Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan

Starring:Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, James Fox, Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Cheryl Campbell, Ian Charleson, Nigel Davenport, Nicholas Farrell, Paul Geoffrey, Richard Griffiths, Hilton McRae, John Wells, Ravinder, Eric Langlois, Danny Potts, Peter Kyriakou, Tali McGregor, Paul Brooke, Tristram Jellinek
Director: Hugh Hudson
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

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One of those legendary missed opportunities, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a movie that should have been great but wound up the victim of conflicting egos and wrong-headed choices. Based on a screenplay by Robert Towne (who took his name off it when he wasn't allowed to direct) and directed by Hugh Hudson (riding high on the basis of Chariots of Fire), the film tried to rethink the Tarzan legend of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and boy, did it have to: By casting French-accented Christopher Lambert as Tarzan, the filmmakers had to transform his white-hunter mentor Ian Holm into a Frenchman to explain those inflections in Tarzan's monosyllabic speech. The film has some amazing jungle footage and a truly touching relationship between Tarzan and the apes--but it gets pretty silly when Tarzan gets to London and hooks up with Sir Ralph Richardson, as his grandfather. --Marshall Fine

Description

An infant raised to manhood among savage apes, living by his wits and the law of the jungle, returns to society to claim his inheritance of humanity and privilege. This collision of "wild" and "civilized" worlds is the extraordinary saga of Tarzan, chronicled in Edgar Rice Burroughs' popular book series. Starring: Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Ian Holm

Customer Reviews:

A classic---almost.......2007-06-13

When I first viewed this film, I was taken by the fabulous performance of the Tarzan character. The first 2/3 of the film is wonderful and the viewer can identify with the "human" qualities of the apes----just like the boy Tarzan did. But the last third of the movie is a bit too much, particularly the scenes at the British Museum. At that point the movie became too contrived and unbelievable. But the scenery and the acting are wonderful.

Tarzan at his best........2007-02-12

A very well done Tarzan remake! The stars were great, locations wonderful, and the story was added to by filling in details we had never seen before.

I Really Enjoyed This Version of Tarzan...Loved it!.......2006-12-31

This is the ONLY version that really gets you in touch with the human quality of Tarzan and his torture.

Christopher Lambert does an exceptionally good job in this remake. The parallel of a man raised in the wild who could adopt the manners of society but was not happy there versus the aristocracy he was born into as being the true animals was touching.

Loved it!

A great classic story based on history.......2006-10-30

This is the most accurate story ever told about Tarzan every made. A must have.

Greystoke: Flawed but still top notch.......2006-05-03

As some others have noted, "Greystoke" is one of those movies that gets close to the line, but is never quite able to step over it into greatness.

The film introduces Christopher Lambert and Andie MacDowell, which created some of the problems. Lambert's accent was anything but English, and MacDowell's southern drawl was so bad, her lines had to be dubbed in post production. This film is also notable for being the last role for Ralph Richardson, and contains an honorarium to him in the credits. For all of its flaws, however, it remains a worthy entry in the Tarzan film library.

Among its positive aspects are the magnificent Cameroon jungle scenery, making you believe in the possibility of Tarzan. The screenplay, while it takes some detours, is closer to the original Burroughs novel than any other Tarzan movie made. It is, for example, the first one to ever show how the baby John Clayton ended up in Africa, and what happened to his parents. It is also the first to introduce the Phillipe D'Arnot character, who taught the young Tarzan to speak human language (Belgian) and the ways of civilization. But, probably the most important contribution is that of Rick Baker, who created the marvelous and believable ape costumes, changing, and raising the bar for make-up and special effects overnight.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable film, well worth having in your collection. If you're a hard core Burroughs fan like I am, its a must have.

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Belgium ]

Average customer rating:

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Belgium ]
Director: Hugh Hudson
Manufacturer: Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000KKW8DC

Product Description

Belgium released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: Italian (Mono), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0), Arabic (Subtitles), Dutch (Subtitles), English (Subtitles), French (Subtitles), German (Subtitles), Italian (Subtitles), Portuguese (Subtitles), Romanian (Subtitles), Spanish (Subtitles), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SYNOPSIS: A shipping disaster in the 19th Century has stranded a man and woman in the wilds of Africa. The lady is pregnant, and gives birth to a son in their tree house. Soon after, a family of apes stumble across the house and in the ensuing panic, both parents are killed. A female ape takes the tiny boy as a replacement for her own dead infant, and raises him as her son. Twenty years later, Captaine Phillippe D'Arnot discovers the man who thinks he is an ape. Evidence in the tree house leads him to believe that he is the direct descendant of the Earl of Greystoke, and thus takes it upon himself to return the man to civilization. SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Interactive Menu, Commentary,

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