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

When not filming, Billy Zane had a habit of running down to buy sushi in a store wearing his Phantom costume.

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Goofs

When the Phantom has hijacked the plane after his daring rescue operation, the captors fire bullets at the plane, hitting the wing and causing leaks. However in the shot following it, the wing shows no sign of damage.

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Quotes

Drax: Quill, would you please show Mr. Walker up to the observation deck and make him talk?
Sala: I claim the body when you're done.

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Connections

Version of The Red Mask (1968)

User Reviews

Great action movie.

Having grown up with Lee Falk's "The Phantom" in the Sunday comic strip - I found this to be a very enjoyable action movie - - and much superior to the 1943 Tom Tyler version.

I totally agree with a previous comment - that had this movie been released ten years earlier - during the Indiana Jones years - it would have fared much better at the box office.

The action sequences were second to none - but were diluted by an attempt to introduce too many "story lines" into the plot. Perhaps this was an attempt to appeal to too wide of an audience - in which case it suffered the fate of appealing to too few. Perhaps one story line of the phantom vs the Sengh brotherhood would have fared better.

The actors/actresses were not at fault in that the acting was excellent. However the appearance of weak acting - was in my opinion - due to the film not being able to carry the momentum of the action and suspense of the opening scenes - and as stated - having too many story lines to present a smooth continuum of action and suspense.

All-in-all an excellent light hearted action film.

Congratulations to the producers who created a worthy big screen version of Lee Falk's "The Ghost Who Walks" - and Billy Zane who breathed life into the character.