A missing heir of respected Scottish family, raised in African jungles by animals, finally returns to his estate only to realize that difference between the two worlds is really significant.
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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.Written by
Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>
In 1886, following a shipwreck off the west coast of Africa, an infant child became part of a family of apes who raised and protected him. As he grew, he learned the laws of the Jungle and eventually claimed the title, Lord of the Apes. Yet, years later, when he was returned to civilization, he would remain uncertain as to which laws he should obey . . . Those of man . . . Or those of the jungle. Now the director of 'Chariots of Fire', captures this epic adventure of a man caught between two different worlds. See more »
Many of the jungle scenes were filmed in the studio. See more »
Goofs
The cognitive and speech centers of the brain shut down if they are not stimulated. After a certain age, Tarzan wouldn't have been able to say more than a few words, let alone learn two entire languages. See more »
Quotes
Sir Evelyn Blount:
Although the circumstances indicate that he is your grandson, we cant prove it. Of course, we, erm, might be able to do so if we could do some tests.
Sixth Earl of Greystoke:
[Looking out the window]
He's here!
[turns to Sir Evelyn]
Sixth Earl of Greystoke:
If he's a Greystoke, I'll know him at a glance!
See more »
Alternate Versions
In 1992, an "Extended Version" was released to home video by Warner, and this version runs six minutes longer than the original release. The Extended Version videos feature the following:
An overture of John Scott's main orchestral themes, which runs for about 01:40.
Immediately following the Warner Brothers logo is a reinserted prologue with the great apes. The scene opens with a master shot of the African jungle from a bird's-eye view, complete with smoking volcano in the distance, rolling storm clouds, and the caption "EQUATORIAL WEST AFRICA 1885". During this sequence, there is a storm and the volcano gushes lava, causing the apes to go into turmoil. The tribe's oldest ape, Silverbeard, calls the warning to the others and they all rush to shelter from the rain, etc. Kala, nursing her infant baby, seems reluctant to go. Silverbeard roughly tries to get her to move, accidentally(?) causing the death of the little ape, as it falls from Kala's grip and plummets to the rocks below. Kala sees her child die and howls with anguish, ending the scene with a fade-out to black. The next shot is the original opening, with one change: a new caption: "SCOTLAND. TEN MONTHS EARLIER." This whole jungle prologue clocks in at about 01:45, and serves as a bookend for the film, as the film now ends on practically the same shot as it opens, but at the end of the film the scene shows a peaceful view of the jungle.
After Lord Clayton leaves Greystoke for his tropical journey, and the scene shifts to the African coast, a reprinted (which means this shot now exists TWICE in the sequence) shot of the shipwreck (post-accident) now replaces the original shot, which was a beautiful, wide master of the whole coast where the ship has crashed, looking in from the ocean.
Once Capitaine D'Arnot and Tarzan reach civilization (the "edge of the world") and rest at Buller's inn, another whole sequence has been reinserted. After D'Arnot shows Tarzan fire, the sequence cuts to about an hour later, when D'Arnot attempts to arrange a charter for passage to England. We meet the rest of the gang in the bar, which includes a pointed acknowledgment that Captain Billings ("It's not my fault, don't blame me") from Lord Clayton's shipwreck IS among them, and has been for some time. D'Arnot explains he has no money for the arrangement but can promise an I.O.U., which sets the whole gang at the bar off. They accuse D'Arnot and Tarzan of possibly being escaped convicts and threaten the D'Arnot with violence. Tarzan pounces on the attackers, roaring like a panther, and starts a fire with an oil lamp (showing that he does understand fire's danger). Everyone flees the inn, which is soon completely ablaze. Amid the chaos, D'Arnot and Tarzan escape in a canoe. The scene then cuts to the original versions long shot, in daytime, of D'Arnot rowing down the river with Tarzan. The entire sequence features some repeated music scoring cues, and extra music not heard in the original. As the sequence ends, we hear D'Arnot add, in voice-over: "I sense that we have a long and difficult journey ahead of us; perhaps weeks of waiting for a ship that will give us passage to England. I will try to teach John some rudimentary manners and a greater understanding of the language. Like a father, I am resolved to impart to him all that I can, but never, not even for a moment, do I doubt that to take him back is a perilous undertaking...for John, but also for his family." The voice-over narration concludes after the fade-out on Africa and over the shot of the Greystoke estate, in Scotland. Note: in the original theatrical release, the inn sequence ends before any major hint that D'Arnot and Tarzan could be in danger, and cuts directly to them rowing down the river. The original voice-over narration from D'Arnot: "And so began John's education of the world he had just entered. I was determined to teach him as much as I possibly could, but never for a moment did I doubt that to bring him back would be a perilous undertaking...for John, and also for his family." This original narration ended just as the African landscape fades to black. The newly inserted sequence runs about 03:15.
