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

3 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 from 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 | interwar period | character name as title | the phantom character | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

The ghost who walks. The man who cannot die.

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several scenes developing the romance between The Phantom/Kit Walker and Diana Palmer were shot in Thailand, but director Simon Wincer reportedly ditched them because he wanted the film to be more fast-paced.

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Goofs

When the Phantom is chasing the three grave robbers through the jungle. He grabs one and pushes him into a rather large tree, roughly the diameter of the guys body. When the bad man hits the tree, it gives way.

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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 The Cinema Snob: The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2018)

User Reviews

The best superhero movie made to date.

If you go to a superhero movie and you have problems with guys wearing tight spandex, then you'd better just close your eyes. Superheroes wear tight clothes...get over it. I think one of the best parts of this film is that they make very little reference to it. The Henson Creature Shop did an excellent job re-creating the look of the classic Phantom character while giving it just a bit more style. As for the characters, they were light and enjoyable. They don't need to be "deep" or meaningful..they need to be comic characters and they succeeded admirably. The plot was simple, but engaging and the villains were perfect, no good, evil comic book baddies. This is a great movie to give you the feel for what the real old adventure serials were about.

Details

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Phantom

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,072,346, 9 June 1996

Gross USA:

$17,323,326

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,323,326

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