Der Mann in den Bergen

I had just purchased a used copy of"The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams" and I had honestly forgotten just how good this movie was. I had last seen this movie when it was first released in 1974, and I was the young and tender age of nine! That was thirty-two years ago. I had forgotten the simple-but-wonderful storyline. The way that you can almost "feel" the wonder of the mountains through the each of the characters,(I always did love Ben.) and the very relaxing acoustic music score. The breathtaking cinematography almost makes you feel like you're there!I whole-heartedly recommend this movie to anyone, and to Hollywood I ask"why can't you make more movies like this"?

As far as I know, "Life and Times" is only available on old VHS tapes, where no doubt it was a pan-and-scan transfer. That is really too bad. I haven't seen it since it originally came out, when I was 13, and I doubt it would be any major revelation now--at the time it was meandering, episodic, nothing very special but a pleasant family-friendly variation on "Jeremiah Johnson," with Dan Haggerty an appealing presence in the title role.

But what I really remember about it was that while nothing else about the film was all that memorable, the wilderness photography was gorgeous. That's exactly the sort of thing you lose in decades of crappy transfers to TV and VHS without a major studio upgrading the quality of the home-format releases. (And while I have no idea who owns the rights now, they probably aren't interested in making that investment, and god knows Sunn Classics is probably looooooong gone. Particularly since none of their other films seem to have gotten DVD/Blu-Ray treatment, either.) The same year, I also loved another (somewhat better if less commercially successful), "Where the Lilies Bloom," and while you can find that on YouTube easily enough, it's also in sore need of restoration--I remember how stunning the photography of Appalachia was in 1974, and you can't tell that from the existing transfers.

Anyway, I enjoyed the original "Grizzly Adams," but won't risk revisiting it until the unlikely day that somebody puts out a letterboxed digital restoration. Because whatever the film lacked in plot or finesse, it made up for in beautiful photography of spectacular scenery, and I'd hate to see that reduced to pan-and-scan and faded colors.

I LOVED this movie and the TV show as a child in the 1970s. Watched the show with my dad ALL the time, and it still reminds me of him. James "Grizzly" Adams is wrongly accused of murder, and flees into the wilderness to safety. There he saves an orphaned bear cub, who grows up to be Adams' best friend, the lovable Ben. Adams has a special bond with all the wild animals in the forest. They have all kinds of adventures with nature, and a few people here and there. Very innocent movie and TV show (no sex or excessive violence), and it sounds cliché', but they just don't make them like this anymore. I cannot seem to find the 1974 movie in print on DVD, and I would LOVE to. If anyone knows if this is available on DVD anywhere, please post about it. As far as I have found I've only seen old VHS copies for sale, and I don't have a VCR. Catch this movie, TV show, and the conclusion movie "The Capture of Grizzly Adams" if you get the chance. All 3 are a great moment in time.

I agree this show should have been remastered and yes it lacks a plot it was a betifull family show no extreme gross me out details just a fun slow moving film. Imiss these type of shows. Today is wayyyy to much graphic detail no chance to use your own imaginayion. Remembetr I was born in 61

I think 2017 is exponentially worse than when you made this point. I'd like to add that folks likely make fun of it largely because they lack the courage and conviction to follow that style of life. I know I want to live like that. I have since i was a child. I'm one of the many that lack the courage to leave everything else behind to have it.

I cannot think of a better death that one following by the courage and conviction to pursue the life in your dreams. If this is my only life then I feel I've wasted it following those things in front of me instead of those things I always had dreams of being.

Adams was pushed to this extreme and brilliant enough to eventually realize that everything that mattered was in the world to which he retreat; utterly free.