Gorillas in the Mist

"At the far ends of the earth she found a reason to live, and a cause to fight for."

1988 2h 9m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 682

DramaHistory

Synopsis

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The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.

“At the far ends of the earth she found a reason to live, and a cause to fight for.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Sigourney Weaver
Dian Fossey
Bryan Brown
Bob Campbell
Julie Harris
Roz Carr
John Omirah Miluwi
Sembagare
Iain Cuthbertson
Dr. Louis Leakey
Konstantin Aleksandrov
Claude Van Veeten
Waigwa Wachira
Mukara
Iain Glen
Brendan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Apted
Writers: Anna Hamilton Phelan, Anna Hamilton Phelan, Tab Murphy
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Apted, shot by John Seale. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Maurice Jarre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stuart Baird shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Sigourney Weaver and Bryan Brown and Julie Harris carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "At the far ends of the earth she found a reason to live, and a cause to fight for.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0095243 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Apted directs. John Seale behind the camera. Maurice Jarre scores. Stuart Baird cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

138 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Michael Apted, shot by John Seale. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Maurice Jarre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Stuart Baird shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Sigourney Weaver and Bryan Brown and Julie Harris carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "At the far ends of the earth she found a reason to live, and a cause to fight for.".
7IMDB entry: tt0095243 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 17 themes, including "photographer", "africa", "rwanda", "gorilla".
9Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: John Seale
Original score: Maurice Jarre
Editing: Stuart Baird
Production design: John Graysmark
Costume design: Catherine Leterrier
Makeup / hair: Rick Baker
Runtime: 129 min · 2h 9m
Status: Released
Budget: $22,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Gorillas in the Mist (1988)

Awards

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Genesis Award
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Michael Apted

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
I was the first born and mom and dad really didn't believe in censorship growing up, as a result I saw a lot of movies that are probably inappropriate for my age. Most of the time I can honestly say that they had no real effect on me... ...but the parts of this movie traumatized me as much as Bambi and Old Yeller. I just recently tried re-watching it, and had to shut it off because I remembered what was coming. Poachers. I'm almost 40, I can watch truly horrific movies where humans are harmed in the worst possible ways, but I still can't make it through Gorillas in the Mist. However, what I can watch I always like. I firmly believe that (aside from the Alien movies) this is one of Weaver's absolutely best roles. That being said, if you can sit through it, bully for you, it is worth it.
kevin20192024-09-06
★ 8/10
"Gorillas in the Mist" is a very worthwhile film and it perfectly highlights Dian Fossey's occasionally groundbreaking work. She actually managed to integrate herself into the mountain gorilla community - this results in some superb shots of the mountain gorilla in its natural habitat and it is genuinely difficult to differentiate between what could possibly be mechanical special effects and the real great apes - and it soon begins to seem as though her gradually all consuming work supersedes many other aspects of her life (she even begins to refer to the gorillas and the mountain they live on as her own) and she willingly sacrifices a blossoming romance with the photographer Bob Campbell in order to stay on the mountain with the gorillas to study them. Dian Fossey achieved recognition through her work and this film ends with the fact the gorilla population continues to multiply as the enduring spirit of her accomplishments lives on, but this coda is juxtaposed with the sobering knowledge that her untimely death remains a mystery.