The enduring legacy of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man, documentary released 20 years ago
Herzog injected himself into the grizzly story of bear ‘protector’ Timothy Treadwell’s death in one of the best documentaries of its type
This is the latest instalment in our From the Vault feature series, in which we reflect on culturally significant movies celebrating notable anniversaries.
In the early 2000s, buoyed by the success of Bowling for Columbine (2002) and Super Size Me (2004), documentary films became something people might actually watch. The key, it seemed, was having a larger-than-life filmmaker such as Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock front and centre.
For Grizzly Man (2005), which turns 20 this month, German director Werner Herzog inserted himself into the story – none too gently – to create one of the most striking cinematic essays of the era.
Treadwell – not his real name – spent 13 summers living among the bears of Katmai National Park in southern Alaska. He risked his safety to film hundreds of hours of footage, in the process coming to see himself as the bears’ protector.