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Gorillas in the Mist

by Guber-Peters Company, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures

Synopsis

Amid the deep greens and dappled sunlight of a cloud forest in Rwanda, a family of mountain gorillas is at leisure and play.

Sitting with them is a woman who mimics their movements, pretends to chew leaves and gains the acceptance of the group’s dominant silverback. That woman is Dian Fossey.

The remarkable adventure of pioneering primatologist Fossey unfolds in this film directed by Michael Apted and shot mainly in the Rwandan habitat of the Mountain gorillas. Diane Fossey was a charismatic and commanding figure, driven by a single-mindedness that proved to be both her strength and her undoing.

Reviews

Sigourney Weaver gives a towering, Oscar caliber performance in Michael Apted’s biopic about courageous anthropologist Dian Fossey who devoted and risked her to save Africa’s vanishing breed.

– Emanuel Levy

It’s hard to make a concrete declaration when Ellen Ripley is right there on the resume, but it’s likely that Sigourney Weaver’s greatest performance can be found in Gorillas in the Mist.

– Film Frenzy, Matt Brunson

Awards

1989 Academy Awards, USA
5 Oscar Nominations including Best Actress, Sigourney Weaver
Best Writing, Anna Hamilton Phelan

1990 BAFTA Awards
Nominated for Best Cinematography, John Seale & Alan Root

& 6 other Awards and Nominations including:
Two Golden Globes

Credits

Sigourney Weaver
Dian Fossey
Bryan Brown
Bob Campbell
Julie Harris
Roz Carr
John Omirah Miluwi
Sembagare
Iain Cuthbertson
Dr. Louis Leakey
Constantin Alexandrov
Van Veeten
Waigwa Wachira
Mukara
Iain Glen
Brendan
David Lansbury
Larry
Maggie O’Neill
Kim
Konga Mbandu
Rushemba
Michael J. Reynolds
Howard Dowd
Gordon Masten
Photographer
Peter Nduati
Batwa chief
Helen Fraser
Mme. Van Vecten
Director
Michael Apted
Writers
Harold T.P. Hayes
Dian Fossey
Anna Hamilton Phelan
Tab Murphy
Producers
Terence A. Clegg
Arne Glimcher
Cinematography
John Seale


Photos


Heartbreaking… a must-see.