One time Werner Herzog spoke at our university and his advice to the film students was to steal the school’s cameras. Legend.

Yo. That shot where Timothy is swimming with the bear, then reaches out to pet it, and it whips its head violently around as if to say "WHOAAAH WHAT THE FUCK?!", that is insane.

This video essay, by Big Joel, centers around the figure of Grizzly Bear, a movie by Herzog. Most of the essay is Big Joel arranging, curating and commenting on the movie. Big Joel and Herzog probably never met in real life, but the essay acts as a meeting ground, a place for the two men to connect through the art of film making...

Speaking as a professional bear biologist who spent many a summer living in the same areas that Treadwell did, knowing the same bears, etc: He did not die because he loved bears, but because he had an exaggerated belief in his own ability to control aggressive bears through his own "alpha" body language -- much as Nikita Osyanikov (spelled phonetically) did with polar bears on Wrangle Island (NE off the coast of Siberia). Tim was killed during a salmon shortage when dominant adult males, that normally avoid people, came to Kaflia Creek where Tim camped. This was the only place even a few salmon could be caught that fall. Tim didn't like these big males hogging all the fish, so that a female with cub that Tim liked could not get fish. So Tim kept running at the big males to drive them away. It worked in the short term because Tim as treated as an obnoxious cub by those males. But tolerance has limits. Herzog not only manipulated the audience as Big Joel claims, but Herzog sequenced Tim's footage to make it appear as thought Tim was increasingly losing touch with reality. In fact, Tim was becoming more and more sane and savvy. He was toning down his eccentricities -- as would have been obvious had the footage been played in chronological order. In the film, Tim's "Eco-Samuri" routine on camera was NOT his normal behavior. He was doing a character sketch in lieu of an audition to try to get a job on a TV show (he tried but failed to get a role on Cheers). In other words, Tim was acting; he was portraying a character which even he knew was a caricature. Some bears ignored him or merely tolerated him, just as they did with me and subsequently with thousands of bear viewers who visit the Katmai coast nearly every day during summers. You can do the same thing through Katmai Coastal Bear Tours 1800-532-8338, which is run by John Rogers who also knew Tim well. Note that I was the first biologist to study Katmai bears (1972, while mentored by Fred Dean, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks) and have been studying their behavior and ecology for decades. I've have far more than 10,000 close encounters without being harmed. Some bear viewing guides at McNeil and Katmai have had several times that many close encounters without anyone being harmed by a bear. For more about how one really deals with bears on the coast of Alaska read WHEN BEARS WHISPER, DO YOU LISTEN? and THE ALASKA MAGNUM BEAR SAFETY MANUAL, and BEAUTY WITHIN THE BEAST -- books which I wrote as texts for my courses on Bears and Bear Safety for the Univ. of Alaska. Also consult the website of the Bear Viewing Assoc. www.bear-viewing-in-alaska.info. Stephen F. Stringham, PhD - Director Bear Communication & Coexistence Research Program.

I actually went to a talk Herzog gave at my university some years ago, and interestingly he sort of confirmed that this is what he was doing on Grizzly Man. About the scene at the end where the pilot is singing along with the "Coyotes" song, Herzog said something like, "People tell me, 'That was such a great moment that you captured!' and I tell them, 'No - it was a great moment that I staged.'"

So basically I watched a narrator give his interpretation of a narrator giving his interpretation of a narrator giving his interpretation of bears.

Beautiful essay, though one thing: the film is less "two men talking", and more like "one man calling, one man responding". A conversation would suggest it was a two-way discussion btwn Werner and his subject... it wasn't. It may sound like just semantics, but those two modes of communication fundamentally change the relationship (perceived or actual) between the two men (namely Werner is in more danger of projecting his own ideas onto the subject). Just a thought!

In the early 2000s I worked for a documentary production company, interviewing people around the world for a series about historical disasters. What struck me about people in the U.S. was that they sounded a great deal like the coroner in Grizzly Man - stilted, camera-ready (or so they thought), always trying to fit their words to the show that was playing in their minds. The country was filled with Treadwells who had internalized the language of reality television. There was a real jolt of recognition when I watched Grizzly Man for the first time.

