Grizzly (1976)
Around the World with Grizzly
Original Posters and Advertisments
The Movie
The seventies showed us a time when horror movies were starting to make an impact with audiences. The Exorcist terrorized its
way into theatres with its shocking depiction of how evil and Alien frightened audiences with its now famous 'Chestbuster' scene.
Another hit film titled Jaws swam into theatres in the summer of '75. Never before had a monster flick made such an impact
ith society. Grossing millions of dollars, Jaws became one of the biggest cash cows of the year.
While everyone was staying away from the beaches another group of filmmakers were trooping through the forrest to show the
world their own take on the Jaws phenomenon. The movie was Grizzly.
In all honesty I hadn't seen Grizzly before November 2006. I had read about it on message boards and many claimed it was a
well-made film with its roots deep in Jaws. I can't agree more.
While it has a similar storyline to Jaws, Grizzly takes its own root featuring an 18-foot Grizzly bear, blood n' guts, and many gruesome
kills. Sure there are the similar characters, the hunters, the obnoxious park ranger who doesn't want to close the park and the hero
who journeys to kill the beast.
One thing I noticed was the amount of gore in the film. I'm surprised the MPAA allowed this to pass with a PG. Many times the bear rips
off victims limbs, tears at faces and claws at the back. The blood goes flying!
The bear himself is a great character. Having an actual bear featured in many scenes was both an easier and more effective way. During
the attacks there is a fake arm or two used for the actual clawing. In the documentary located on Disc Two, the filmmakers note how
an electrified wire fence had to be placed in betweem the actors and the live bear. So naturally a full size artificial bear is used for close
up interaction with victims but the puppet is used sparingly. Overall the bear was great and in a way he holds his own against
Bruce the Shark.
The cinematography is brilliant. The long shots of the forrest use the full anamorphic lens to their full potential. Girdler has a good idea
of where to place the camera. I haven't seen the Pan and Scan version but I can only assume it's terrible.
The DVD
Originally released in the late 90s on a "bear-bones" (hehehe) fullscreen release, Shriek Show, a division of Media Blasters, has
granted Grizzly fans a 30th Anniversary 2-Disc Special Edition. So let's take a look and see if it does the film justice.
Menus:
Disc One:
Disc Two:
Enhanced for 16X9 TVs, the menus, seen above, are easy to follow and include the movie's theme music
Video
Presented in an all-new digitally remastered anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, Grizzly has never looked so good. While
some scenes do exhibit faded colours and blacks, generally I was impressed with how good it looked. There is a lot of dirt and debris
during the title sequence but after that things clear up a bit. Framing looks accurate with no severe loss of picture information. There is a
slight flickering problem that occurs many times throughout the film, especially in darker scenes. At first I though it was a fault of the
transfer but after research I found out that it is because of the type of camera that was used. Apparently the few films shot with this
type feature the exact same flicker problem so this was there during the theatrical premiere and it's here again.
Audio
Grizzly is presented in its original 2.0 mono track. Not much to say about it. It is free of hiss and distortion. No crackling and popping
either. It would've been nice having a 5.1 upgrade but I would rather have no 5.1 then no original audio.
Special Features
Disc One:
Audio Commentary:
This newly recorded audio commentary features producer/screenwriter David Sheldon and actress Joan McCall, Moderator Walt Olsen
is there to ask questions of the duo and keep everything on track. It is a track that's worth listening too, it's just too bad you can't hear
them all very well. They discuss their memories, what it was like working with a live bear, Girdler and more.
Original Trailer:
This seems more like an advertisement for the film on a home video but what do I know.
Disc Two:
Original 1976 Promotional Featurette:
First up on Disc 2 is an 8 minute promo featurette sourced from a worn out VHS. There's a few good moments of on-set footage
with the bear and director William Girlder.
Jaws with Claws:
This great 36 minute documentary newly produced for this DVD features, again, Sheldon and McCall along with writer/producer
Harvey Flaxman, and actor Andrew Prine. There's some great stories to be told hear, from script writing, influences from Jaws,
working with the bear and how he was controlled via food-on-a-stick and electric fences.
Sheldon almost loses it when he retells the way in which his good friend director William Girdler passed (helicopter crash) and
all other participants recollect what it was like working with the late Girdler. Even more interesting is the legal battles the film crew
fought after against the film's production company. In short, they won and so does this documentary
Poster and Photo Gallery:
Features mostly posters including some of the ones included in this review.
Reflections of Grizzly:
This short feature is from a 2005 showing of the film. Shot on a digital video camera, some fans are interviewed and they
talk about how they love the film and how great it was seeing it all these years later.
Trailers:
There are some promo trailers for other movies Shriek Show has released.
Final Thoughts
With its focus primarily on terror, Grizzly provides what it sets out to do. While it may not be as memorable as Jaws,
it certainly is a great flick to sit back and watch late one night.
Shriek Show and Media Blasters has done one hell of a job remastering and creating new special features in this
great 30th anniversary 2-disc special edition.
Movie: 7/10
Video: 7/10
Audio: 6/10
Extras: 7/10
