Grey Owl

Starring:Pierce Brosnan, Stewart Bick, Vlasta Vrana, Annie Galipeau, Neil Kroetsch, Serge Houde, Peter Colvey, Nathaniel Arcand, Jacques Lussier, Lee-Roy Jacobs, Jimmy Herman, John Dunn-Hill, Graham Greene (II), Gordon Masten, Chip Chuipka, John Walsh, David Fox, Annabelle Torsein, Marcel Jeannin, Kent McQuaid
Director: Richard Attenborough
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

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:

Sweet & Fine.......2007-06-14

If you just take the movie on its own terms, its own of the sweetest, finest movies you will find. You don't need to be an environmentalist or a native americanist to appreciate this wonderful movie. Just being human will do.

Grey Owl movie review.......2006-11-07

Seems to me that this movie does a creditable job with a difficult subject: Grey Owl (aka Archie Belaney).
That Attenborough undertook the telling is a tribute to him.
Annie Gallipeau is too beautiful to describe and is a perfect fit for the Mohawk woman Annahareo.
Perhaps the movie is a little glossy: for instance, it doesn't mention Archie Belaney's four other wives. An untidy fact. Nor do I recall seeing anything about his excessive drinking.

Keep An Open Mind.......2006-03-13

I must admit that when I first saw this DVD jacket at a video store I scoffed at it. Pierce Brosnan play an Native American? Yeah, right. Last night I was just about to go to bed and this movie came on. I said to myself, I've got to see this. As I watched I became intrigued by the subtle hint that something was amiss about the Grey Owl character. It was very late at night, but I was not sleepy because this movie is incredible.

This is a moving story based on the actual life of Archibald Stansfeld Belaney. It is very well acted, written and directed. If you know nothing about the life of Archie Grey Owl, you will be amazed. There are some scenes in this movie that are very touching and powerful. For example, when Pony falls through the ice and Grey Owl rescues her. Also, when Grey Owl tells Pony his secret, her reaction is heart warming and powerful. To reveal too much about the story line is to spoil the film for someone unfamiliar with the life of a very interesting man.

I watch a lot of movies and this one is really very good; and certainly worth the $8.99 asking price, in my opinion. As for the DVD, I do not have it. Based on the other reviews, there are 2 10 minute inteviews with the real Grey Owl; and to me, this is enough to purchase the DVD.

Overlooked but wonderful for the right viewer.......2006-01-16

Not the typical film you expect to see with action and complex plots, and this film will not appeal to most who are not interested in environmental causes or Native Americans. However, slow as it is, it is well done and well acted, and I can see how Pierce Brosnan resembles the real Archie Belaney now that I have seen his picture online. A sleeper that will only be precious to a few, but if you are one of those, check this film out!

Fantastic Movie.......2005-12-20

You cannot determine whether to laugh or cry. I guarantee you will do both. I love this movie and would recommend to the highest!!

Average customer rating:

Sweet & Fine
Grey Owl movie review
Keep An Open Mind
Overlooked but wonderful for the right viewer
Fantastic Movie

Grey Owl [Region 2]
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Stewart Bick , Vlasta Vrana , Annie Galipeau , and Neil Kroetsch
Director: Richard Attenborough
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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