Product Details

• Actors: Pierce Brosnan, Stewart Bick, Vlasta Vrana, Annie Galipeau, Neil Kroetsch
• Directors: Richard Attenborough
• Writers: William Nicholson
• Producers: Barr B. Potter, Claude Léger, Diana Hawkins, Jake Eberts, Josette Perrotta
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: August 15, 2000
• Run Time: 118 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003GPEZ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,161 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sleeper that should NOT be missed., August 5, 2001

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Grey Owl (DVD)

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.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Surprise Gem, May 24, 2004

By 

Jeff Renner (Sammamish, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grey Owl (DVD)

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.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Grey Owl, September 11, 2004

By 

Steven Hellerstedt "SH" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Grey Owl (DVD)

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..