The Bear (1988 film)

The Bear
American film poster
Directed by	Jean-Jacques Annaud
Written by	Gérard Brach James Oliver Curwood (novel)
Produced by	Claude Berri
Starring	Bart the Bear Youk the Bear Tchéky Karyo Jack Wallace Andre Lacombe
Cinematography	Philippe Rousselot
Edited by	Noëlle Boisson
Music by	Philippe Sarde
Production companies	Price Entertainment Renn Productions
Distributed by	AMLF[1]
Release date	19 October 1988 (1988-10-19)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	France
Language	English
Budget	120 million Franc ($20 million)[2]
Box office	$31,753,898 (U.S. and Canada)[3] $100+ million (worldwide)[4]

The Bear is a 1988 French adventure family film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and released by TriStar Pictures. Adapted from the novel The Grizzly King (1916) by American author James Oliver Curwood, the screenplay was written by Gérard Brach. Set in British Columbia, Canada, the film tells the story of an orphaned grizzly bear cub who befriends a large adult male Kodiak bear as two trophy hunters pursue them through the wild.

Several of the themes explored in the story include orphanhood, peril and protection, and mercy toward and on the behalf of a reformed hunter. Annaud and Brach began planning the story and production in 1981, although filming did not begin until six years later, due to the director's commitment to another project. The Bear was filmed almost entirely in the Italian and Austrian areas of the Dolomites, with live animals—including Bart the Bear, a trained 2.74-metre (9.0 ft) tall Kodiak bear—present on location. Notable for its almost complete lack of dialogue and its minimal score, the film was nominated for and won numerous international film awards.