Gorillas in the Mist

Gorillas in the Mist
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Apted
Screenplay by	Anna Hamilton Phelan
Story by	Anna Hamilton Phelan Tab Murphy
Based on	Gorillas in the Mist byDian Fossey
Produced by	Arne Glimcher Terence A. Clegg
Starring	Sigourney Weaver Bryan Brown
Cinematography	John Seale
Edited by	Stuart Baird
Music by	Maurice Jarre
Production company	The Guber-Peters Company
Distributed by	Universal Pictures(North America) Warner Bros.(International)
Release date	September 23, 1988(1988-09-23)
Running time	129 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$22 million
Box office	$61.1 million

Gorillas in the Mistis a 1988 Americanbiographicaldramafilm directed byMichael Aptedfrom a screenplay byAnna Hamilton Phelanand a story by Phelan andTab Murphy.The film is based on abook of the same namebyDian Fosseyand the article byHarold T. P. Hayes.It starsSigourney Weaveras naturalist Dian Fossey andBryan Brownas photographerBob Campbell.It tells the story of Fossey, who came toAfricato study the vanishingmountain gorillas,and later fought to protect them.

The film was theatrically released in the United States byUniversal Pictureson September 23, 1988. At the61st Academy Awards,it earned five nominations, includingBest Actressfor Weaver andBest Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.The film wonBest Actress in a Motion Picture – Dramafor Weaver andBest Original Scorefor Jarre at the46th Golden Globe Awards,where it was also nominated forBest Motion Picture – Drama.

Plot

Occupational therapistDian Fosseyis inspired by anthropologistLouis Leakeyto devote her life to the study of primates. She writes ceaselessly to Leakey for a job cataloging and studying the raremountain gorillasofAfrica.Following him to a lecture inLouisville, Kentuckyin 1966, she convinces him of her conviction.

They travel to theCongo,where Leakey and his foundation equip her to make contact with the gorillas, and introduce her to a local animal tracker, Sembagare. Settling deep in the jungle, Fossey and Sembagare locate a troop of gorillas, but are displaced by the events of theCongo Crisisand forcibly evicted from their research site by Congolese soldiers, who accuse Fossey of being a foreign spy and agitator.

Fossey is resigned to returning to theUnited States,but Sembagare and her temporary hostRosamond Carrmotivate her to stay in Africa. Fossey establishes new research efforts in the jungles of neighboringRwanda,where rampantpoachingandcorruptionbecome apparent when she discovers several traps near hernew baseat Karisoke. Nevertheless, Fossey and her colleagues make headway with the gorillas, taking account of their communication and social groups. Her work impresses Leakey and gains international attention.

National Geographic,which funds her efforts, dispatches photographerBob Campbellto highlight her research. Fossey, initially unreceptive, grows increasingly attached to Campbell after several photo sessions with the gorillas, and the two become lovers, in spite of Campbell's marriage. Campbell proposes to divorce his wife and marry Fossey but insists that she would have to spend time away from Karisoke and her gorillas, leading her to end their relationship. Fossey forms an emotional bond with a gorilla named Digit, and attempts to prevent the export of other gorillas by trader Van Vecten.

Appalled by the poaching of the gorillas for their skins, hands, and heads, Fossey complains to theRwandan governmentand is dismissed, but a government minister (Waigwa Wachira) promises to hire an anti-poaching squad. Fossey's frustrations reach a climax when Digit is beheaded by poachers. She leads numerous anti-poaching patrols, burns down the poachers' villages, and even stages a mock execution of one of the offenders, serving to alienate some of her research assistants and gaining her various enemies. Sembagare expresses concern at Fossey’s opposition to the emergent industry of gorilla tourism, but she nonchalantly dismisses his worries.

On December 27, 1985, Dian Fossey is murdered in the bedroom of her cabin by an unseen assailant. At a funeral attended by Sembagare, Carr, and others, she is buried in the same cemetery where Digit and other gorillas had been laid to rest. Sembagare symbolically links the graves of Fossey and Digit with stones as a sign that their souls rest in peace together before leaving.

The epilogue text explains that Fossey’s actions helped save the gorillas from extinction, while her death remains a mystery.

