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

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... See full summary »

Director:

Hugh Hudson

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (novel), Robert Towne,

Stars:

Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, Christopher Lambert

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Richardson	...	The Sixth Earl of Greystoke
Ian Holm	...	Capitaine Phillippe D'Arnot
James Fox	...	Lord Charles Esker
Christopher Lambert	...	John Clayton / Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
Andie MacDowell	...	Miss Jane Porter
Cheryl Campbell	...	Lady Alice Clayton
Ian Charleson	...	Jeffson Brown
Nigel Davenport	...	Major Jack Downing
Nicholas Farrell	...	Sir Hugh Belcher
Paul Geoffrey	...	Lord John 'Jack' Clayton
Richard Griffiths	...	Captain Billings
Hilton McRae	...	Willy
David Suchet	...	Buller
Ravinder	...	Dean
John Wells	...	Sir Evelyn Blount

Storyline

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, Captaine 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.

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Plot Keywords:

ape | civilization | africa | stranded | 19th century | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 March 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Greystoke, la leyenda de Tarzán, el rey de los monos

Filming Locations:

Bimbia, Southwest Province, Cameroon

Box Office

Gross:

$45,900,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., WEA Records

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min 143 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brigitte Nielsen was briefly considered for the role of Jane Porter.

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Goofs

When the Ape in the tree is shot in the chest, the bullet wound is almost touching its left nipple, and sprays blood across a largish area of the chest. The ape then falls, lands face down and is turned over, Tarzan picks the dead animal up and carries it. The wound on the ape has moved several inches lower and at an angle to where it was last. All the blood spray has vanished as well.

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Quotes

John Clayton: Half of me is the Earl of Greystoke...
John Clayton: the other half is WILD!

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Connections

Featured in The 57th Annual Academy Awards (1985)

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Soundtracks

"Riding On Top Of The Car"
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

a great film!

I, unlike a lot of you unkind movie reviewers, actually liked the movie. The movie was slow? That it wasn't. If it was, I would have sent it back to Amazon.Com. All of Tarzan's actions in the movie HAD to take place. Like the love scene. You'd be stupid to think that Tarzan would turn into a Romeo and just make love to Jane..duh..he's half ape peoples! If you're in the mood for a beautiful movie, don't listen to the no-brainers, see it, you'll love Greystoke! I first saw it in Theaters when I was 11, and I loved it then & I still love it now. All the actors in the movie did a great job..the jungle scenes are beautiful, and the original score is a masterpiece. 9 out of 10