No Grizzly Adams

Grizzly Adams was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid in the late 70s, so when I heard about the documentary Grizzly Man I was all set for an Adams-like hero. Not quite ...

Grizzly Man is about a guy who spent 13 summers living among the bears in Alaska only to be eaten by one. (This is not a spoiler since the whole movie is about his death.) This guy, Treadwell, is a far cry from Adams -- mostly because he's crazy. And by that I mean crazy as a loon, crack-attack crazy, and crazy mo-fo. He's a really bizarre fellow who has a unique sense of purpose in the film. It's actually a fascinating documentary because of the combination of his strange personality, a more sobering perspective on Treadwell offered by German director and narrator Werner Herzog, and the stunning footage of Alaska and the wildlife shot by Treadwell.

Treadwell talks a lot about the dangers of living among the bears, often in a boastful, self-important way. But you get the feeling that he never really believed that he was in danger so the build-up to his death is still creepy even though you know it's coming. For me the really sad part was that his girlfriend died in the attack as well. It sounded like she was on the verge of leaving him, but her timing just wasn't right.