Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes

1984 2h 23m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 514

AdventureDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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, Captain 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.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Christopher Lambert
John Clayton / Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
Andie MacDowell
Miss Jane Porter
Ralph Richardson
The Sixth Earl of Greystoke
Ian Holm
Capitaine Phillippe D'Arnot
James Fox
Lord Charles Esker
Cheryl Campbell
Lady Alice Clayton
Ian Charleson
Jeffson Brown
Nigel Davenport
Major Jack Downing

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hugh Hudson
Writers: Martin Asbury, Michael Austin, Robert Towne
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

42 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hugh Hudson, shot by John Alcott. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Scott. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anne V. Coates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Christopher Lambert and Andie MacDowell and Ralph Richardson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0087365 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hugh Hudson directs. John Alcott behind the camera. John Scott scores. Anne V. Coates cuts. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

142 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Directed by Hugh Hudson, shot by John Alcott. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by John Scott. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Anne V. Coates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Christopher Lambert and Andie MacDowell and Ralph Richardson carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0087365 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: John Alcott
Original score: John Scott
Editing: Anne V. Coates
Production design: Stuart Craig
Costume design: John Mollo
Makeup / hair: Peter Frampton
Stunt coordinator: Roy Scammell
Runtime: 143 min · 2h 23m
Status: Released
Box office: $45,858,563
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)

Also by

Hugh Hudson

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-05-04
★ 7/10
John, John, John of the jungle. Upon release mixed notices greeted this attempt to get to the crux of Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle man creation, The Lord of the Apes, Tarzan. It's a bold movie in many ways, one of those occasions when a fondly thought of character from days of yore is given the serious make - over treatment. Which as film history tells us is often very tricky. Plot trajectory has a lost child of the British aristocracy reared by apes in the African jungle after his parents were shipwrecked there. Feral but wonderfully skilled with it, the child becomes a feral man of some substance, but when he is discovered by explorers he is taken to Britain and his ancestral home. Lord Greystoke becomes his title, but his loyalties, confusion and emotions continue to pull him in two directions. The story as written obviously becomes a two-parter. The first part is the best as Greystoke is born into the jungle and we are up close and personal with the ape community. The action is very well marshalled, the effects work of a high quality, and the realisation of the situational dynamics is superb. Not forgetting, either, some mighty emotional thumps as the dangers of mother nature's creatures tugs away at the old heart strings, the rules and brutality of the jungle given weighty filmic thrust. Shifting gear to the "jungle man in aristocracy Britain" thread, the pace slows down considerably as Greystoke dons a tux and gets the hots for Miss Jane Potter. It's this section of film that proves problematic. Narrative is bogged down by philosophical brain farts, further compounded by Andie MacDowell's (Jane) voice being dubbed by Glenn Close and the fake noises coming out of Christopher Lambert's (Greystoke) mouth, they are both very disconcerting issues. Thankfully Ralph Richardson (in his last film before he passed away) is on hand as Grandfather Greystoke to give the pic a warm and tender center. Tech credits are a mixed bag, with John Alcott's photography impressive on both continents and Rick Baker & Paul Engelen's makeup work is from the high end. Sadly, John Scott's musical score is not nearly epic enough, while director Hugh Hudson is guilty as charged when it comes to not keeping seamless the transitional change over from jungle to mainland, more so as the great Ian Holm gets short shrift here. What a waste! Yet it's a film that's easy to warm too. Stirring and touching in equal measure, it has enough qualities to off-set the flaws. 7/10

Production companies