little Dieter Needs to Fly</i> 1997 documentary film directed by Werner Herzog

Little Dieter Needs to Fly is a 1997 German-British-French documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog, produced by Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, and premiered on German television. The film follows the life of Dieter Dengler, in particular being shot down during the Vietnam War and his capture, imprisonment, escape, and rescue. Herzog went on to direct a dramatized version of the story, Rescue Dawn, which stars Christian Bale as Dengler in 2006.

<i>Grizzly</i> (film) 1976 film by William Girdler

Grizzly is a 1976 American horror thriller film directed by William Girdler, about a park ranger's attempts to halt the wild rampage of an 18 ft (5.5 m) tall, 2,000 lb (910 kg) man-eating grizzly bear that terrorizes a National Forest, having developed a taste for human flesh. However, a drunken hunting party complicates matters. It stars Christopher George, Andrew Prine and Richard Jaeckel. Widely considered a Jaws rip-off, Grizzly used many of the same plot devices as its shark predecessor, which had been a huge box office success during the previous year. The giant grizzly bear in the film was portrayed by a Kodiak bear named Teddy, who was 11 ft (3.4 m) tall.

<i>Grizzly Man</i> (soundtrack) 2005 soundtrack album by Richard Thompson

Grizzly Man is the soundtrack album, produced by Richard Thompson and released in 2005, from the documentary Grizzly Man.

Vitaly Aleksandrovich Nikolayenko was a Russian self-educated natural scientist and photographer notable for his extensive research on the ethology of Russian bears. He spent 33 years living with the brown bears native to the Kamchatka peninsula. He was found dead in December 2003 at the Kronotsky state reserve, one of two managed by the federal government, 177 km (110 mi) north of Petropavlovsk. Authorities concluded that the cause of death was an apparent bear mauling.

<i>Encounters at the End of the World</i> 2007 American documentary film by Werner Herzog

Encounters at the End of the World is a 2007 American documentary film by Werner Herzog about Antarctica and the people who choose to spend time there. It was released in North America on June 11, 2008, and distributed by ThinkFilm. At the 81st Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature.

<i>Grizzly Rage</i> 2007 television film by David DeCoteau

Grizzly Rage is a 2007 Canadian television horror film produced by RHI Entertainment that premiered in Canada on the video-on-demand channel Movie Central On Demand on June 7, 2007. It aired in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel on September 16, 2007. Filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the film is the 2nd title in the Maneater Series produced under an agreement with Syfy. Featuring a cast of four, the film focuses on a group of teenagers who struggle to survive in a restricted forest while an enraged grizzly bear hunts them relentlessly seeking retribution for killing its cub.

Stephan K. Miller was an American animal trainer, wrangler, and stunt double who was killed by a bear while making a promotional video.

<i>Cave of Forgotten Dreams</i> 2010 documentary film by Werner Herzog

Cave of Forgotten Dreams is a 2010 3D documentary film by Werner Herzog about the Chauvet Cave in Southern France, which contains some of the oldest human-painted images yet discovered—some of them were crafted around 32,000 years ago. It consists of footage from inside the cave, as well as of the nearby Pont d'Arc natural bridge, alongside interviews with various scientists and historians. The film premiered on 13 September 2010 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

<i>Bears</i> (film) 2014 American film

Bears is a 2014 American nature documentary film about a family of brown bears living in the coastal mountain ranges of Alaska. Directed by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey and narrated by John C. Reilly, Bears was released theatrically by Disneynature on April 18, 2014, the seventh nature documentary released under that label. It generally received positive reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hallo Bay</span> Bay in Alaskian wildlife refuge.

Hallo Bay is a sandy bay located beneath the peaks of the Aleutian Range within Katmai National Park. The bay is famous for its bear viewing, since large numbers of grizzly bears are attracted to feast on the rich sedges along the tidal flats of the bay. Sometimes they are also observed digging up clams in the mud, and fishing for salmon in July. The food in the bay is so abundant that at times as many as five to six large bears can be seen at one time feeding on sedges, salmon or clams. The bears are usually timid around humans but have learned to trust them over the years due to decades of no hunting and the gentle nature of visitors. However, an incident in 2003 cost bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell his life, not far from Hallo Bay.

<i>Into the Inferno</i> (film) 2016 documentary film by Werner Herzog

Into the Inferno is a 2016 documentary film directed by Werner Herzog. In it, Herzog and volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer explore active volcanoes around the world, especially how they have impacted the cultures of the people who live near them. The film had its world premiere at the 43rd Telluride Film Festival on 3 September 2016 before it began streaming on Netflix on 28 October.

Erik Nelson is an American documentary film director and television producer. Nelson has produced and directed several films, television specials and television programs such as Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Mega Disasters, When Good Times Go Bad, What Were You Thinking?, Unsolved History, Prehistoric Predators and More than Human.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Werner Herzog filmography</span> Films by German filmmaker Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog is a German filmmaker whose films often feature ambitious or deranged protagonists with impossible dreams. Herzog's works span myriad genres and mediums, but he is particularly well known for his documentary films, which he typically narrates.

References

  1. ↑ "GRIZZLY MAN (15)". British Board of Film Classification . December 16, 2005. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Grizzly Man (2005)". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database. November 25, 2005. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the 50 Best Films of the 21st Century (So Far)". The Hollywood Reporter . April 6, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "This Tragic Man Vs. Nature Film is the Best Documentary of the 2000s". Collider . June 4, 2023.
  5. ↑ Davis, Robert (April 11, 2007). "Werner Herzog: The Tests and Trials of Men". Paste .
  6. 1 2 "Werner Herzog Film: Home". Wernerherzog.com. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Grizzly Man – Feature". Discovery Channel. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Grizzly Man:About This Movie". IGN . Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for August 12–14, 2005". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database. August 15, 2005. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Grizzly Man (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Grizzly Man reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  12. ↑ Denby, David (August 8, 2005). "Loners". The New Yorker .
  13. ↑ Ebert, Roger (August 12, 2005). "Grizzly Man". Chicago Sun-Times .
  14. 1 2 Russell, Charlie (February 21, 2006). Letters from Charlie. cloudline.org.
  15. ↑ "Best of the Aughts: Film". Slant Magazine . February 7, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  16. ↑ Hughes, Mark. "The Top 150 Greatest Films Of The 21st Century". Forbes. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  17. ↑ Past Recipients – IFP Gotham Awards
  18. ↑ Sundance Film Festival 2005 - MUBI

Further reading

Awards
Preceded by Alfred P. Sloan Prize Winner
2005		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.