My Amazon DVD Reviews: "Grizzly Man"

Talking about the good life in the foodchain
4 Out Of 5 Stars

 

Werner Herzog was given a strange mission with the film, "Grizzly Man." How do you take 100's of hours of tape made by a delusional, self-centered and mentally imbalanced man who is ultimately killed (along with the poor woman he drags along after him) by his obsession with Alaskan Grizzlies and make him someone somewhat sympathetic? The documentary manages to do just that, with Herzog inserting himslef as a conscience/narrator into the tapes of naturalist and self-described "kind warrior" Timothy Treadwell. For over a decade of summers, Treadwell would haul himself to Alaska, embed himself in a State Park and try to become one with the grizzlies.

Yes, you're right...anyone with a lick of sense would see this as a fool's errand, and the movie doesn't even bother to hide that fact by mentioning at the beginning that Treadwell and lady friend Amie Huguenard become lunch for a "bear full of people and clothes." Treadwell fails to recognize what Herzog knows by instinct and a few millenniums of evolution; nature is "chaos, hostility, and murder." Treadwell looks at nature as some sort of Disney-fied harmony, where if you just dance with the animals, they'll be your friends and all will live in the big unity of the universe. This despite ample evidence to the contrary (adult males eating cubs to foster mating with females, the killing of one of his fox pup 'friends'); Treadwell rails on about the bear world versus the people world.

Herzog keeps Treadwell from looking like a blithering idiot by balancing some of the most intimate footage you'll probably ever see of bears in the wild and commentary from both the friends and enemies of Treadwell, and ultimately sacrificing an opportunity to exploit Treadwell and Amie's death. A narcissist to the very end, Treadwell had a camera running even as he and Amie were being attacked and killed, and Herzog makes the decision to not include the audio (the lens cap was still on the camera) or include the pictures from the coroner, going as far as to implore one of Treadwell's few friends to destroy the final tape and never look back. It's Herzog's sense of compassion for his subject (aided by a terrific score by guitarist Richard Thompson), even as he understands the madness, that makes "Grizzly Man" so compelling.

     

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Passings: Larry Hoppen, Founder of Orleans

Larry Hoppen, founding member of '70's pop-rock band Orleans, died Tuesday (July 24), at 61. The singer and guitarist's death was announced earlier today by his wife, Patricia Hoppen, though the cause of death is still be investigated."For those who don't already know, Larry passed away yesterday ... those of you do know me, you can message me," his wife wrote. "For his fans, I am deeply sorry for YOUR loss. I know he will be missed. I will (ask) that my family's privacy be respected during this horrible time."

Orleans was founded in Woodstock, NY, in 1972, and released their best-known album, Waking and Dreaming, in 1976, which featured their Billboard charting hits "Still the One," "Forever" and "Love Takes Time."

"Words cannot express the depths of my sorrow," said Hoppen's brother and Orleans bandmate, Lance Hoppen, in a statement. Orleans was celebrating their 40th year as a band, and had been scheduled to perform Friday morning (July 27) on the "Fox & Friends" television show, with several live dates lined up over the weekend. In addition to his wife, Patricia, Hoppen is survived by his daughters, Claire and Maeve, brothers Lance and Lane, and sister Lynda. (Via Spiiner.com)

I saw them open for Chicago in the 70's, and met them back stage. They were wonderful to me, and this makes me sad.

      

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