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

A shipping disaster in the nineteenth 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. The mother dies soon ... See full summary »

Director:

Hugh Hudson

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (novel), Robert Towne (as P.H. Vazak)

Stars:

Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Ralph Richardson

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 13 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 nineteenth 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. The mother dies soon afterwards. An ape enters the house and kills the father, and 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:

tarzan | civilization | unrequited love | culture clash | adopted son | 

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Taglines:

A legendary hero - and the tale that's never been told!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. WB Shop / Warner Archive

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

30 March 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Greystoke

Filming Locations:

Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$45,900,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., WEA Records

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The length of the film's long "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes" title is nine words long.

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Goofs

When Sir Evelyn finds out that Major Jack is shooting apes, he storms off to find him, roughly shoving an African guide standing to his right out of the way. In the next shot, the guide is gone.

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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

Referenced in FantastiCozzi (2016)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, op. 55
(uncredited)
Music by Edward Elgar (as Sir Edward Elgar)

User Reviews

Hugh Hudson creates a thoughtful and sober look at the legend.

Beautifully filmed, acclaimed director Hugh Hudson (Chariots of Fire) creates a story that brings the entire legend of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke and Tarzan of the apes to life with reverence and dignity, and with a scope not heretofore seen in Tarzan films. Christopher Lambert makes his starring debut as the young Lord, raised in the wild by a female gorilla after his parents die in Africa. Later returned to what is to him an alien world, that of class and privilege, he feels totally out of place. Once he learns what has happened to the apes that raised him and their world he realizes that he must go back. A sad but triumphant story told against a background of fantastic vistas. This is one of those films that is a must for every Cinemaphile's collection.