Cast

• Sigourney WeaverasDian Fossey
• Bryan BrownasBob Campbell
• Julie HarrisasRoz Carr
• John Omirah Miluwi as Sembagare
• Iain Cuthbertsonas Dr.Louis Leakey
• Constantin Alexandrov as Van Vecten
• Waigwa Wachira as Mukara
• Iain Glenas Brendan
• David Lansbury as Larry
• Maggie O'Neillas Kim
• Konga Mbandu as Rushemba
• Michael J. Reynoldsas Howard Dowd
• Gordon Masten as the Photographer
• Peter Nduati as Batwa chief
• Helen Fraseras Mme. Van Vecten
• John Alexander as Digit
• Peter Elliottas Simba
• Denise Cheshire as Mime Artist
• Antonio Hoyos as Mime Artist
• Jody St. Michael as Mime Artist
• David Maddockas himself

Reception

Box office

Gorillas in the Miststarted an exclusive run on 15 screens on September 23, 1988 and grossed $366,925.It expanded to 558 screens the following weekend and was the number one film for the weekend with a gross of $3,451,230.The film went on to gross $24,720,479 in the United States and Canada and $36,429,000 internationally for a worldwide total of $61,149,479.

Critical response

The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising both Weaver's performance and the technical accomplishments of the movie while some were frustrated by the lack of depth in Fossey's on-screen characterization. On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,84% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10.

Hal HinsonofThe Washington Postdeclared, "At last, [Weaver] may have found a part cut to her scale", adding "it's a great role for her to pour herself into, and she doesn't skimp."However, he had his misgivings about the restrictions placed on Fossey's character: "The chief problem withGorillas in the Mistis that it banalizes its heroine; it turns her into one of us. And by all accounts Fossey was anything but ordinary. "He also accused the filmmakers of toning down Fossey's unstable mental state: "Fossey was more than merely eccentric...The movie hints at these aspects of her character but tries to soften them;...the filmmakers have done more than sanitize Fossey's life, they've deprived it of any meaning." Hinson concluded that "Gorillas in the Mistisn't a terrible film, but it is a frustrating one. "

WhileRoger Ebertwas also happy with the casting of Weaver as Fossey ( "It is impossible to imagine a more appropriate choice for the role" ), he felt the character was too distanced from the audience and that her development and motives were unclear.He wrote that the film "tells us what Dian Fossey accomplished and what happened to her, but it doesn't tell us who she was, and at the end that's what we want to know."However, Ebert was impressed by the scenes with the gorillas and the way live footage of gorillas was seamlessly blended with gorilla costumes byRick Baker:"Everything looked equally real to me, and the delicacy with which director Michael Apted developed the relationships between woman and beast was deeply absorbing. There were moments when I felt a touch of awe. Those moments, which are genuine, make the movie worth seeing."Hinson also agreed that "whenever the cameras turn on the gorillas — who are the film's true stars — you feel you're witnessing something truly great."

Accolades

Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
Academy Awards	Best Actress	Sigourney Weaver	Nominated
	Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium	Anna Hamilton PhelanandTab Murphy	Nominated
	Best Film Editing	Stuart Baird	Nominated
	Best Original Score	Maurice Jarre	Nominated
	Best Sound	Andy Nelson,Brian Saunders,andPeter Handford	Nominated
British Academy Film Awards	Best Cinematography	John Seale	Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress	Sigourney Weaver	Nominated
Genesis Awards	Best Feature Film		Won
Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Drama		Nominated
	Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama	Sigourney Weaver	Won
	Best Original Score – Motion Picture	Maurice Jarre	Won
Golden Reel Awards	Best Sound Editing – Foreign Feature		Won
Jupiter Awards	Best International Actress	Sigourney Weaver	Won
National Board of Review Awards	Top Ten Films		9th Place
Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium	Anna Hamilton Phelan and Tab Murphy	Nominated

External links

• Gorillas in the MistatIMDb
• Gorillas in the Mistat theTCM Movie Database
• Gorillas in the MistatAllMovie
• Gorillas in the MistatBox Office Mojo