Grizzly Man DVD Review:

Grizzly Man is nothing short of amazing. It is amazing to me that someone would find it in themselves to spend so much time making a film about an insane man who was happier living with animals. It’s amazing to me how bizarre and uncomfortable some of the scenes are. It’s also amazing that this was one of the best reviewed documentaries in 2005. It isn’t that I disliked Grizzly Man, but I felt like I was watching an entirely different film from other critics. I actually enjoyed the film very much, but I’m certain not in any way that the filmmaker had hoped.

Grizzly Man examines the life, and eventual death, of Timothy Treadwell. Treadwell was an amateur grizzly bear expert and wildlife preservationist. He would go to a bear spot in Alaska for months each year, and attempt to live among them. Most of the footage in the film comes from the video camera which Treadwell brought with him on his trips. Treadwell was a failed actor and he had hopes of his footage being used for a television show. The other footage in the film comes from the interviews that Werner Herzog did for the documentary.

The footage of Treadwell with the bears alone is amazing. The fact that he is truly out of his mind is what makes the film really bizarre. Treadwell spends extended time filming himself doing things that wee supposed to be intros to the show and such. There were times that he would mess the lines up over and over again, eventually getting mad and going off on some random rant about something that bothers him. It’s somewhat disturbing to watch, but it is also difficult to look away. As impressive as Treadwell’s ability to live with the bears is, it is also apparent that he is still somewhat like a child in his views of the world.

When Treadwell’s body was found in 2003, the mystery was the woman with him. He brought his girlfriend Amie Huguenard, despite the fact that he never really allows her to be seen by the camera. She was also killed by the bears. There is actually audio from the attack, but it is never played on the documentary, but instead described. It’s just another one of the bizarre and creepy elements from Grizzly Man.

The DVD has one special feature, but it is a big one. There is a 50-minute documentary about the music in the film. The documentary is called, “In the Edges: The Grizzly Man Session,” and it has some interesting bits in it. It is strange to me that the only special feature would be about the music in the film, which didn’t strike me as anything incredibly noteworthy.



Ryan Izay