Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981)

User Rating:

2.8/10   

Director:

John Derek

Writers:

Tom Rowe (screenplay) and
Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)
(more)

Release Date:

24 September 1981 (West Germany)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

Unlike any other "Tarzan" you've ever seen!

Plot:

The Tarzan story from Jane's point of view. Jane Parker visits her father in Africa where she joins him on an expedition...

Plot Keywords:

Tarzan | Orangutan | Sexploitation | Beautiful Woman | Gorilla

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Bo Derek	...	Jane Parker
Richard Harris	...	James Parker
John Phillip Law	...	Harry Holt
Miles O'Keeffe	...	Tarzan
Akushula Selayah	...	Africa
Steve Strong	...	Ivory King
Maxime Philoe	...	Riano
Leonard Bailey	...	Feathers
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Club Member
Laurie Main	...	Club Member
Harold Ayer	...	Club Member

Directed by
John Derek

Writing credits
Tom Rowe		(screenplay)
Edgar Rice Burroughs		characters
Gary Goddard		writer

Produced by
Bo Derek	....	producer

Original Music by
Perry Botkin Jr.		(as Perry Botkin)

Cinematography by
John Derek

Film Editing by
Jimmy Ling		(as James B. Ling)

Art Direction by
Alan Roderick-Jones

Costume Design by
Patricia Edwards

Makeup Department
Norma Collins	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Eva Chun	....	production manager
Jack Oliver	....	unit production manager
Tom Shaw	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Lally	....	first assistant director
Jack Oliver	....	first assistant director
D.B. 'Warner' Warnasiri	....	assistant director: Sri Lanka (as Warner Warnasiri)

Art Department
Tommy 'Tom' Tomlinson	....	property master
J.A. Vincent	....	assistant art director: Sri Lanka

Sound Department
Pamela Bentkowski	....	sound editor
Alan Bromberg	....	sound editor
Jack Cheap	....	sound editor
David B. Cohn	....	sound editor (as David S. Cohn)
Virginia Cook-McGowan	....	sound editor (as Gini Cook)
Ken Dufva	....	foley artist
David Lee Fein	....	foley artist (as David Fein)
Robert Glass	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert Knudson	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Robert 'Buzz' Knudson)
Don MacDougall	....	sound re-recording mixer
Keith Olson	....	foley artist
Charles Randall	....	boom operator
William Randall	....	sound mixer
Norman B. Schwartz	....	supervising dialogue editor
Donald L. Warner Jr.	....	supervising sound editor (as Don Warner)
Robert Waxman	....	sound editor

Visual Effects by
Bobbie Johnson	....	optical supervisor

Stunts
Jock Mahoney	....	stunt coordinator (as Jack O'Mahoney)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mike Bartlett	....	first assistant camera
Armando Contreras	....	key grip
Somapala Dharmapriya	....	camera operator: Sri Lanka
Wolfgang Dickmann	....	camera associate
Allan Goodchild	....	second assistant camera
John Harnish	....	gaffer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Errol Kelly	....	costumer

Editorial Department
John A. Amicarella	....	assistant editor
Kevin Krasny	....	assistant editor (as Kevin A. Kresny)
Edward A. Warschilka	....	supervising assistant editor (as Edward A. Warchilka Jr.)
Janet Barbara Weiss	....	assistant editor
Randee Lynne Jensen	....	post-production coordinator (uncredited)

Music Department
Daniel Allan Carlin	....	music consultant (as Dan Carlin Jr.)
James Harbert	....	orchestrator
Harry V. Lojewski	....	music supervisor
Curt Sobel	....	music editor
Bill Stafford	....	orchestrator
Armin Steiner	....	music recording engineer

Other crew
Eva Chun	....	production executive
Linda Kemp	....	script supervisor
Burke Mattsson	....	title designer
James L. Michaelson	....	title art
Allan Placko	....	technical advisor: mountain climbing
Paul 'Sled' Reynolds	....	head animal trainer

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents)
• Svengali Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• CBS Television Network (1983) (USA) (TV)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1984) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Veronica (2004) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Vídeo Arte (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Gentle Jungle  animals provided by
• La Da Productions  music editing
• Lipssync Inc.  dialogue replacement
• Modern Film Effects  opticals

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 (cut) (1981) | Iceland:L | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Seychelles

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

During a scene involving "Jane" attempting to get away from "Tarzan", Miles O'Keeffe found himself face to face with a full grown lion, who took on the part of the gallant gentleman saving the damsel in distress. The lion, escaping his holding pen, dived into the fray, apparently more intent on protecting Bo Derek than attacking Miles O'Keeffe (it was noted that the 200 pound man wasn't injured by the 500 pound cat). The handler was on the scene almost immediately, stopping the incident. Although neither human star were injured, rumor had it that Miles O'Keeffe thereafter made a habit of checking the security of the holding pen whenever other scenes of "violence" toward Bo Derek were done, citing a deep respect for Bo Derek's formidable self-appointed bodyguard.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jane fights the snake in the river, it changes from a reticulated python to a Burmese python and back several times.

Quotes:

Parker: Jane, do you know what he wants? What this ape wants?
Jane: He's not an ape!
Parker: He is an ape. He lives like an ape, he kills like an ape. But do you understand what he wants?
Jane: You know everything...
Parker: Well, this ape son of a bitch wants you.
Parker: I'm gonna catch that animal son of a bitch, Mr Holt!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Great British Sunday (2008) (TV)

Bo, breasts, and bloomin' idiots, and a buncha monkeys.

Of course this is a horrid movie, for pete's sake, it was made by John Derek, one of the worst actors ever. (He played Joshua in the Ten Commandments, and his performance there is truly laughable). Bo of course runs around topless or near topless for most of the movie, and has one expression: vacant. No one has yet mentioned Richard Harris' utterly deranged performance as Jane's dad. Harris acts as if he has drunk a case of Jack Daniels and snorted a pound of cocaine. He runs through the entire movie screaming, shouting, and gesticulating insanely, and when he's finally killed by the ALL-WHITE-PEOPLE CANNIBAL TRIBE (I kid you not) you cheer in relief. Another point of hilarity is Miles O'Keefe's pointless battle with an OBVIOUSLY COMPLETELY FAKE rubber boa constrictor. All in all a truly dreadful movie, but still not as awful as Manos: The Hands Of Fate. See it at your own risk, or only if you have an unhealthy fixation on Bo Derek's breasts.