Grizzly Man (2005)
90%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: 21 wins & 17 nominations
Whatever opinion you come to have of the obsessive Treadwell, Herzog has once again found a fascinating subject.
Grizzly Man is a wild ride into the mind of a man who loved bears a little too much. Herzog’s documentary is both fascinating and disturbing, as we watch Timothy Treadwell’s obsession with grizzly bears lead him down a dangerous path. But let’s be real, the real star of the show is the bears themselves. Who knew they could be so entertaining? From playing with Treadwell’s equipment to stealing his food, these bears are the true scene-stealers. Overall, Grizzly Man is a must-watch for anyone who loves nature documentaries or just wants to see some crazy bear antics.
Production Company(ies)
American Zoetrope Zoetrope Studios,
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Katmai National Park, Alaska, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
Year of Release
2005
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 43m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 12, 2005 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 26, 2005
Genre(s)
Documentary/Biography
Keyword(s)
starring, directed by, written by, documentary, biography, R rating, Werner Herzog, Erik Nelson, Timothy Treadwell, grizzly bears, Alaska, conservationist, nature, tragedy, box office, Lionsgate Films, critic reviews, reviewed by, audience score, producer, produced by, budget, Heather Havrilesky, Zadie Smith, Joshua Katzman, Joshua Rothkopf, Dan Jolin, Steven D Greydanus, Matt Brunson, Brian Eggert, Allen Almachar, Micheal Compton, David Keyes, Nick Rogers, Spencer S, Kyle M, Dann M, Christopher H
Worldwide gross: $4,064,179
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $6,193,741
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,109
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 675,435
US/Canada gross: $3,178,403
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,843,833
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,818
US/Canada opening weekend: $269,131
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $410,151
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,449
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Jewel Palovak
Warren Queeney
Carol Dexter
Val Dexter
Sam Egli
Director(s)
Werner Herzog
Writer(s)
Werner Herzog
Producer(s)
Erik Nelson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
21 wins & 17 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (144) | Top Critics (50) | Fresh (133) | Rotten (11)
Of course, the legendary filmmaker can’t resist inserting his own outsize ego into the story, but somehow this documentary has room for two larger-than-life characters.
July 16, 2019
Heather Havrilesky
Salon.com
TOP CRITIC
Herzog has his documentary in hand, explaining that what we have here “iz on astone-ishing story of beauty and depth”. He’s not wrong.
January 16, 2018
Zadie Smith
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Like so much of Herzog’s work, both narrative and documentary, this is an engrossing look at obsessive behavior gone terribly awry.
April 29, 2008
Joshua Katzman
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Treadwell, a failed TV actor, is presented as someone desperate to give and receive love. That he went to such extremes is tragic, but also, in Herzog’s sympathetic eyes, deeply human.
August 16, 2007
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Part punk wildlife doc, part diary of a twisted soul, part cautionary tale, Grizzly Man is a complex, unique and engrossing journey into the murky recesses of an unhinged mind.
April 1, 2006 | Rating: 5/5
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
At turns fascinating and banal… a film that dances around vital questions about the human condition that it is barely able to articulate, let alone address.
February 11, 2006 | Rating: B-
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films
TOP CRITIC
Fascinating.
May 24, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Grizzly Man reveals Herzog’s ambition as a documentarian through his depiction and desire to understand Treadwell, a man who looked to Nature for comfort, yet ultimately became a victim of the sublime.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Grizzly Man is a documentary that shows the very essence of human nature pushed to the limit, where love and obsession can propel a person beyond the boarders of reason.
August 13, 2020 | Rating: A+
Allen Almachar
The MacGuffin
A stirring documentary that adds to an already growing list of fascinating films from the genre this year.
November 19, 2019 | Rating: A-
Micheal Compton
Bowling Green Daily News
Herzog’s stirring, thought-provoking documentary meditates with exceeding insight into the mind that drove the man.
December 11, 2013
David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org
Werner Herzog forgoes judging Timothy Treadwell’s disputed methods or questionable mental state – letting viewers decide based on footage that suggests Treadwell essentially sought some sort of transmutation from flesh to fur.
September 25, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
Nick Rogers
The Film Yap…
Plot
A docudrama that centers on amateur grizzly bear expert Timothy Treadwell. He periodically journeyed to Alaska to study and live with the bears. He was killed, along with his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, by a rogue bear in October 2003. The films explores Treadwell’s compassionate life as he found solace among these endangered animals.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Werner Herzog, the director of Grizzly Man, also serves as the film’s narrator.
Werner-Herzog.jpg
