"Project Grizzly" (1996) is a perfect bookend precursor to Werner Herzog’s "Grizzly Man." Canadian wingnut Troy Hurtubise is so masochistically obsessed with being safely mauled by a grizzly bear he allegedly once encountered that he spends seven years developing a suit of armor for a recreation of the incident. With the help of his of equally moronic friends Troy tests his indestructible suit by allowing enormous logs to be swung into him from 40 feet away and repeatedly letting a truck going 35 mph hit him. But Troy isn’t just your run of the mill jackass as we discover when he and his sycophantic buddies travel to bear country only to immediately realize that he can’t walk on the rugged terrain in his heavy bear-proof suit. Filmmaker Peter Lynch ("Strictly Ballroom") treats his kooky subject with a deferential respect that allows the film to encompass layers of social and psychological interpretation. Special features include a director’s commentary track, and a separate commentary track (called a "critical appreciation") by Richard Crouse and Geoff Pevere of the Canadian TV series "Reel to Real." Aspect ratio is 1.85:1 Widescreen, with sound quality delivered via Dolby Digital 5.1. (Movie – Four Stars, DVD features – Three Stars) Unrated, 72 mins. (Microfilms)