SPOILERS Edgar Rice Burroughs's famous character was adapted thousand of times for the screen til one's thirst is quenched, notably during the thirties and the forties by Hollywood. Its productors made Tarzan one of the most successful cinema characters. Several years later, Hugh Hudson decided to make a more ambitious version of the monkey-man and it's a more natural, more wild and more down-to-earth Tarzan that he gives away here. Hudson skilfully avoids the clichés that you usually grant to Tarzan such as his famous scream or his friendly pet, Cheetah. Not only, are we far from the designed and invented character made by Hollwood but we are also far from the film set used to make his stories. The movie was partly made in Africa (more precisely in Cameroon). The movie introduces two obvious parts: the first one which takes place in the jungle where Tarzan lives among his adoptive friends, the apes and considers himself as their lord. But he ignores his real origins. The second one in England where Tarzan discovers the English society. Ian Holm epitomizes the link between the two parts and Hudson avoids all that could make the movie falls into the ridiculous thanks to a clever screenplay. Indeed, Holm teaches Lambert basic rules of manners so as to behave correctly in the English society and the result works. Moreover, in the second part, no-one ever laughs at Tarzan and he's even really appreciated. As far as the end is concerned well it's a both bitter and happy end. Happy because Tarzan comes back to the jungle and meets again his adoptive close relatives. But bitter too, because this homecoming means that the Greystoke line won't be ensured and is condemned to disappear... Christophe Lambert finds here, his first (and last?) great role. Sadly, he'll never equal the achievement of his performance in this movie and he'll play in poor and insipide action movies. Nevertheless, as I said previously, a clever screenplay, a performance of a rare quality, some impressive natural sceneries (both the jungle and the English country and we get a gorgeous movie. It's also an excellent rereading from a popular novel. So why is it only rated barely (6/10)?
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SPOILERS Edgar Rice Burroughs's famous character was adapted thousand of times for the screen til one's thirst is quenched, notably during the thirties and the forties by Hollywood. Its productors made Tarzan one of the most successful cinema characters. Several years later, Hugh Hudson decided to make a more ambitious version of the monkey-man and it's a more natural, more wild and more down-to-earth Tarzan that he gives away here. Hudson skilfully avoids the clichés that you usually grant to Tarzan such as his famous scream or his friendly pet, Cheetah. Not only, are we far from the designed and invented character made by Hollwood but we are also far from the film set used to make his stories. The movie was partly made in Africa (more precisely in Cameroon). The movie introduces two obvious parts: the first one which takes place in the jungle where Tarzan lives among his adoptive friends, the apes and considers himself as their lord. But he ignores his real origins. The second one in England where Tarzan discovers the English society. Ian Holm epitomizes the link between the two parts and Hudson avoids all that could make the movie falls into the ridiculous thanks to a clever screenplay. Indeed, Holm teaches Lambert basic rules of manners so as to behave correctly in the English society and the result works. Moreover, in the second part, no-one ever laughs at Tarzan and he's even really appreciated. As far as the end is concerned well it's a both bitter and happy end. Happy because Tarzan comes back to the jungle and meets again his adoptive close relatives. But bitter too, because this homecoming means that the Greystoke line won't be ensured and is condemned to disappear... Christophe Lambert finds here, his first (and last?) great role. Sadly, he'll never equal the achievement of his performance in this movie and he'll play in poor and insipide action movies. Nevertheless, as I said previously, a clever screenplay, a performance of a rare quality, some impressive natural sceneries (both the jungle and the English country and we get a gorgeous movie. It's also an excellent rereading from a popular novel. So why is it only rated barely (6/10)?