My aunt and uncle were fish and game officials at McNiel River who knew Tim personally. They respected his intentions, but were very much aware of and concerned due to the danger he was throwing himself into. They, like many other bear experts/authorities in Alaska, made numerous attempts to persuade him into using a safer approach, but Tim refused the advice. Treadwell's death was deeply upsetting to them, but they were not surprised. I always have wondered if they were among the people Treadwell verbally denounced in his later memoirs after his own mental state had deteriorated.

Honestly this was incredible. Your observations regarding the film makers talking to each other through "the camera's gaze" are so original and wonderful to engage with. You yourself and your meta-commentary now add a 3rd "conversation" among the many more your viewers will have in their heads. Absolutely great work, you've won a new fan.

Great video, finally something that doesn’t dwell on the macabre death of Treadwell. Instead, it dwells on the artistic aspects of the film. Well done.

Tim knew what he was doing. His altruistic "protector of the bears" thing was always a BS ruse that he told himself and others to justify his behavior. The dopamine and adrenaline from living amongst, interacting with, and documenting the bears had become his new high. He no longer needed drugs because the bears were his new drugs. And he finally OD'd on them. I think he would have preferred dying by bear, as his pilot friend mentioned; he would've preferred that Olie got his winter meal and left to den for the winter. It's just tragic that his arrogance caused him to drag Amy and two other bears down with him. Glad you mentioned how off-putting the coroner is, almost as if he was really an actor. Also didn't appreciate how Herzog reveals that the audio of their deaths was chronicled, yet he dangles it in front of our faces like some forbidden fruit, never to be released to the public. Though overall, one of my favorite documentaries on a macabre cautionary tale about the dangers of breaking the barrier between man and wild beast.

So- Timothy Treadwell didn't just get eaten by a bear, he worked extremely hard for that outcome. He had left Alaska at the end of September around hibernation time, and then came back to Alaska impulsively after getting into an argument with an airline employee. He came back at a dangerous time. The bears who had been acclimated to him were in hibernation, and a hungry and unfamiliar bear had come to his camping area. He deliberately attempted to interact with the bear despite its aggression. When it came to his camp that night to eat him, instead of practicing self-defense, he left the tent to personally confront the bear, as if the power of his personality and no self-defense measures or weapons would be sufficient. It was that protracted interaction with an unfamiliar, hostile, and hungry bear during pre-hibernation that led to him being eaten. Bears very rarely eat people, as his 13 years is a testament. You have to work really hard at doing everything wrong to end up bear food.

Dude, great job on this video. This is probably my favorite from you yet. Really love how you broke down the grizzly man himself with his prepared "spontaneous" footage that created his narrative as well as Herzog's approach to create communication between filmmakers and provide contrast as well. Keep it up, youre doing great.

He has the right heart with a wrong mind. Doing this for 13 years is a real dedication to admire of

This is by far the best dissertation of this quixotic movie that I have ever seen. Thank you.

I loved this movie and it inspired me as an artist to actually travel to Alaska to study, photograph, and film wild Grizzly Bears! I even had some of the photographs I took of bears on my trip to Alaska exhibited at MORA (Museum of Russian Art)! This film has become part of my life in a way! I will never forget "Grizzly Man", Werner Hertzoz, and most of all, the amazing Timothy Treadwell!

Proof, Bears are patient animals.

Dude, what a phenomenal video essay. Brilliantly read, edited, really enjoyable. Plus, I hadn't heard of this film but it sounds fascinating, looking forward to watching it. I love the idea of a "friction" between spontaneous footage and prepared footage, it feels like the movie is a cohesive "whole", instead of the interviews jarring with the handheld footage.

I especially feel horrible for Amie. She died horrifically at the paws of the creature she feared the most (she had a phobia of bears).

Grizzly Man is like 'The Beginner's Guide' but unironically.

I'm just surprised it took the bears 13 years to eat him.

