Sigourney Weaver, Bryan Brown, Julie Harris

Sigourney Weaver more than earned her Oscar nomination for Best Actress in Gorillas in the Mist, dominating every frame of Michael Apted's biopic about primatologist Dian Fossey. Tenderly moth...( read more  read more... )ering an orphaned gorilla infant or terrorizing an African poacher with a staged lynching, the statuesque star is never less than fiercely focused, a glamorous warrior for animal rights. As the amateur scientist who researched and spotlighted Rwanda's endangered mountain gorillas in National Geographic, Weaver is the passionate heart that keeps an otherwise flaccid film alive--whether bracing anthropologist Louis Leakey to forcibly offer her services as census-taker of the mountain gorillas; or hanging out with the noble animals until she becomes the first person on record to make friendly physical contact with them; or waging sometimes-physical war on natives and Europeans who decimate the gorillas for trophies or zoo fodder. Unfortunately, the film's stodgy script and direction simply document Fossey's magnificent obsession, offering no insight into what lonely impulse of the soul led this extraordinary woman to climb up an African mountain to bond so strongly with gorillas. Cardboard characters include an eternally smiling, sexless African soulmate (John Omirah Miluwi), a perfect boyfriend (Bryan Brown) who has to be dumped in favor of gorilla-love, and stereotypical villains. Still, the African scenery is spectacular, and who can resist the cross-species thrill when the huge dark hand of Digit, Fossey's favorite, first rests in her outstretched palm? Gorillas in the Mist will please those who savor Sigourney Weaver's Amazonian fervor and the pure fire of her physical and spiritual passion--and harbor a slightly misanthropic fondness for liaisons between beauties and beasts. --Kathleen Murphy

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73% liked it

9,917 ratings

PG-13, 150 min.

Directed by: Michael Apted

Release Date: September 23, 1988

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DVD Release Date: April 13, 1999

Stats: 691 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (691)


  • September 29, 2009
    Good, well balanced biopic, one of Sigourney Weaver's best performances!
  • June 10, 2008
    God, I was so in love with Sigourney as a kid...
  • December 17, 2007
    the gatekeeper saves some gorilla ass and plays the bird that went a bit looney towards the end with enthusiasm. if you don't like seeing cruelty to animals... e.g. you don't eat KFC because of it... i wouldn't advise watching this film. just GO AWAY! KFC tastes good! anyway, it'...( read more)s absorbing to see all these apes moochin' about the place and even if the film weren't anything brilliant it's still worth watching for APE-CAM value!!!
  • December 3, 2007
    nice biopic vehicle for Weaver. recommended for all.
  • November 29, 2007
    On a par with Mighty Joe Young, I love these gorilla movies.
  • October 23, 2009
    didnt care for it ..
  • October 17, 2009
    This is a true life based film about animal rights activist and scientist Dian Fossey. The film stars Sigourney Weaver as Fossey. The film has a solid story about Fossey's struggle to study and protect the gorillas in Africa from poachers. Sigourney Weaver gives a great performa...( read more)nce. I can see why she got nominated for a Oscar. A film that shows the dedication and struggles one must do to protect something. Well worth a watch.
  • October 5, 2009
    this made me cry so bad :(
  • October 1, 2009
    that was an excellent movie. It was amazing to see how people can communicate with gorillas. Loved it !!!!!!!
  • September 25, 2009
    Sirourney Weaver in a very good performanse in a film about Africa and gorillas. I like photography a lot.

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Gorillas in the Mist: The Story o... Trivia


  • Gorillas in the Mist - The story of Dian Fossey was primarily shot in______.  Answer »
  • Sigourney Weaver was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Gorilla's In The Mist : The Story Of Dian Fossey ?   Answer »

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