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Grizzly Man
EMAILPRINTLions Gate Films Inc.
Universal acclaim
Based on 35 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 90 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by: Werner Herzog
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Release Date:
Theatrical: August 12, 2005
DVD: December 27, 2005
Running Time: 103 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language
Starring Franc G. Fallico, Amie Huguenard, and Timothy Treadwell
In his mesmerizing new film, acclaimed director Werner Herzog explores the life and death of amateur grizzly bear expert and wildlife preservationist Timothy Treadwell. (Lions Gate Films)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Cobra Verde Invincible My Best Fiend -- Klaus Kinski The White Diamond The Wild Blue Yonder Wheel of Time
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Premiere Glenn Kenny
Herzog not only tells an incredible story but implies a dark metaphysic of the natural world that makes this film unsettlingly larger than its human subject.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker David Denby
A brilliant documentary about an American saint and fool--a man who understands everything about nature except death.
Read Full Review >Variety Scott Foundas
A brilliant portrait of adventure, activism, obsession and potential madness that ranks among helmer Werner Herzog's strongest work.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
A small masterpiece of a documentary that takes us into the heart of a complex darkness.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
Mr. Herzog is also no ordinary filmmaker. It is the rare documentary like Grizzly Man, which has beauty and passion often lacking in any type of film, that makes you want to grab its maker and head off to the nearest bar to discuss man's domination of nature and how Disney's cute critters reflect our profound alienation from the natural order.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The documentary is an uncommon meeting between Treadwell's loony idealism, and Herzog's bleak worldview.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
It's Treadwell's contradictions and controversies that fascinate Herzog the filmmaker, inspiring him to create this enthralling documentary portrait, his best film in years.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Werner Herzog's magnificent tragedy, Grizzly Man, a Shakespearean character study that packs the sheer terror of "The Blair Witch Project."
Read Full Review >Empire Dan Jolin
A complex, unique and engrossing journey into the murky recesses of an unhinged mind. It really needs to be seen to be believed.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
A mesmerizing work of disturbing power and unease.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Shows and tells an astonishing story, a disturbing and provocative tale of obsession, bravado and self-invention that leaves you open-mouthed for all kinds of reasons.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Michael Atkinson
For many the question remains about how Treadwell's eventual death should be regarded--as a tragedy, as a fool's fate, or as comeuppance for daring to humanize wild predators and habituating them to human presence. Herzog's perspective is, of course, scrupulously nonjudgmental.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Jim Fusilli
Mr. Herzog's perspective is an invaluable balance to Mr. Treadwell's as the animal advocate approaches what seems like madness.
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
There's an element of the nature film to Grizzly Man, and those passages are truly stunning, offering an up-close look at these magnificent animals.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Peter Debruge
Herzog himself is one of the great lunatic directors of our century, a mad genius who repeatedly attempts to challenge nature and the gods in his own films.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
A haunting and fascinating portrait of so much that is worth exploring: the implacability of nature, the hubris of human endeavor and the line between supreme dedication and madness.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Staff (Not credited)
Timothy Treadwell was killed, along with his girlfriend, by a rogue bear in October 2003.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
Herzog tries to make sense out of the blond-haired young man, who looked an awful lot like Kinski.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Actually three movies in one: a wildlife film about how grizzly bears behave in their natural habitat, a character study of an eccentric environmentalist, and a chilling, voyeuristic narrative of how death stalks that man.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Herzog conducts his own expedition into knowing the unknowable -- the true task of any filmmaker. Herzog makes it an art.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
Herzog is still the only person who could have made Grizzly Man. His admiration for Treadwell has its limits, but he understands, better than most directors, what it means to follow dreams into the belly of the beast.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
Herzog is primarily interested in Treadwell the filmmaker, but you'll likely be fascinated with him as a human being.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman
This is an engrossing look at obsessive behavior gone terribly awry.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
Makes for quite an emotional roller-coaster ride. You don't know whether to celebrate or mock, to laugh or weep.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Herzog wants us to see a deluded nobility in this quest. Treadwell's flawed dreams were, in the end, all too human.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt
The movie here is Treadwell's footage--some of it beautiful, much of it difficult to watch.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego
This is the heart-rending true story of a man with a seemingly benign preoccupation that turned into something close to madness and brought him to a terrible end.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Though some see Treadwell as an idealistic martyr who made the ultimate sacrifice for his passion, others vilify him as an arrogant fool who courted his own end.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
A rapt fascination with transcendent lunacy runs through Herzog's work, both fiction and documentary; while disdaining Treadwell's rhapsodically anthropomorphized vision of nature.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ella Taylor
While Grizzly Man is never less than a fascinating portrait of a troubled Peter Pan who couldn't function in human society and tried to remake the animal kingdom into his own private Hanna-Barbera cartoon, it fails to establish Treadwell as much more than a serious headcase, let alone a titanic figure.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
The results are by turns fascinating, horrifying, and maddening.