One thing that I will mention as a film-writer, I think the film, on one hand, is so authentic and genuine that it can't possibly be conceived by any human mind, but only by happy accident. As Herzog pointed out in the film, even nature sometimes presented such beautiful scenes that no Hollywood film could duplicate. On the other hand, I think Herzog showed how human interaction with such "untouched" nature (both referring to nature itself and the 100+ hours of raw footage that Timothy shot) changes the narrative of what's real. I think the underlying point that Herzog was getting at is that humans always insert our own story into what is natural, whether right or wrong... but that is the purpose of film-making; it is to present both truth and opinion and do such in a personal, artistic way. If Timothy never shot a minute of film in his adventures, or, if Werner Herzog never decided to make a documentary on him using said footage, hardly any of us would know who Timothy Treadwell was, much less have a conversation about who he was, what he stood for, what problems he may or may not have, and what his legacy is leaving behind. This is the truth about cinema: there is a story to be told for us to learn more about who we are as humans and how we find ourselves in a world that we know is bigger than ourselves, and the purpose of great cinema is to get us conversing about things that we normally wouldn't without it. Grizzly Man is a beautiful but tragic story of when a person arguably crosses the line between man and nature (Fabrication versus truth) and does not understand / respect the line between the two. Werner Herzog makes it apparent that Timothy Treadwell crosses lines that Herzog does not think should have been crossed, but at the same time, showcasing the nearly unhindered reality during such acts through the remaining footage that no one could ever replicate on any stage or movie set, both in the raw emotion in Timothy and the scenery behind him. The movie, purposely, bends the line between what is real, and what is fictionalized, and warns about the dangers of doing so, even though it is tantalizing to make our fantasies reality like Timothy Treadwell did. This, I believe is the reason for this movie existing, and this is an important conversation for us to have, not only as filmmakers, but as people.

still one of my favorite Big Joel videos

My tag line on deviantart is literally “some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you”. I chose it because bears are incredibly important to me (I’ve gotten Christmas presents that were other people donating to building bear sanctuaries & I LOVED IT). Despite this, I’ve never expected that a bear would love me. The wild ones should be left completely alone & captive bears should be “freed” into properly sized & staffed sanctuaries. I’d give my life to protect a bear’s habitat but I’m not going to feed one my arm because a bear is hungry. I don’t know if any of that makes sense, I just think people have no respect

It's sad what happened to him. I think he meant well but if you truly love and respect nature just respect and admire. If you need food just take what you need and show the kill reverence and thank it. Again, he meant well but paid dearly for his unnatural alliance with predatory creatures.

I think my favorite part of the movie was when they said, "sometimes he captured beautiful moments without even realizing." They then showed a shaky camera that was blurred

timothy treadwell needed friends and family surrounding him when he switched to becoming a bear-man. he is by nature an extrovert he should be around people to confirm his insecurities. he definitely had a very unrealistic animated view on animals in general.

"...he had an exaggerated belief in his own ability..." and it eventually got him killed. Unfortunately, it also got someone else killed.

I'll never get tired of this Doc. Saw it since it came out. Downloaded a ton of movies in the early 2000's.

"This morticians candor reeks of artificiality. He's so weirdly upbeat, so oddly stilted. So aware of the camera's presence.." Sir you inadvertently summed up Californians in general...

You are quickly becoming one of my favorite KZfaq channels. Good job!

Get the friying pan! She was yelling at him to fight back, this was sad!

You think as the bear was tearing him apart he was regretting every life decision that led him to that moment? I know I couldn't imagine the pain that guy was going through. What a hell of a way to go. Wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy.

This guy.. I feel sorry for him really.. He was very delusional, thinking he was soo much but he was only human. I have seen most of his videos and he is clearly living in a fantasy world were he is the hero. To bad he had to bring his girlfriend into his madness in that time of the year the bears are preparing for their hybernation.. R.i.p his gf..

Big Joel's voice is so soothing.

I know this video is like 5 years old but Herzog is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time. I would love to hear another video about one of his movies. into the inferno, fireball, cave of forgotten dreams, and even the most unknown which he advised on, just to name a few. he has such a conversational voice in his documentaries and I find his speech so earnest and authentic. I know you have so many topics to consider making videos on but I would love an analysis of Herzog's voice and work ❤️

I'm watching a video about a guy who made a video about a guy's videos. And you're reading my comment about it.

