Grizzly Man
Promotional Poster for Grizzly Man
Directed by	Werner Herzog
Produced by	Discovery Docs Lions Gate Films
Starring	Timothy Treadwell Werner Herzog (narrator)
Music by	Richard Thompson
Release date(s)	August 12, 2005
Running time	100 minutes
Language	English
IMDb profile

Grizzly Man is a 2005 documentary film by German director Werner Herzog. It chronicles the life and death of environmentalist and bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell. The film consists of Treadwell's own footage of his interactions with grizzly bears before he was killed, and of interviews with people who knew or were involved with Treadwell. The footage he shot was later found, and the final film was co-produced by Discovery Docs, the Discovery Channel's theatrical documentary unit, and Lions Gate Films. The music in the film is by British folk singer Richard Thompson. Image File history File links Grizzly_Man_Poster. ... Werner Herzog passionately singing a traditional Croatian ode of love to beautiful Serbian girls who he wants to take to Germany to have German babies with. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Lions Gate Films. ... Timothy Treadwell (April 29, 1957 – October 5, 2003), born Timothy Dexter, was an American environmentalist and bear enthusiast who lived among the coastal grizzly bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska for approximately 13 seasons. ... Werner Herzog passionately singing a traditional Croatian ode of love to beautiful Serbian girls who he wants to take to Germany to have German babies with. ... For other persons named Richard Thompson, see Richard Thompson (disambiguation). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Werner Herzog passionately singing a traditional Croatian ode of love to beautiful Serbian girls who he wants to take to Germany to have German babies with. ... Bold textHello ... Genera Ailuropoda Helarctos Melursus Ursus Tremarctos Arctodus (extinct) A bear is a large mammal in the family Ursidae of the order Carnivora. ... Timothy Treadwell (April 29, 1957 – October 5, 2003), born Timothy Dexter, was an American environmentalist and bear enthusiast who lived among the coastal grizzly bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska for approximately 13 seasons. ... Trinomial name Ursus arctos horribilis (Ord, 1815) The grizzly bear, sometimes called the silvertip bear, is a powerful brownish-yellow bear that lives in the uplands of western North America. ... Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel distributed by Discovery Communications that provides non-fiction programming focused on science, history and nature. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Lions Gate Films. ... For other persons named Richard Thompson, see Richard Thompson (disambiguation). ...

Background

Timothy Treadwell spent thirteen summers in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Over time, he believed he was trusted by the bears, who would allow him to approach them, and sometimes even touch them. Treadwell was repeatedly warned by park officials 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 2003, at the end of his thirteenth visit, he and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were attacked, killed and eaten by a bear. Katmai National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its brown bears. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,855 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

For Grizzly Man, Herzog used sequences extracted from over 100 hours of video footage shot by Treadwell during the last five years of his life, and conducted interviews with Treadwell's family and friends, as well as experts and authority figures. Herzog also narrates, and offers his own interpretations of the events. In his narration, he depicts Treadwell as a disturbed man who may have had a deathwish toward the end of his life, but also refuses to condemn him for this. This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary using the Transwiki process. ...

Grizzly Man premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It was released in theaters on August 12, 2005, and was released on DVD in the United States on December 26, 2005. The Discovery Channel aired Grizzly Man on television on February 3, 2006; its 3-hour presentation of the film included a 30-minute companion special that delved deeper into Treadwell's relationship with the bears and addressed controversies surrounding the film. The DVD release of the film is missing an interview with Treadwell by David Letterman that was shown in the original theatrical release where Letterman jokes that Treadwell will eventually be eaten by a bear; however, the version televised on the Discovery Channel retains this scene. Premiere, from French language première meaning first, generally means a first performance. Premieres for theatrical, musical, and other productions are often extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media attention. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival in the United States, and ranks alongside the Cannes, France, Venice, Italy, Berlin, Germany, and Toronto, Canada festivals as one of the most prestigious in the world. ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947 is an award-winning American television personality, late night talk show host, television producer, Indy Racing League car owner and philanthropist. ...

The film refers to an audio recording of the fatal attack, captured by Treadwell's video camera, but although Herzog is shown listening to it on earphones, it is not played in the film. In fact, Herzog advises the owner of the tape, a friend of Treadwell who held onto the tape but refused to ever listen to it, to destroy it immediately. However the tape was not destroyed.

Critical reception

Alternate film poster for Grizzly Man

Upon its North American theatrical release, Grizzly Man received almost overwhelming critical praise. As of September 1, 2006, the film has a score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 100% rating among the 'Cream of the Crop.'[1] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 405 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (640 × 948 pixel, file size: 429 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Poster for Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog This image is of a film poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 405 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (640 × 948 pixel, file size: 429 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Poster for Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog This image is of a film poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned...

David Denby of The New Yorker said: David Denby is an author and academic at Dublin City University: Published works Books by David Denby include: Sentimental Narrative and the Social Order in France, 1760-1820, Cambridge University Press, 1994. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ...

"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."[2]

James Berardinelli, who called the film one of the ten best of 2005, said: James Berardinelli (born September 1967, New Brunswick, New Jersey) is an online film critic. ...

"Grizzly Man addresses some esoteric themes. Is there a line between man and nature? Did Treadwell see himself as more bear than man? Were the liberties he took by initiating such close contact with the bears 'disrespectful' (as one Native American puts it) to the natural boundaries between a predator and its potential prey? Certainly, Treadwell found a clarity in the wilderness with his beloved bears that he could not achieve in human society. And he died the way he wanted to (or, as one person states, 'he got what he deserved'); unfortunately, he took someone else with him. Grizzly Man is compelling material from start to finish."[3]

Roger Ebert, a longtime supporter of Werner Herzog's work, awarded the film four stars. Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize winning American film critic. ... Werner Herzog passionately singing a traditional Croatian ode of love to beautiful Serbian girls who he wants to take to Germany to have German babies with. ...

"'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. His 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 man who managed to get himself and his girlfriend eaten, and you know what? He deserves Werner Herzog."[4] Werner Herzog passionately singing a traditional Croatian ode of love to beautiful Serbian girls who he wants to take to Germany to have German babies with. ...

Awards

• Nominated for the Gotham Award for Best Documentary
• Won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary/ Non-Fiction Film
• Won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film
• Won the San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Documentary
• Won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
• Won the Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary

IFP/New York is a twenty-five-year-old, not-for-profit membership and advocacy organization serving the independent film community as a source for networking and support while promoting film as a vital and influential public art form. ... The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) was founded in 1975. ... New York Film Critics Circle Awards are given annually to honor excellence in cinema worldwide by an organization of film reviewers from New York City-based publications. ... San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards are given annually to honor fine achievements in filmmaking by an organisation of film reviewers from San Francisco-based publications. ... The Alfred P. Sloan Prize is an award given each year, starting in 2003, to a film at the Sundance Film Festival. ... The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival in the United States, and ranks alongside the Cannes, France, Venice, Italy, Berlin, Germany, and Toronto, Canada festivals as one of the most prestigious in the world. ...

Box Office

Grizzly Man opened on August 12, 2005 in 29 theatres in North America. It grossed $269,131 USD ($9,280 per screen) in its opening weekend. At its widest point, it played at 105 theatres, and made $3,178,403 USD during its run.

External links

• Grizzly Man at the Internet Movie Database
• Roger Ebert's Review
• Peter Bradshaw's Review
• Deserving Herzog - article comparing Herzog's film to classical tragedy