The Emerald Forest (1985)

Director:

John Boorman

Writer:

Rospo Pallenberg (writer)

Release Date:

3 July 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

The Adventure Movie of the Year.

Plot:

After the son of engineer Bill Markham is abducted by an aboriginal tribe on the edge of the rain forest, the engineer spends the next 10 years searching for him.

Plot Keywords:

Rain Forest | Rain | Dam | Brazil | Amazon

Awards:

Nominated for 3 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Powers Boothe	...	Bill Markham
Meg Foster	...	Jean Markham
Yara Vaneau	...	Young Heather
William Rodriguez	...	Young Tommy
Estee Chandler	...	Heather Markham
Charley Boorman	...	Tomme
Dira Paes	...	Kachiri
Eduardo Conde	...	Uwe Werner
Ariel Coelho	...	Padre Leduc
Peter Marinker	...	Perreira
Mario Borges	...	Costa
Átila Iório	...	Trader
Gabriel Archanjo	...	Trader's Henchman
Gracindo Júnior	...	Carlos
Arthur Muhlenberg	...	Rico

Also Known As:

John Boorman's The Emerald Forest (Australia)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2000) | Iceland:16 | Norway:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | UK:12 (re-rating) (2005)

Filming Locations:

Araguaia River, Brazil

Company:

Christel Films

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~8.7 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~8.4 seconds.

Quotes:

Werner: Can you smell it? The oxygen? 40% of the world's oxygen is produced here in the Amazon.
Bill Markham: Come on, Eurbay, oxygen doesn't smell. It's... the rot, the decay.
Werner: Also the blossoms.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Time of the Apes (#4.6)" (1991)

Excellent movie.

I actually grew up near the city of Belem, shown in the beginning of the movie, and spent 18 years in the region. I also spent time in many of the Indian tribes in the area, including being "adopted" into one at the age of five.

The movie does a great job of showing many aspects of life in the jungle, including some of the lawlessness. The costumes are fairly authentic, and portrayal of many tribal customs is well done. The manhood ceremony is closely based on authentic ceremonies that happen in most tribes.

Altogether, about as good as you can expect from something that is not intended to be a documentary.