I embrace both of their works. This documentary was very moving and well done.

The real job for Tim was at home protesting against bears in captivity. Bears live in the wild, people live in the town. It is cruel to put bears in a zoo.

I saw this Treadwell series a few years ago. Your analysis is very well-done, Joel. By the way, if you want to explore this notion more concerning the distinction between historical facts and truth, look into what the ancient Greek historian Thucydides writes about his own presentation of Pericles' funeral oration.

Suggesting Herzog lied about the number of clips with Amy is petty.

Tim would have been a much happier man and likely still alive if he would have come to terms with his homosexuality and accepted who and what he was. I think Herzog did a disservice to the guy. I feel sorry for the woman who died with him, she was more than a bear victim. Leave the bears alone. Keep the tourists away from them. Let them be bears.

Loved this viewpoint. Loved the piano, the clips of Herzog, the ideas, and providing a different viewpoint beyond a biography. "Here we get to see them talking." So nice!

The film was a directorial ode to Treadwell - in that Herzog embodied the characteristics, style, motivations and flaws of Timothy and he honours him magnificently, warts and all, in doing so. Herzog was right not to include the (audio) recording of the attack.

Man, great job on this! I'm glad KZfaq exists so talented people like yourself can share with us!

Nope I'm Good. Bears literally look like big huge demons with those soulless eyes that just are focused on feeding on me. I can't comprehend how terrifying existing must've been for early humans.

Maybe the audio should be released so that people will stop thinking they could play with wild animals.

cinema bearité

the whole damn thing should've never happened, he should've listened

layer 1: Timothy Treadwell (bear man) | Layer 2: Werner Herzog (director) | layer 3: Big Joel (View Essay Writer/Producer) | ...

TIM made a choice NOT to carry bear mace on his person and in his camp. A decision that cost him and Amy their lives. Camping overnight , late in the season, in a bear sanctuary is very high risk. He knew this and went ahead with his plan anyway. He was, of all people, the one who should have had a back up defence to protect his work as well as his girlfriend against harm. His huberous cost him his life as well as the lives of two of the bears he cared about. The world is NOT a better place without Timothy I deeply appreciate his work and will always wonder what future mysteries Timothy would have brought to light for the world to enjoy - Dave M

I absolutely love the way you look at things, you seem like a very insightful, thoughtful person, and I love your videos.

"Some flies are too awesome for the wall. Documentarians are supposed to be objective, to avoid having any effect on the story. And yet we have more effect than anyone, because we decide to tell it. And we decide how it ends. Will your story be yet another sad one of yet another man who just wanted to be happy? Or will your story acknowledge the very nature of stories, and embrace the fact that sharing the sad ones can sometimes make them happy?" - Abed Nadir

Tim poked & prodded these wild bears too many times. He was a freelancer, not exactly a professional nor specialist. A bear can outrun & out climb most humans. They can take alot of misplaced bullets. Tim thought he was "different" then most people, but he wasn't! He was irresponsible and took his girlfriend to their last supper. For him to say bears have more reason to fear humans? Any apex predator is equipped with killer instinct for survival. When human prey appears, be prepared for it, if the bear is hungry & your presence triggers them.

When they were going to go home they should had left. When Herzog says there are lines we should not cross, we need to humble ourselves and refrain from putting ourselves on pedestals. Not only did he want to be invincible in nature but he wanted to be superior in society sometimes you have to step back.

7 people dislike this. 7 people dislike real life drama, man's battle with and role in nature and the real life internal and external struggles we all face. I know it's kind of cliche to talk about that but I always wonder about those people. Those faceless people who seem to just hate everything. There's always a few.

No matter how crazy he was no one deserves to die like that.

Do a video essay on paddington 2. That movie is so fun and so well executed and a great study in storytelling, pay off, and characters.

