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Friday Night Documentary Ends in Death
By John Marrone
Feb 2, 2006, 14:59

Wasn't interested in this "Grizzly Man" feature documentary on Discovery until I read about how it all ends up.  If you're in the mood for some serious, educational programming with a horror-movie-ending-twist, tune into Discovery at 8pm eastern time, Friday night, to witness the story of a man who lived amongst the grizzlies, only to end up being eaten alive along with his girlfriend.   Here's the story that grabbed my attention, as it printed in the NY Post.

IF you missed "Grizzly Man," the wild Werner Herzog/Discovery wildlife/wildman documentary when it played in theaters last year, then run, walk and crawl to your TV set Friday night, because chances are better than good you won't see anything like it anytime soon. It's culled from over 100 hours of footage taken by Timothy Treadwell, a misguided animal activist who lived among the grizzlies for 13 summers before one of them finally got fed up and fed well — on Treadwell.

Not to be flip, but the man, as recorded by his own camera in the Alaskan wilderness, was out there. Really out there. Unlike Jane Goodall, whose documentaries were all about the apes, Treadwell's footage (as edited by Herzog, at any rate) seems more about him — wildman among the wild beasts. This is not to diminish Treadwell's incredible life in the wild — living, breathing and finally dying for the giant bears. His wilderness footage and up-close images of the bears fighting, living and hunting — probably the first time such a feat has ever been accomplished — is astounding.

What separates this film from other nature documentaries, aside from its grizzly end, is Treadwell himself. Talk about an intriguing weirdo. He constantly talks to the camera as though he were an actor playing an adventurer as opposed to the real-life adventurer that he was. What also sets this film apart is Herzog's interviews with Treadwell's family and friends — as well as the local coroner who had to deal with the half-eaten carcasses of Treadwell and his girlfriend.

From strangesports.com - an image of a real death via Grizzly Bear

None of these people seem real. They come across like bad actors, or worse — real people reading scripts — badly. Fascinating, odd, riveting.