Grizzly Man

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Werner Herzog directs. Peter Zeitlinger behind the camera. Richard Thompson scores. Joe Bini cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 21 years ago.
• 2Directed by Werner Herzog, shot by Peter Zeitlinger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by Richard Thompson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor Joe Bini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Timothy Treadwell and Werner Herzog and Warren Queeney carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "In nature, there are boundaries. One man spent the last thirteen years of his life crossing them.".
• 7IMDB entry: tt0427312 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Classified under 22 themes, including "self-abandonment", "life and death", "unsociability", "grizzly bear".

The technical file

Cinematography

Peter Zeitlinger

Original score

Richard Thompson

Editing

Joe Bini

Runtime

103 min · 1h 43m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Grizzly Man (2005) ↗

Also by

Werner Herzog

• 
  The Transformation of the World Into Music

  1996 · ★ 8.3
• 
  The Gauls

  1988 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Lessons of Darkness

  1992 · ★ 7.8
• 
  The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft

  2024 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Fitzcarraldo

  1982 · ★ 7.6
• 
  The Dark Glow of the Mountains

  1985 · ★ 7.6

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Film.Viewer.9992021-04-07
  ★ 10/10

  Chilling first-hand documentation of a very brave young man, renouncing society and trying to find meaning among ferocious creatures in the wild. Tragic yet heart-warming

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• DI

  Discovery Docs

• RE

  Real Big Production

• 

  Lions Gate Films

  US

Key crew

• ProducerErik Nelson
• EditorJoe Bini
• Post Production SupervisorRandall M. Boyd
• Executive ProducerKevin L. Beggs
• ThanksSue Houghton
• Assistant EditorMaya Daisy Hawke
• Executive ProducerTom Ortenberg
• Sound Post SupervisorMichael Klinger
• Music ProducerHenry Kaiser
• Executive In Charge Of ProductionDave Harding
• Executive ProducerBilly Campbell
• Co-Executive ProducerJewel Palovak
• Associate ProducerAlana Berry
• Executive ProducerPhil Fairclough
• Executive ProducerAndrea Meditch
• Executive ProducerErik Nelson
• Assistant CameraErik Söllner
• SoundKen King
• Sound EngineerStephen Hart
• MusicianJim O'Rourke
• MusicianRichard Thompson
• MusicianDamon Smith
• MusicianDanielle DeGruttola
• SoundSpence Palermo

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• self-abandonment
• life and death
• unsociability
• grizzly bear
• human animal relationship
• interview
• biography
• based on true story
• national park
• historical figure
• alaska
• animal rights
• wildlife
• docudrama
• ecology
• nature
• archive footage
• semi-biographical
• dedication
• last interview
• bears
• repurposed footage

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2005-01-24· Sundance Film Festival
• Premiere2005-07-20R· New York City, New York
• Premiere2005-07-28· Traverse City Film Festival
• Premiere2005-06-06· Seattle International Film Festival
• Premiere2005-06-10· Waterfront Film Festival
• Theatrical2005-08-12R

Also known as

International titles

• 灰熊人TW
• O Homem UrsoBR
• KarhumiesFI
• A grizzlyemberHU
• Čovek-grizliRS
• Чeловек гризлиRU
• Chelovek grizliRU