It is true. He was in nearly every shot. This may have been about his love for the animals and nature. But,the endgame was his fame that he had received for this carelessness that eventually costed he and his innocent female friend,who openly admitted in the diary she was leaving him and he was on a path of destruction. Remember Tim Treadwell was a guy who claims his life and dreams were destroyed because Woody Harrelson,a trained actor,had got the part in Cheers the Tim,not a trained actor, just as he was not a trained bear handler,or a trained guide for ppl visiting the park,whiihe was paid buy them for him to guide them through the park and probably a grizzly watch ,no doubt, endangering these ppl as well. Yes,he claimed he was a guide at the park and he was not. But, this all stemmed from the part on Cheers he didn't get. So he sank into a deep depression, rather than honing his craft of acting,or even going to school for it. No he started drinking,then he claimed the drinking leaf to harder drugs. It was after he overdosed on Heroin that he was taken to the park by a friend. But, this got him TV shows, David Letterman appearances, notoriety,and money,and yes fame. In the end,the camera was covered,but you can hear exactly what Tim got for his big final payoff. This is a very cautionary tale of a man with serious mental illness. Who by law,time after time was repremended for disobeying park rules. And these rules were made mostly to protect Tim. Instead he took it as them challenging him. No! Tim at a certain point should have been banned for life from the park. And if he broke that rule, he'd go to jail. They couldn't tell that by talking to this guy for five minutes he wasn't a Fruit Loop!? Are you kidding!? I can tell ,and I'm not even a psychiatrist,nor have I studied it. And if you watch his documentary,I am 100% positive everyone would agree he had serious mental illness and was completely out of touch with the real reality of his situation,and nature itself. Sorry so long, I'm just putting that out there for everyone. And I did so because that is the complete 💯 truth of this whole nature. No pun intended.

I would have preferred a less "Werner Herzog Approach" to this film. The events didn't need the touches he gave them, I think they stood on their own. Still worth watching though.

You always put the best music in your stuff. I love your stuff. Please keep it up.

..the irony of Treadwell and Steve Irwin being killed by the very thing they set out to protect...

i've never even SEEN grizzly man and yet this is a very, VERY well-done video. i've always been a cursory fan of documentaries and absolutely love some of the "bigger" players like errol morris but had never gotten around to this one. guess i need to get deeper into the documentary rabbit hole

I've watched this movie several times. It's fantastic. It's beautiful, silly, and sad.

Speaking as a professional human, I would be very upset finding myself around that many bears. As someone who enjoys not being eaten alive I steer clear of bears and I don't care how many degrees in biology you have, when the bear starts attacking you what is your plan, show him your degree and tell him this isn't his nature?

2:40 This guy summed it up best. And this is the only one not emoting for the camera. The rest of the characters, including Herzog, make the grizzly bears look like the superior specie.

Treadwell was destined to become dinner for some hungry bear. Too bad he took his girlfriend with him.

Was looking for videos about this film and found one by one of my favorite KZfaqrs!

The one documentary where the director's thoughts aren't barely in the film? The one about the guy whose thoughts were in a bear...along with the rest of him.

My ex was a documentary film student. We met in 2007, and this film was shown to me, the girlfriend, to get an idea about his world. I was raised in a very strict religious household and had little exposure to media. My ex eventually took to locking me in rooms with films he thought I should see, even though the images scared or disturbed me, even though I was crying. He had gone to India to make a documentary but got addicted to heroin instead. It wasn't until I felt deeply trapped that it became clear to me he was a pedophile. THOUSANDS of images of Russian teenagers. He would give me powerful antipsychotic medication so I would sleep for two days and "stop being jealous". Grizzly Man was always used as an example of what he wanted to produce. Whenever I would point out the tragedy that was Amy's death, I was the bad guy. When I asked him to stop taking pictures of random women on the street without their consent because it was wrong and made me feel ugly, I was told I was "censoring his art". The self absorbed ass really thought that he was both Herzog and Treadwell, that other living things existed for him to "expose" or "display". Leaving him saved my life, but I will never ever date another person who says they are a film maker or documentarian.

This was my favorite of your videos. I’ve been watching you for a long time but just found it today. Very nice work

The ultimate Darwin Award winner! He started as a hippie, turned into a professional pesterer of park rangers and bears alike, and finally became a grizzly's lunch special, many years later than he should have...

that fox so sweet tho.

