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Jean-Jacques Annaud directed this unusual and compelling tale of animals in the wild, which tells its tale from the bears' point of view. A pair of carefully-trained bruins deliver remarkably effective "performances" (aided by clever editing and, in some sequences, the use of realistic animated models). A infant bear cub ( Douce the Bear ) witnesses the death of his mother in a rockslide and is forced to set out to fend for himself. The young bear encounters a giant grizzly ( Bart the Bear ), who at first cannot abide the young bear's presence. However, the grizzly is soon ambushed by a pair of hunters — Bill ( Jack Wallace ) and Tom ( Tcheky Karyo ) — after an altercation with their pack animals. As the injured beast cleans his wounds in a stream, the young bear comes to his aid, and the giant takes the youngster under his wing. However, Bill and Tom have sworn revenge on the grizzly, and when they capture the young bear, it lures the giant back into the hunters' camp. L'Ours , released in English-speaking countries as The Bear , was based on the novel King Grizzly by James Oliver Curwood. — Mark Deming
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