Koko: A Talking Gorilla
![Koko: A Talking Gorilla](https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/films/a489eb53b7a56bfc348d739d0142d4ea/2qCPOFp7oHfsE2HskiKmgD051ugwZO_large.jpg)
In 1977, acclaimed director Barbet Schroeder and cinematographer Nestor Almendros entered the universe of the world’s most famous primate to create the captivating documentary Koko: A Talking Gorilla. The film introduces us to Koko soon after she was brought from the San Francisco Zoo to Stanford University by Dr. Penny Patterson for a controversial experiment—she would be taught the basics of human communication through American Sign Language. An entertaining, troubling, and still relevant documentary, Koko: A Talking Gorilla sheds light on the ongoing ethical and philosophical debates over the individual rights of animals and brings us face-to-face with an amazing gorilla caught in the middle.
Director-Approved Special Edition Features
- New, restored digital transfer supervised and approved by director Barbet Schroeder
- Interview with Schroeder
- Alternate French-language audio track with optional English subtitles
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: A new essay by author Gary Indiana and an homage to Koko from Marguerite Duras
New cover by Lucien S. Y. Yang
Director-Approved Special Edition Features
- New, restored digital transfer supervised and approved by director Barbet Schroeder
- Interview with Schroeder
- Alternate French-language audio track with optional English subtitles
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: A new essay by author Gary Indiana and an homage to Koko from Marguerite Duras
New cover by Lucien S. Y. Yang
![Koko: A Talking Gorilla](https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/films/a489eb53b7a56bfc348d739d0142d4ea/2qCPOFp7oHfsE2HskiKmgD051ugwZO_large.jpg)
Cast
- Penny Patterson
- Saul Kitchener
- Koko
Credits
- Director
- Barbet Schroeder
- Associate producers
- Dale Djerassi
- Associate producers
- Barbet Schroeder
- Cinematography
- Nestor Almendros
- Additional footage
- Ned Burgess
- Editing
- Denise De Casabianca
- Editing
- Dominique Auvray
- Production
- Margaret Menegoz
- Production assistant
- George Csicsery
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