I bought this the year it came out, and since then I kept putting it off, also for fear that the death scene might be included in the film. Then, yesterday, I gathered the courage and watched it. Thankfully, it wasn't. And it is a great documentary! The message is great: there are boundaries in nature. Tim, not only that he crossed them, but he pretended they don't exist. That he was one of the bears, one of the foxes. He kept on tempting fate, until, fate caught up with him. Keep in mind, he went back at a time when he shouldn't have been there anymore. He also camped so dangerously. He kept on disregarding those rules in nature. Naming those animals do nothing to change those rules. Telling them you loved them, have no effect on them. That fateful day, for that bear, Tim and his girlfriend were no friend, and no foe. They were nothing but a salmon. Sadly, the two bears paid a price for doing nothing other than feeding ahead of hibernation. In death, he took with him two of the animals he claimed to look out for.

that selfish bear killed a selfless man . Tim wanted to protect them and he did it too . but one of the mean bears killed him . RIP timothy . thanks for all your protective measures and teachings . dont feel bad but you should have heard other's advices cause they were right , it was too dangerous and risky .

Even Herzog had a bent, an agenda. Treadwell presented himself fantastically & inauthentic because of it, but Herzog also tints the lens with his own bias. The truth is vastly more complicated. Also, Herzong doesn't bother to express how eccentric the people Timothy surrounded himself with. Most would call them granola munching tree huggers. Most fascinating was the bizarre portrayal of the coroner. Massively creepy. Also the equally weirdness of Timothy's own parents. It was crazy to me that Herzog did not explore why Timorhy was attacked. Those bears are highly unlikely to attack humans. They are in a bountiful environment. What did he do in those moments to step over that line.

The og Grizzly Man graduated from my high school

I know Treadwell wanted to protect them, but him living among them and becoming friendly with them was flat out DISRESPECTFUL to their nature and instinct as bears. They are wild animals and vicious carnivours and built to kill anything smaller than them.

I've watched a lot of your videos, and I think this one might be my favorite. Insightful discussion of the documentary

I truly hoped he still lived ! he’s so passionate about bears 🐻 now they’re together forever but in a different dimension !! great guy !!

Herzog has never held himself out as a traditional documentary filmmaker. I get your points.

I'm absolutely disgusted by people saying he was in the wrong. I believe in human liberty to choose, he made a decision which made him happy, he knew the risks and consciously made a decision to do what he loved, it's sad that those rangers shot the bear who attacked Timothy, no one is responsible for your actions other than you yoursef.

One of the best films ever made.

The crazy guy proved that considering Disney's jungle book a documentary is really dangerous. The victims of his absolute stupidity are the bears that had to be killed (more than 10 they say) and his poor girlfriend.

today I will camp in the middle of one of the trails bears frequently use, what could possibly go wrong?

Brilliant video, really insightful. Just a heads up, you made a very minor error when you say "Timothy and Treadwell both lie about his girlfriend" when you meant "Treadwell and Herzog."

Jewel and the mortician were like a pair of fruitcakes starring in a documentary about a nutcase. Herzog makes some of the best films.

Herzog says that the last footage where Amy appears got to his hands when he was already finishing the documentary, that's why it wasn't mentioned beforehand.

One of the best documentaries ever made.

Thank you Chris

Can we feed the mortition to the bear as well

Lots of line crossing! The man who loved the bears so much he allowed himself to be shat out by one!

When I saw Grizzly Man, I kept thinking - they're putting me on. This is satire, parody - or SOMETHING. The interviews are so hokey and stilted, like something out of SCTV. By the end of it, I was convinced Treadwell is still alive and the whole thing was a stunt.

Reality and delusion are 180 degree apart. When mixed, outcome is deadly.

All the bears loved Timothy... except for one. 🐻

7:19 idk what this body bag is supposed to portray but apparently their bodies were brought back in pieces...

Growing up as a kid with my little brother w've been lucky enough to make friends with a bear! But sometimes,years later,i still miss my little brother...RIP Daniel.

Big Joel: "What can Herzog's editorializing tell us about filmmaking?" Herzog: "What can Treadwell's life and death tell us about nature, the universe and ourselves?" Treadwell: "I like bears."

Thanks. Really enjoyed this analysis