In our opinion, Werner Herzog’s best film is Grizzly Man (2005). It’s an extraordinary account of one man’s decision to live unprotected amongst wild bears in Alaska. Timothy Treadwell did this for 13 straight summers up until October 2003.

Herzog’s remarkable documentary is a study of human extremes (as with most of his work, most notably with 1982’s Fitzcarraldo) and it’s an essential film to watch.

Herzog was captivated by this story and he took the 100+ hours of footage Treadwell shot whilst alone in the Alaskan wilderness to structure the film. It’s a beautiful setting, but it plays out as an examination of the human condition and some terrifying consequences.

Themes of Masculine Crisis in Extremes Across Grizzly Man’s Jaw-Dropping Landscapes

The documentary examines the conservation efforts of Timothy Treadwell (1957-2003), a failed actor who turned to animal rights in the early 1990s. Feeling alienated from the world, he set off to Alaska where he began living unarmed amongst wild grizzly bears.

After a number of years, he began to take a video camera with him to record his spectacular location and its inhabitants (enormous bears), styling himself as an animal activist along the way.

With his good looks and enthusiasm, he was perfectly suited for it and soon courted some media attention across America.

By late 2003, Treadwell’s daring met with horrific results. Very sadly, this also involved his 37 year old girlfriend Amie Huguenard (1965-2003).

The documentary has a sense of foreboding throughout as it builds towards this climax, providing a chilling reminder that Treadwell’s often sentimental views of mother nature aren’t shared by the bears he’s around.

Through Herzog’s narration, we gain intimate insights into the bears (literally, they’ll be right in your face) and Treadwell, whose candid on screen ranting depicts a childlike naivety at times, alongside the macho bravado he had to head out and live amongst wild bears with only his tent for protection.

Despite occasional bursts of mental instability from Treadwell during the film, which leads to some bizarre behaviour, we still find him endearing. He’d be into his 60s now, but it’s difficult to see any other outcome than what occurred in 2003 to the intrepid, self-styled activist.

But Herzog, in his usual candid fashion, was eager to explore the failures in Treadwell’s lifestyle approach.

All whilst considering the monolithic force of nature, where wild animals don’t care for one man’s troubles. Instead we get the bored indifference of a bear with a casual food consideration, as Herzog puts it.

Treadwell pushed the limits with predictable consequences. He failed to respect the boundaries between nature and humanity.

Eerily, Treadwell seemed to be well aware of this and it seems he may have been on a self-destructive rampage, which coincidentally allowed him to promote the welfare of his beloved bears.

He noted in letters to friends he believed his death would further the cause of animal conservationism, but it’s consistently stated throughout the film the bears were in a protected region of land.

Treadwell was out there to escape his frustrations with human society. Over 13 summers he achieved that and found a sense of wellbeing through an extreme situation and personal delusions. Yet his self-destructive nature reached a natural peak the day before he was set to leave for the year.

Notes on the Terrifying Fatal Attack

The scenes describing the fatal bear attack are some of the most haunting in all of cinema.

It’s unclear how, but either Treadwell or Huguenard turned their camera on moments before the attack. All that was recorded was sound as the lens cap was left on, indicating how unexpected this was. It ran for six minutes before running out of tape.

Dr. Franc G. Fallico (who sadly died in 2008) has an eerie way of relating what he heard.

There are several scenes about the incident across Grizzle Man and they are terrifying to watch. That includes the recording of Herzog listening to the audio recording and asking for it to be turned off.

Just thinking about what occurred and what Huguenard witnessed, and her high-pitched screams, makes for disturbing, powerful cinema. It’s one of the reasons why the documentary sticks with you long after.

Herzog refused to include the audio tape footage of the fatal bear attack. It was the right decision and the descriptions from those who have heard it are frightening enough.

Since 2005, the recording has never been made public.

The Production of Grizzly Man

In a flawless documentary, Herzog hit his peak here. Some of his films can be pretentious and difficult to watch (again, in our opinion) but Grizzly Man is just astonishing.

He gained access to Treadwell’s footage after seeking approval from Jewel Pavolak.

She was Treadwell’s close friend since 1985 and co-founder of Grizzly People (the foundation still runs and looks to protect bears and their natural habitats). But she claims Treadwell once said to her:

“‘If I die, if something happens to me, make that movie. You make it. You show them.’ I thought that Werner Herzog could definitely do that.”

We hope the public memory of Treadwell will be of someone who was a good person. He was very troubled, no doubts, and misguided and selfish. But well-meaning and likeable.

Herzog discusses this to greater effect than we ever can in the documentary. He immersed himself in Treadwell’s world. The result is this outstanding piece of work which remains a masterpiece.

On a random note, when interviewed about the film in 2006 by film critic Dr. Mark Kermode, Herzog was shot with an air rifle. On other occasions he’s had “fans” visit his office and attempt to kill him.

Dr. Kermode continues to reference this incident decades later (as you would) on Kermode & Mayo’s Take and his other media appearances.

For Herzog, it seemed like another crazy moment in a life packed with many others.