Grey Owl (film)
Grey Owl | |
---|---|
Directed by | Richard Attenborough |
Written by | William Nicholson |
Produced by | Richard Attenborough Jake Eberts Claude Léger |
Starring | Pierce Brosnan |
Cinematography | Roger Pratt |
Edited by | Lesley Walker |
Music by | George Fenton |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | New City Releasing (USA) 20th Century Fox (UK) |
Release dates |
February 15, 2000 (VHS & DVD release) |
Running time | 117 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom Canada |
Language | English |
Budget | $30 million |
Box office | $632,617[1] |
Grey Owl is a 1999 biopic directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Pierce Brosnan in the role of real life British schoolboy turned Indian trapper "Grey Owl," Archibald Belaney (1888–1938), and Annie Galipeau as his wife Anahareo, with brief appearances by Graham Greene and others. The screenplay was written by William Nicholson. This film is released September 10, 1999.
Plot
Archibald Belaney (Brosnan) was a British man who grew up fascinated with Native American culture—so much so that in the early 1900s he left the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for Canada, where he reinvented himself as Archie Grey Owl and lived in the wild as a North American Indian trapper. Eventually, Belaney becomes an environmentalist after renouncing trapping and hunting.
Cast
- Pierce Brosnan as Archibald "Grey Owl" Belaney
- Annie Galipeau as Anahareo
- Nathaniel Arcand as Ned White Bear
- Vlasta Vrána as Harry Champlin
- David Fox as Jim Wood
- Charles Powell as Walter Perry
- Stephanie Cole as Ada Belaney
- Renée Asherson as Carrie Belaney
- Stewart Bick as Cyrrus Finney
- Graham Greene as Jim Bernard
- Saginaw Grant as Pow Wow Chief
Production
The film was shot in the English town of Hastings, Quebec towns Chelsea and Wakefield, Jacques Cartier Park and Saskatchewan's Prince Albert National Park.
Director Richard Attenborough said in an interview that he and his brother, noted presenter and naturalist David Attenborough, had attended "Grey Owl's" De Montfort Hall, Leicester lecture in 1936, depicted in the film, and being influenced by his advocacy of conservation.[2]
Reception
The film met with average to negative reviews, and has a 'rotten' 18% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.[3] William Gallagher of the BBC said, "if you like cuddly animals or you fancy Pierce Brosnan, you're in luck".[4]
The film won one Genie Award at the 20th Genie Awards, in the category of Best Costume Design for Renée April.
References
- ^ "Grey Owl". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ Country Life: Volume 194, 2000
- ^ "Grey Owl". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ BBC - Films - review - Grey Owl
External links
- 1999 films
- 1990s adventure films
- 1990s biographical films
- British films
- British biographical films
- British adventure films
- Environmental films
- First Nations films
- Films about Native Americans
- Films directed by Richard Attenborough
- Films set in 1934
- Films set in 1935
- Films set in 1936
- Films set in Canada
- Films set in Sussex
- Films shot in England
- Films shot in Quebec
- Films shot in Saskatchewan
- Screenplays by William Nicholson
- Film scores by George Fenton
- Canadian biographical films
- Canadian drama films
- Canadian films
- Canadian adventure films
- Films produced by Richard Attenborough
- Biographical film stubs