Sep 25

Sep 25 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)

Though a game attempt to capture Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic characters, this film has too many necessary transitions missing: John Clayton (aka Tarzan) growing from a boy into a man while living among apes in the wild, his learning how to speak English, his introduction to civilization, his education in the ways of men. Perhaps difficult to stage, such advancements of the main character are nevertheless vital to make him seem real, but here, Christopher Lamber’s wild-child–cum–nobleman is hard to believe, despite the actor’s above-average performance.

⅜ (out of ***)

1984 • 2 HOURS, 23 MINUTES
WARNER BROS. • EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS INC. • WEA RECORDS

STARRING
• CHRISTOPHER LAMBERT, ANDIE MACDOWELL

ALSO STARRING
• RALPH RICHARDSON, IAN HOLM, JAMES FOX

WRITTEN BY
• ROBERT TOWNE AND MICHAEL AUSTIN (WRITTEN BY)
• EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS (BASED ON THE STORY “TARZAN OF THE APES” BY)

DIRECTED BY
• HUGH HUDSON

1984 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS (3)
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: RALPH RICHARDSON (LOST TO HAING S. NGOR FOR THE KILLING FIELDS)
• BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (LOST TO AMADEUS)
• BEST MAKEUP (LOST TO AMADEUS)