The Phantom (1996)

The Phantom, descendent of a line of African superheroes, travels to New York City to thwart a wealthy criminal genius from obtaining three magic skulls which would give him the secret to ultimate power.

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

Four hundred years ago, a young boy witnessed his father's death during an attack on their ship by the bloodthirsty Sengh Brotherhood. He was washed ashore on Bengalla Island where he swore to devote his life to bring down piracy, greed, cruelty and injustice. He became The Phantom, a masked avenger whose role was passed down for father to son, leading people to believe in an immortal figure called "The Ghost Who Walks". The 21st successor to the role of Bengalla's resident superhero must travel to New York City to prevent a power-hungry businessman from obtaining three magic skulls that would give him the secret to ultimate power.

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | new york city | skull | ghost | superhero | 

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Taglines:

Slam evil!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

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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:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,072,346, 9 June 1996

Gross USA:

$17,300,889, 1 September 1996

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures,The Ladd Company,Boam Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Simon Wincer mentioned in an interview that Minnie Driver was originally cast as Sala but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.

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Goofs

During the chase scene between the Phantom (on a horse) and two Police officers on motorcycles, when the bullets fired from the officers' pistols hit the nearby trees, they produce sparks.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title card: In case you forgot...
Phantom's Dad: It all began a very long time ago, when a merchant ship was set upon by pirates of the Sengh Brotherhood. A small boy watched helplessly as his father was killed by the pirate leader, the Evil Kabai Sengh. He jumped overboard, and was washed ashore on a mysterious jungle island called Bengalla. It seemed like a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire, but the Touganda tribesmen meant the boy no harm. They scooped him up and carried him to their village...

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Crazy Credits

The film title appears from the Phantom's skull ring.

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Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: Steel (2009)

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.