Product Description

The true story of a 1930s frontier trapper who adopted the ways of the wild and found love among its people. After discovering that the woods of the great north were being threatened with extinction his passion leads him on a crusade to fight for the land hes come to love. Subtitles in english and spanish. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 04/22/2008 Starring: Pierce Brosnan Annie Galipeau Run time: 117 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Richard Attenborough

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53708 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2000-02-15
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.com
Richard Attenborough's passion weighs so heavily on every frame of Grey Owl, the true story of a pioneering conservationist in the Canadian wilderness, that it tends to smother the characters. Pierce Brosnan is stiff, deliberate and terse as Archie Grey Owl, a part Scotch Native American adopted and raised by a Canadian Ojibwa tribe. He gets by as a trapper, hunting guide, and sometime writer, but becomes an internationally revered activist in the 1930s when he publishes a book on the vanishing wilderness. Annie Galipeau is the native Canadian woman who sees through his tough hide and secretive quiet: "Yeah, I know. You're a loner. You have to live in the wilderness. I hear it everyday." But she doesn't pierce his most zealously guarded secret, a distracting subplot that most of the audience figures out in no time. Attenborough's hushed reverence for Archie's dream slows an already lugubrious drama, and Brosnan all too often comes off as a walking cliché, his flat speech and long, slow stares a Brit's idea of a movie Indian. The real star of the film is the magnificent Canadian wilderness: carpets of forests, clear crystal lakes, and vast blue skies. There's no doubting Attenborough's good intentions, and his love for the wilderness is felt in every gorgeous frame, but somewhere in the forest he loses track of his story. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

A sleeper that should NOT be missed.
This is a film that ended up being shown on airplane flights and rented out in video stores. Sad, because though it might not have been noticed in cinemas, Grey Owl is a well-made, well-told interesting story that is acted to perfection by Pierce Brosnan. This is one of those smaller films that really stays with you.

Grey Owl is based on an real-life story of a native guide in the Canadian wilderness. An early conservationist, he struggled to get the public's attention to the loss of many of Canada's wild animals such as the beaver. But Grey Owl had a secret that, when discovered, threatens to derail his crusade to save the native Canadians and the wilderness.

This movie is about all that and much more. Grey Owl is fascinating, complex person, and Brosnan's acting brings him to life incredibly well. Don't miss it.

A Surprise Gem
I rented this video on a whim; I'd never heard of Grey Owl and had more than a little difficulty picturing Pierce Brosnan as a believable Indian. I was transfixed by the story of Grey Owl, and pleasantly surprised by Brosnan's excellent portrayal of this complicated but important figure in conservation. It's a movie I've since purchased, and one I enjoy every time I watch it. Having done a fair amount of reading of Grey Owl's works after my first viewing, I've learned this is a moderately accurate portrayal of a complicated figure. It doesn't reveal all of his warts, but the focus of this film is rightly not just Grey Owl as a person, but his conversion and ultimate contribution to conservation. The public has a tendency to view heroes (or anyone) in black and white terms, and is notoriously uni-dimensional in their views of such people. Grey Owl (ironically, given his name) suffered that same fate. It's a story well worth watching and watching again. The cinematography alone is a treat for the eyes.

Grey Owl
Pierce Brosnan is very good in the title role, and newcomer Annie Galipeau is delightful as his young wife.
The film makers squeeze every ounce of drama out of Grey Owl's life. The dvd comes with a clutch of short interviews with cast and crew, a short "On Location With" video and, most delightfully, two 10-minutes films featuring the real Grey Owl, made in the 1930s.
A pleasant enough film with some moving scenes between Galipeau and Brosnan, although non-environmentalists may ask what all the fuss is about..