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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Spectacular retelling of Edgar Rice Burroughs classic tale, July 31, 2004
Although it doesn't quite live up to Robert Towne's original script, "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan Lord of The Apes" manages to bring much of the spectacle of Edgar Rice Burroughs' original tale with a distinctive, powerful edge missing from every other version of the novel. Towne's script and the film adhere to most of the narrative about Tarzan growing up while drifting away from some of the more extreme fantasy elements present in the original novel.
When the child of a female gorilla is mercilessly beaten to death, his mother adopts an infant human whose parents were killed by the same gorilla. The couple were shipwrecked and thought dead by the man's grandfather the Earl of Greystoke. The infant continues to have conflicts with the lead gorilla of the group as he grows up and is, in fact, beaten up and left for dead at one point. As he grows into manhood, he discovers the home of his parents, his mother's locket, and his father's knife and sees his reflection for the first time. He's horrified and fascinated at the same time realizing that, while he doesn't quite look like his mother, she is still his mother. Gradually, he discovers children's blocks that show him what a human looks like for the first time.
When his mother is murdered by tribesmen hunting the gorillas for food, he fights back for the first time killing one of the tribesmen breaking the man's back. He also stands up to and kills the gorilla that tried to kill him and succeeded in killing his parents long ago. Tarzan (Christopher Lambert in his debut) is discovered by a French explorer (Ian Holm from "Chariots of Fire" and "The Lord of the Rings") who takes pity on the young man and brings him back to civilization discovering along the way that Tarzan is, indeed, the son of the missing heir to the Greystoke fortune and title.
The film moves Tarzan from the animal kingdom to the civilized world where the collision between how he was raised and who he has to become creates considerable conflict. Later, he meets and falls in love with Jane (Andie McDowell in her film debut but with her voice over dubbed by Glenn Close)but the conflicts between the civilized world and his experience continues to threaten their relationship and his inheritance.
Directed by Hugh Hudson ("Chariots of Fire", "I Dreamed of Africa"), the film generated much controversy when writer Robert Towne ("Chinatown", "Personal Best", "Tequila Sunrise" and "Shampoo") took his name off the credits substituting the name of his dog. Towne felt that Hudson (and the screenwriter Hudson brought in Michael Austin) strayed a bit from his original script which had an even more epic canvas to work from. Towne had been forced to sell off "Greystoke" which he had intended to direct due to money issues related to his directorial debut "Personal Best". While the film doesn't quite live up to Towne's vision, Hudson's film is still quite compelling and powerful capturing the sweep of the epic films made by David Lean. Although the script becomes a bit uneven when Tarzan returns to civilization, Christopher Lambert's portrayal of Tarzan along with Ian Holm, Sir Ralph Richardson, James Fox and McDowell/Close keeps the film interesting. Lambert's moody, brooding and quiet performance works well at keeping Tarzan a mysterious, sensuous figure. Lambert brings an animal physical presence to the role that quickly captures your attention. The tightly directed and edited action sequences also prevent the film from lagging.
Although the DVD doesn't have the type of extras it really deserves, Warner has lavished a considerable amount of money to bring us a very sharp, crisp and vivid anamorphic widescreen transfer. There's still a fair amount of analog blemishes in the form of hair and dirt but the bulk of this occurs during the opening titles. This version of the film never played theatrically in the U.S. Like the original videocassette, this version of "Greystoke" runs about 7 minutes longer with a prologue involving the apes and a sequence that briefly depicts Tarzan's trek to civilization. The marvelous score by John Scott has been remastered for Dolby Digital 5.1 bringing the sound up to date and we also get the beautiful Overture that greeted audiences as they walked in during the first few minutes before the movie began.
We get the marvelous original theatrical trailer as part of the extras and a commentary track by Director Hudson and Associate Producer Garth Thomas. They provide some very interesting tidbits about the shooting of the film but completely avoid discussing the decision to rewrite Towne's script and only making a passing mention of the voice recasting. The commentary would have been far more interesting had both decided to revisit their decision to bring Glenn Close to dub MacDowell's lines and the decision to pare back Towne's original, more expensive vision.
Although it might lack the epic vision that Towne had intended, Hudson's film still manages to make quite an impression. The film certainly has the epic feel of some of David Lean's epics and if the film becomes uneven during its second half, it still manages to swing to a satisfying conclusion.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Just Don't Get Why They Call It A "Missed Opportunity.", March 3, 2004
I love those classic MGM Tarzan flicks with Johnny Weissmuller (classics all the way), and the 1999 animated Tarzan was IMHO the last great Disney film. But GREYSTOKE is without a doubt my favorite Tarzan film of all time. Not only is the only live-action adaptation to capture real emotion and drama, but it is also the most realistic. This is mainly due to the vastly underrated Christopher Lambert in the title role. He is absolutely amazing to watch, especially in his reactions to the new English surroundings. The supporting cast is first-rate, as well. You have Sir Ian Holm as the explorer who finds Tarzan, Andie MacDowell in her film debut as Jane, and the late, the great Ralph Richardson as Lord Greystoke. Add onto this a gorgeous musical score, stunning African jungle backgrounds, and some of Rick Baker's best make-up work ever, and you've got one helluva good motion picture.
I just can't believe how many people regard this movie as one of those "what-could-have-been" disasters. I hadn't seen the film in years, so when I picked up the DVD, I was prepared to think the same thing do to my older age and higher expectations as a film buff. Well let me tell you, it's even better than I remembered it! If the film did indeed have a troubled production, it certainly doesn't show on-screen. It's a beautiful movie, and required viewing.
The new DVD ain't too shabby, either. The picture looks great and the sound is very clear, if a bit lacking in surround. However, being the film's 20th Anniversary, I would've expected quite a bit more extras. All we get is a director's commentary, which is incredibly boring. But for such a low price tag, it's not a bad buy.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's like reading the novel!!, April 20, 2003
I've reviewed Disney's Tarzan, the animated story recently, but looking at this film, there is, by far, no comparison between the two.This film was produced in 1984, and with Christopher Lambert in the starring role, it is truly one of the best of the genre. The first half hour or so, we come to "discover" how he ended up in the jungle, and then as the years go by, we see "little" Tarzan (AKA: Greystoke), as he lunges through the vines and has his rapport with the animals. And this, contrary to what many feel, is one of the highlights of the movie. Not much English language, but a language only true to its form - which is animal communication, and Lambert pulls it off brilliantly. Then the "group" come into the jungle, along with Andie MacDowell, and her father. To watch how Greystoke deals with the intruders is stunning, and the way he "rescues" the stranger from death is well worth viewing. The saddest part of this film, I believe, is when Greystoke is brought back to "civilization," and you can just about feel his pain at the loss of what he knew. Then, of course, he has become an oddity in "proper England," only to arouse the jealousy of Ms. MacDowell's suitors, as well as uproot whatever theories the social scientists had about human nature. This is a remarkable film, and it is, in some ways, truly a sensational and exotic adventure into the heart of the human heart. The scene between Greystoke and his newly acquired "girlfriend" (MacDowell) borders on the erotic, although this was done with great art, and it didn't plunge the viewer into a tasteless scene of sensationalism. A brilliant movie, and like the title of this review suggests, it is like reading the original novel. Highly recommended!!
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