Romancing the Stone (1984)

A mousy romance novelist sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue.

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writer:

Diane Thomas

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Jack Colton
Kathleen Turner	...	Joan Wilder
Danny DeVito	...	Ralph
Zack Norman	...	Ira
Alfonso Arau	...	Juan
Manuel Ojeda	...	Zolo
Holland Taylor	...	Gloria
Mary Ellen Trainor	...	Elaine
Eve Smith	...	Mrs. Irwin
Joe Nesnow	...	Super
José Chávez	...	Santos
Evita Muñoz 'Chachita'	...	Hefty Woman (as Chachita)
Camillo García	...	Bus Driver
Rodrigo Puebla	...	Bad Hombre
Paco Morayta	...	Hotel Clerk

Storyline

Joan Wilder, a mousy romance novelist, receives a treasure map in the mail from her recently murdered brother-in-law. Meanwhile, her sister Elaine is kidnapped in Colombia and the two criminals responsible demand that she travel to Colombia to exchange the map for her sister. Joan does, and quickly becomes lost in the jungle after being waylayed by Zolo, a vicious and corrupt Colombian cop who will stop at nothing to obtain the map. There, she meets an irreverent soldier-of-fortune named Jack Colton who agrees to bring her back to civilization. Together, they embark upon an adventure that could be straight out of Joan's novels.

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Plot Keywords:

colombia | treasure map | romance novelist | rescue mission | latin america | 

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Taglines:

She's a girl from the big city. He's a reckless soldier of fortune. For a fabulous treasure, they share an adventure no one could imagine... or survive.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA Mexico

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

30 March 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Romancing the Stone

Filming Locations:

Huasca de Ocampo, Hidalgo, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,105,741, 1 April 1984, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$76,572,238

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$115,078,260

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, El Corazon Producciones S.A., Nina Saxon Film Design

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Robert Zemeckis's first successful film, and the first not to also involve Steven Spielberg. This finally opened the doors for him to make his next project, Back to the Future (1985). Two other cast members went on to appear in time travel films. Eve Smith had a small part in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), while Michael Douglas appeared in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

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Goofs

When Michael Douglas swings across the ravine at just under the 41 minute mark you can see the 'hard' stone wall flex from his impact.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grogan: What's it gonna be, Angelina?
Joan Wilder: [voiceover narration] It was Grogan: the filthiest, dirtiest, *dumbest* excuse for a man west of the Missouri River.
Grogan: So, you can die two ways, angel: quick like the tongue of a snake, or slower than the molasses in January.
Joan Wilder: [voiceover narration] But it was October.
Grogan: I'll kill you, goddammit, if it's the Fourth of July! Where is it? Uhh. Get over there!
Joan Wilder: [voiceover narration] I told him to get out, now that he had what he came for.
Grogan: Not quite, angel.
[spits]
Grogan: ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The DVD makes several changes to the subtitles that accompany Spanish dialog. Originally, very little Spanish dialog was subtitled; only Zolo's remark to Ralph that "You must be French," and his order to "Assemble your men" were originally captioned. On the DVD, "You must be French" is changed to "Are you French?," while "Assemble your men" is captioned only as "Speaking Spanish." The translations only appear when the English subtitles are turned on. The lines in which Zolo commandeers Ralph's car and orders him to turn around, a scene where a soldier spots Jack and Joan walking through a cemetery, and orders given to search the hotel as Jack and Joan sneak out, are now translated on the subtitle track. Juan's explanation of who she is, which was already subtitled, is now preceded by "This is Juanita Wilder."

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Connections

Referenced in Remington Steele: The Steele That Wouldn't Die: Part 1 (1987)

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Soundtracks

Romancing the Stone
Written, Produced and Performed by Eddy Grant
Courtesy of Portrait/Ice Records
Heard in the patio scene after Joan and Jack are invited into the "bell maker's" house

User Reviews

fun flick. not a polished gem.

This film tries to do it all: adventure, comedy, and romance. Romancing the Stone succeeds, but Crocodile Dundee and other films have done it better.

Kathleen Turner stars as romance novelist Joan Wilder, a city girl who unintentionally finds herself stranded in the Colombian wilderness, miles away from modern communication and transportation. She encounters her opposite, a rugged outdoorsy soldier of fortune named Jack. Their clashing personalities are fun to watch. Of course, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom presented a similar relationship and did it better, but let's give Romancing the Stone credit for doing it first (by a few months).

Good cast. Danny DeVito is especially entertaining. I liked how Joan's experiences transform her character. Good plot premise. But parts of the script are a bit sloppy. The story moves forward at a good pace, but the progress of the story relies too often on "coincidences." (Imagine if you read a Superman story where every time Superman is about to catch the bad guy, a piece of kryptonite falls from the sky and knocks him unconscious.)

I was shocked that this film was nominated for best editing. In some getaway scenes, the editors apparently cut the part where the hiding party realizes that their pursuers have just arrived. The editors simply cut to the shot where the hiding party is attempting their escape. Fixing this problem would have extended the film's runtime by about 10 seconds. Also, there are some goofs involving stunt doubles, one of which could have been fixed by simply cutting the shot a second earlier.

I was disappointed that we never learn the history of the treasure or the map. Nor do we learn how or why Elaine's husband acquired the map or why he was in Colombia in the first place.

Despite its flaws, this movie is fun. Check it out if you enjoy adventure flicks.