The Phantom (1996)

The Phantom, descendent of a line of African heroes, travels to New York to thwart a criminal genius.

Director:

Simon Wincer

Writers:

Lee Falk (characters), Jeffrey Boam

Stars:

Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Zane	...	The Phantom / Kit Walker
Kristy Swanson	...	Diana Palmer
Treat Williams	...	Xander Drax
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Sala (as Catherine Zeta Jones)
James Remar	...	Quill
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	The Great Kabai Sengh
Bill Smitrovich	...	Uncle Dave Palmer
Casey Siemaszko	...	Morgan
David Proval	...	Charlie Zephro
Joseph Ragno	...	Ray Zephro
Samantha Eggar	...	Lily Palmer
Jon Tenney	...	Jimmy Wells
Patrick McGoohan	...	Phantom's Dad
Robert Coleby	...	Capt. Philip Horton
Al Ruscio	...	Police Commissioner Farley

Storyline

The 21st successor to the role of Bengalla's resident superhero must travel to New York to prevent a rich madman from obtaining three magic skulls that would give him the secret to ultimate power.

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Plot Keywords:

superhero | phantom | skull | vigilantism | comic hero | 

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Taglines:

Slam evil!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action/adventure violence and some mild language

Details

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

El fantasma

Filming Locations:

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$197,603 (USA) (19 July 1996)

Gross:

AUD 4,601,218 (Australia) (1 November 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Ladd Company, The, Village Roadshow Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jenny McCarthy auditioned for the role of Sala.

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Goofs

Obvious safety belt on the Phantom while getting on the horse from the plane.

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Quotes

The Phantom: And, stay away from bad guys. No kaliban.

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Connections

Featured in The Oprah Winfrey Show: Summer Movie Reviews (1996)

User Reviews

Comic Book Heroes

There's always a danger in bringing comic book heroes to the screen in that most are pretty bad. Some are satisfying, e.g., the Batman and Superman films come to mind. But, the Phantom was essentially a strip comic by Lee Falk that I used to read as a kid and which had been around long before me (I'll be 65 this year). I remember seeing the serial at the Saturday morning matinees and loved the comic strip. Time passes and the Phantom faded and then, in 1993, I went to Somalia as a consultant during the UNITAF occupation and was billeted with the Aussies. To my amazement, I discovered the Phantom was not only alive and well Down Under, but there were active comic books cults, conventions and the like there as well. So, no wonder the film enjoyed a revival of a defunct strip but, alas, there is much to be desired in the effort and the final product is almost a parody of the original. My wife and I saw it for a bargain matinee and I enjoyed it. However, I suffer few illusions that it could not have been done better. It was a romp and maybe, as one reviewer noted, Catherine Zeta-Jones was worth the price of admission. Well, for my part, I liked young Billy Zane's Phantom with the sheepish grin, Treat Williams's sardonic evil smile and Christy Swanson's Diana, a pleasant departure from her Vampire staking role as Buffy. It was also good to see Patrick McGoohan, former Secret Agent Man as the Phantom's predecessor. I think this film is worth the price of a rental for a rainy afternoon.