Read Full Review >The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
The film is repetitious. Herzog has varied the original footage with some interviews that he conducted with a former Treadwell girlfriend and some other friends and observers. Still, an hour of it would have been more effective than the present feature length.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.7 (out of 10) based on 90 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Joel K. gave it a3:
This documentary is the biggest waste of time. I'm 15 and honestly i think that Timothy Treadwell wasted those 13 years of his life, which eventually ended up in his death. What was the point of him going into a protected environment or government reserve to protect bears? They don't need protection. In my view all the drugs and alcohol he part took in resulted in him coming out of the situation being as one of the pilots described him 'mentally retarded'
Selina gave it a10:
Undoubtly, this film was AMAZING. Grizzly Man shows the ideal footage of a man whose courage and determination got him his calling. He proved that bears are not killers, and brought some brilliant footage in the making. This truly is a beautiful nature film, and I recommend it for any nature lover. Although, yes, Timothy was somewhat loony, but I respect his decision in life. I know that there's a one and a million chance that someone will survive thirteen years without weapons among one of the most dangerous animals on this planet. I enjoyed this film and admired Treadwell's skill, devotion, and humor. This film is truly a masterpiece. The stuff he captured is simply wonderful. HOWEVER, I do not respect Herzog. I think he twisted it around a bit. Some directors do that. He probably made Tim look more than he was. We don't care about his opinion- at least I don't. I wish that this movie was more about the nature and beauty Treadwell captured rather than the stupid opinions of Herzog.
laura r gave it a6:
I am glad that they movie started with the conclusion of Timothy's 13 summers in the Alaskan Park where he camped among Grizzly Bears. He came across as a bit dilusional. However he did mention that they could kill people, it just did not make sense to me why he would try to pet them, and he thought they were friends. it was sad, and disturbing. I am glad they did not play the audio tape of the killings. I felt haunted after watching the film and could not sleep aftterwards.
O.C. H gave it a0:
Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man" is a comedy for the ages. His brilliant writting, witty portrial of an insane maniac and hilariously bad interviews all add up to a very memorable experience. Wait, what? This isn't a comedy? Sure fooled me. Grizzly Man truly did have me up in stitches, and it wasn't until I realized that it was trying so desprretly hard to make a morale point that I decided this was one of my least favorite films of all time. To be honest, I was laughing at how bad the film was - so I had already pegged Grizzly Man as an awful film. Maybe I shouldn't put this all on Herzog. After all, Timmothy is a truly bizzare person that just comes off weird and no amount of directorial talent can save that- but then I remember that Herzog picked him, not the other way around. Frankly, you've really, really, really got to read between the lines to get any sort of social commentary out of the movie. In all senses, Grizzly Man fails at what it sets out to do.
a veiwer gave it a1:
This "movie" is disturbing at its core. I have watched other documentary's filmed by Treadwell, and thought highly of them. This film shows him as nothing more than a very disturbed young man, who had little reguard for his own safety, or that of the bears he professed to love. I am truely upset by this and will never be able to watch his documentarys again.
Michel G gave it a10:
This is a great film, it combine unintentional humor with deeply touching footage. Tims love for nature should be praised, along with this movie.
Mithyus gave it a10:
Looking through everything the movie is said to be, the polemics and the opinions, you will see one undeniable truth - Grizzly Man shows the history of a man whose love, ideal, and the perseverance in defending them gave him a meaning in life. Timothy Treadwell shows us the most raw essence of the conscious human in search for happyness, disregarding the common limitations of human behaviour and going beyond. And even if Herzog sometimes blurs this focus, the inspirational story of this admirable man and his love for animals and nature are presented in a perfectly solid way. Truly, a masterpiece of real life.
