Congo (1995)

When an expedition to the African Congo ends in disaster, a new team is assembled to find out what went wrong.

Director:

Frank Marshall

Writers:

Michael Crichton (novel), John Patrick Shanley (screenplay)

Stars:

Laura Linney, Tim Curry, Dylan Walsh

2 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laura Linney	...	Dr. Karen Ross
Dylan Walsh	...	Dr. Peter Elliot
Ernie Hudson	...	Captain Monroe Kelly
Tim Curry	...	Herkermer Homolka
Grant Heslov	...	Richard
Joe Don Baker	...	R.B. Travis
Lola Noh	...	Amy (as Lorene Noh)
Mary Ellen Trainor	...	Moira
Misty Rosas	...	Amy the Gorilla
Stuart Pankin	...	Boyd
Carolyn Seymour	...	Eleanor Romy
Romy Rosemont	...	Assistant
James Karen	...	College President / Elliot's Boss
Bill Pugin	...	William
Lawrence T. Wrentz	...	Prof. Arliss Wender

Storyline

A megalomaniacal C.E.O. sends his son into the dangerous African Congo on a quest for a source of diamonds large enough and pure enough to function as powerful laser communications transmitters (or is it laser weapons?). When contact is lost with his son and the team, his sometime daughter-in-law is sent after them. She is a former C.I.A. operative and, accompanied by gee-whiz gadgetry and a few eccentric characters (including a mercenary, a researcher with a talking gorilla, and a nutty Indiana-Jones-type looking for King Solomon's Mines), sets out to rescue her former fiancé. What they all discover is that often what we most want turns out to be the source of our downfall.

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Plot Keywords:

movie flop | lost city | gorilla | diamond | talking gorilla | 

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Taglines:

Where you are the endangered species

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for jungle adventure terror and action and brief strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rather than re-create the features of a mountain gorilla, the studio had instructions to design Amy so that she would more closely resemble the 'cuter' lowland gorilla. "We took a lot of artistic license with Amy that, in hindsight, we shouldn't have taken," Stan Winston said. "Part of that artistic license was putting a lowland gorilla face on what was supposed to be a mountain gorilla, just to make her more appealing. She was cuter, but we paid a price for it because there was a sense of reality that was lost in the character." Stan Winston and his crew did not have the benefit of that hindsight, however, as they began to design and build a suit and mechanical heads for the character.

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Goofs

The boulders that fall into the water in one scene float.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rudy, TraviCom Security: [over PA system] Doctor Ross. Doctor Ross. We've got satellite in the Congo.
Dr. Karen Ross: What did they say, Rudy?
Rudy, TraviCom Security: I can't repeat anything in here.
Dr. Karen Ross: It's Charles.
Rudy, TraviCom Security: It's Charles.
Rudy, TraviCom Security: [trying her access card] It won't work.
Dr. Karen Ross: You changed the code already?
Rudy, TraviCom Security: The old man's got me changing it every 3 hours now.
[imitating Cary Grant for voice print]
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Larry Sanders Show: Larry's Sitcom (1995)

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Soundtracks

Original vocals arranged by Lebo M.

User Reviews

Fun but not a masterpiece

I only read a bit of the novel, the bit when the people are killed, and it is really graphic. The film is no masterpiece,it is a bit cheesy, but it does have a sense of fun, (ie. Bruce Campbell, "Stop eating my sesame cake") and not as bad as the rating suggests. The special effects are nothing special, and I didn't get why the gorillas jumped into the lava at the end. That was the most cheesy thing about Congo. The script had its ups and downs, and the direction was a bit inexperienced. But the acting was on the whole alright. Laura Linney, who is a very good actress is a strong lead. Dylan Walsh pales in comparison but has some good delivery. Ernie Hudson is the best actor in the movie, with his easy-going charm and his grin. As for Tim Curry, at first I was put off by the accent, but hey it's acting. He was like a parallel to Dennis in Jurassic Park which is better. But I liked him here,he gave a great delivery of such classic lines. Please stop criticising him, when he was actually one of the reasons why I like the movie. He didn't deserve that Razzie nomination; that should have been Grant Heslov, whose delivery was whiny and his character was poorly written. Amy starts off well, like the movie, but grates on the nerves when the movie wears on. I am terrified of the King Solomons Mine scene, it is just very graphic, having your head bashed in like that. I know it's pretend but it felt real.The scenery was splendid, the cinematography was excellent and Jerry Goldsmith's music was good. In conclusion, a fairly watchable movie, if you don't mind too much cheese, and shouldn't be compared to Jurassic Park, the only thing they have in common were that they were written by the same author. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

9 June 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Congo

Filming Locations:

Baldwin Park, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,642,539, 11 June 1995

Gross USA:

$81,022,101

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$152,022,101

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, The Kennedy/Marshall Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1