Gorillas in the Mist

Original title: Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey

1988
15
2h 9m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

30K

YOUR RATING

Sigourney Weaver in Gorillas in the Mist (1988)

Theatrical Trailer from Universal Pictures

Play trailer2:03

1 Video

99+ Photos

Docudrama Jungle Adventure Biography Drama

The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

30K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 5 Oscars
- 6 wins & 10 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:03

Gorillas in the Mist

Photos113

+ 107

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Universal and Warner Bros. were both making biopics of Dian Fossey at the same time, and both were competing to gain access to film gorillas in Rwanda. The Rwandan government refused access to film the gorillas until the two studios could come to an agreement. At that point, Warner and Universal decided to merge their two projects into a single film.

Goofs
Dian did not try to convince Leakey to send her to Africa, nor did she volunteer to remove her appendix, quite the opposite: In 1966, Leakey contacted Fossey and urged her to study gorillas in the wild as an experiment. At first Fossey was reluctant citing her lack of experience, but eventually agreed upon further coercion. To test her enthusiasm Leakey asked Fossey to have her appendix removed in the pretense of health measures which she then did.

Quotes
Dian Fossey: Get off my mountain!

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Gorillas in the Mist/Patty Hearst/Sweet Hearts Dance/Miles from Home/Dead Ringers (1988)

Soundtracks
September in the Rain
Written by Harry Warren & Al Dubin
Performed by Peggy Lee
Courtesy of Ray Avery's Jazz Archives

User reviews75

Review

Featured review

7/10

Dian Fossey, guerilla conservationist

Biopic seems to be the go-to description for "Gorillas in the Mist", but that's a misconception. It only focuses on Fossey's time in the mountains of Africa, and there's an awful lot of material that's glossed over (character motivations, primarily). It's a frustrating script in that respect.

But the movie succeeds where it has to, mainly in the scenes with Sigourney Weaver (superb in the role) spending time with the gorillas and earning their trust. Weave exudes tremendous heart, and despite the movie's problems, it can be extremely touching.

It's a testament to her talent.

7/10