Jane

"It took a woman to unlock the secret of early man."

2017 1h 30m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 156

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Drawing from never-before-seen footage that has been tucked away in the National Geographic archives, director Brett Morgen tells the story of Jane Goodall, a woman whose chimpanzee research revolutionized our understanding of the natural world.

“It took a woman to unlock the secret of early man.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jane Goodall
Self
Hugo van Lawick
Self (archive footage)
Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick
Self (archive footage)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brett Morgen
Writers: Brett Morgen
Languages: English
Countries: 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 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brett Morgen, shot by Ellen Kuras. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jane Goodall and Hugo van Lawick and Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It took a woman to unlock the secret of early man.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt7207238 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brett Morgen directs. Ellen Kuras behind the camera. Philip Glass scores. Joe Beshenkovsky cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 9 years ago.
3Directed by Brett Morgen, shot by Ellen Kuras. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Philip Glass. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Joe Beshenkovsky shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jane Goodall and Hugo van Lawick and Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It took a woman to unlock the secret of early man.".
8IMDB entry: tt7207238 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 13 themes, including "africa", "chimpanzee", "biography", "nature".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ellen Kuras
Original score: Philip Glass
Editing: Joe Beshenkovsky
Sound: Odin Benitez
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,723,379
Original language: EN
IMDB: Jane (2017)

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Brett Morgen

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Community reviews

What people are saying

sleestakk2018-01-22
★ 8/10
Seeing Jane Goodall speak years ago in Portland was one the best speeches I’ve witnessed. Viewing this movie really brought that back into the front of my memory and had me tearing up during the first third of this documentary. What Jane Goodall did is nothing short of miraculous. As a young woman with no formal education in this area of study, she really gave no fucks and pursued her dream. Her determination to succeed in spite of the odds became a passion even before she realized her true purpose in Gombe. I’m not one to have idols but if I did she would be one. So goddamn inspiring in so many ways. This doc is essentially rediscovered found footage from 2014 that was shot during the 60s when Goodall first went to Africa to study the chimps and what that was like and how challenging it was. So from this “lost” footage the filmmakers had to construct a narrative, which becomes the story of Goodall’s life from childhood to present day, including her marriage to Hugo and raising her son around apes. Half of this film works extremely well. The other half is typical biography filler to round out her story. The average rating between these two parts is 8/10. I’d prefer to watch more of her time with the chimps, what was learned from this experience and how she was able to share that with the world.

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