Gorillas in the Mist

Starring:Sigourney Weaver, Bryan Brown, Julie Harris, John Omirah Miluwi, Iain Cuthbertson, Constantin Alexandrov, Waigwa Wachira, Iain Glen, David Lansbury, Maggie O'Neill, Konga Mbandu, Michael J. Reynolds, Gordon Masten, Peter Nduati, Helen Fraser, John Alexander (II), Peter Elliott (II), Denise Cheshire, Antonio Hoyos, Jody St. Michael
Director: Michael Apted
Studio: Universal Studios
Product Type: DVD

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Sigourney 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

Customer Reviews:

A Classic.......2007-06-27

My thirteen year old wants to be a zoologist. She watched this movie with her mouth open. A great movie then - a great movie now.

In the mind of a gorilla.......2006-09-23

We must thank the director and salute Sigourney Weaver's beautiful performance: this movie gives us a rare insight into the lives and minds of the gentle, yet ferocious, giant mountains gorillas. It is also the amazing journey of an extroardinary woman who went to live by herself in a remote mountain of Rwanda, secluded from the world. She lost much of her sanity, as well as her life, in the process of saving the lives of a few hundred remaining gorillas. Without her work, who knows who could have saved them from savage murder and total extinction? Thanks to her work and dedication, a "lost cause" had been heard at last.

The struggle for the survival of the "Great Apes" is not totally over though. One must hope that the abject poverty and the political unrest that still affect the region, as well as the illegal poaching and smuggling of goods and animals across borders - that happen with or without government officials' approval in each country involved - and the continuing deforestation and fauna's loss of habitat, can one day all come to an end so that the survival of these amazing creatures can be achieved.

One must recognize the sacrifices and thank people like Diane Fossey, conservationists around the world, and the Rwandese people in particular, who have made it possible so far despite great internal economic and political pressures. All hope is not lost!

Wonderful acting by Sigourney Weaver.......2006-08-18

Sometimes you see a movie with such great acting in it, you can never forget it. I can't imagine anyone playing Dian Fossey other than Sigourney; throughout the whole movie, you can feel her rage, her loneliness, her determination. I also think this movie did a good job in not making Dian look like an angel, because as devoted as she was, she had her flaws. Years of isolation in the remote mountains of Africa hardened her. Sometimes I think it would have been better if instead of endlessly fighting with the hunters, she had changed her approach and helped give them job oppurtunities so they had other ways to make money besides hunting. However, despite her flaws, Dian Fossey still deserves to be recognized and remembered for her selfless efforts to protect gorillas. This movie does just that.

Murder in the Mist Solved?.......2006-07-11

After more than 15 years, the mastermind behind the gruesome and infamous murder of renowned gorilla researcher and protector, Dr. Dian Fossey whose life was portrayed in the 1988 movie "Gorillas in the Mist," may finally be in custody in Belgium. Protais Zigiranyirazo, the former Governor of the Ruhengeri province in Rwanda, brother-in-law of the assassinated Rwandan president, and one of the country's most wanted criminals for his creation of "death squads," which killed 800,000 in 1994, was captured by Belgian police while trying to flee Kenya on June 9, 2001.

Dr. Fossey observed the gorillas for 18 years in the Ruhengeri province when she was brutally murdered in her hut on December 27, 1985. Known for her vigilant pursuit of poachers, Dr. Fossey had made many enemies including Zigiranyirazo, who, it was reported, she was about to announce publicly as being behind poaching and smuggling rings of endangered species and gold in and out of Rwanda. Soon after her murder, Rwandan officials arrested one of her trackers for the murder. He then "apparently" committed suicide while in prison, but diplomats in Kigali believe he was secretly hanged before he could talk. Several months later, Wayne McGuire, her American research assistant, was accused by the Government of her murder but escaped capture when the US embassy warned him, enabling him to leave the country.

For years the FBI was unable to approach its prime suspect, Zigiranyirazo, because of his political connections, but that all changed when he was arrested in Belgium for war crimes.

The saga of Dian Fossey's murder may soon be resolved, but her work for the gorillas she fought so hard to preserve still goes on. The following story, reprinted from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, is of Beetsme, one of the original gorillas observed by Dr. Fossey over 25 years ago.

Wonderful,Dedicating Movie!!!!!.......2006-02-24

Although I'm labeled "horror buff", I just had to write a review of this film depicting the life of famed Dr. Dian Fossey. Heads up to Warner Brothers for giving us a glimpse into the world of a woman who ultimately gave her life to save and protect the few mountain gorillas remaining in Africa. Dian devoted 18 years of her life to researching and understanding these wonderful primates. This film shows Dian's vunerable side along with her determined side to do what ever it took to save the gorillas who are supposed to be protected by the parks. Sigourney Weaver shines in her role and was the perfect choice for this movie. She approached it with reckless abandon. Although Dian lost her life trying to save the remaining gorillas, we get to see how one person was responsible for doing so much for the gorillas. With heartwarming scenes with her and her beloved Digit, to heartbreaking scenes like when she had to turn over Pucker, the infant gorilla she nursed back to health, to a zoo and the horrible death of Digit, this movie captivates you from beginning to end. For anyone who is interested in the few remaining mountain gorillas, this movie will really open your eyes and make you route for Dian. Although with a tragic ending with Dian's death and burial next to Digit, it's a true love story not only between her and Bob Campbell, but between her and the gorillas she loved so much. I wish I could give this movie more than 5 stars!! Definetly a movie to own and to cherish... for her memory will never be forgotten as her work carries on thru The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International to this day.

Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey [Region 2]

Average customer rating:

A Classic
In the mind of a gorilla
Wonderful acting by Sigourney Weaver
Murder in the Mist Solved?
Wonderful,Dedicating Movie!!!!!

Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey [Region 2]
Starring: Sigourney Weaver , Bryan Brown , Julie Harris , John Omirah Miluwi , and Iain Cuthbertson
Director: Michael Apted
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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