Gorillas in the Mist
by Michael Apted
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Actor: Bryan Brown, Iain Cuthbertson, John Omirah Miluwi, Julie Harris, Sigourney WeaverDirector: Michael Apted
Brand: Universal
Producer: Arne Glimcher
Producer: Jon Peters
Producer: Judy Kessler
Writer: Anna Hamilton Phelan
Writer: Dian Fossey
Writer: Harold T.P. Hayes
Writer: Tab Murphy
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 129 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-01-01
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Gorillas in the Mist
DVD Review: A fitting tribute to Fossey and her Gorillas
Summary: 5 Stars
It's so great to see a major Hollywood production about a conservationist hero - and a good film no less. Gorillas in the Mist covers the life of Dian Fossey, often viewed by many as a patron saint of gorilla conservation. The movie was inspired by her memoirs Gorillas in the Mist, with some added liberties (such as the end of the film). Fossey herself was a relatively unsung hero (especially when compared to Jane Goodall) who almost single-handedly saved the mountain gorilla species by confronting poachers and raising public awareness of the gorillas. Although this is based on a true story, this movie has more action and suspense than most Hollywood films in theaters today. It features a civil war, roving gangs of hunters, corrupt ministry officials, messy romance, and murders of both gorillas and humans. I won't ruin the plot, but think Indiana Jones - The Complete Adventure Collection meets Planet Earth. All in the life of a conservation biologist!
Sigourney Weaver, not always the best actress outside of sci-fi films, does a great job portraying Fossey. She starts off awkwardly, but by the middle of the film she really captures Fossey's passion. At times, she seems almost possessed and overcome with her mission, a one-man army in a war against poachers. At one point in the movie, I forgot that she ever played Ripley in the Alien Quadrilogy and became completely immersed in her acting.
What makes the film all the more impressive is that the production crew filmed on location in Virungas, Rwanda. The gorillas in the film are not zoo animals or trained animal actors (as I thought the first time I watched the movie), but rather real, live wild gorillas. All of the footage with the gorillas was taken in their natural habitat, including the instances when the silverbacks charge the actors! The gorillas were so natural and photogenic that you almost suspect that they realize they're being filmed and portray their best side.
I really hope one day somebody goes back to make a "special edition" of this film for blu-ray. At times, the video quality is a bit grainy and could really benefit from enhancements. The beautiful imagery in the film - the green mountains, close-ups of gorillas, etc. - would look great in an enhanced blu-ray edition. Maybe also include some wildlife documentaries about gorillas, such as Mountain Gorilla (IMAX), or a brief documentary on Fossey's life (with interviews from those who knew her). I hope this movie doesn't remain obscure - more people would benefit from seeing it and understanding the problems gorillas face in the wild.
I'd love to read Fossey's Gorillas in the Mist to see how accurate the movie is. If the movie is anything near accurate, Fossey led an incredible life and had an amazing force of will. This movie is a fitting tribute.
Description of Gorillas in the Mist
A powerful beautifully rendered portrait of diane fossey real-life protector of the african mountain gorillas. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 10/24/2006 Starring: Sigourney Weaver Bryan Brown Run time: 150 minutes Rating: Pg13Sigourney Weaver more than earned her Oscar nomination for Best Actress in Gorillas in the Mist, dominating every frame of Michael Apted's biopic about primatologist Dian Fossey. Tenderly mothering an orphaned gorilla infant or terrorizing an African poacher with a staged lynching, the statuesque star is never less than fiercely focused, a glamorous warrior for animal rights. As the amateur scientist who researched and spotlighted Rwanda's endangered mountain gorillas in National Geographic, Weaver is the passionate heart that keeps an otherwise flaccid film alive--whether bracing anthropologist Louis Leakey to forcibly offer her services as census-taker of the mountain gorillas; or hanging out with the noble animals until she becomes the first person on record to make friendly physical contact with them; or waging sometimes-physical war on natives and Europeans who decimate the gorillas for trophies or zoo fodder. Unfortunately, the film's stodgy script and direction simply document Fossey's magnificent obsession, offering no insight into what lonely impulse of the soul led this extraordinary woman to climb up an African mountain to bond so strongly with gorillas. Cardboard characters include an eternally smiling, sexless African soulmate (John Omirah Miluwi), a perfect boyfriend (Bryan Brown) who has to be dumped in favor of gorilla-love, and stereotypical villains. Still, the African scenery is spectacular, and who can resist the cross-species thrill when the huge dark hand of Digit, Fossey's favorite, first rests in her outstretched palm? Gorillas in the Mist will please those who savor Sigourney Weaver's Amazonian fervor and the pure fire of her physical and spiritual passion--and harbor a slightly misanthropic fondness for liaisons between beauties and beasts. --Kathleen Murphy
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