Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes

All good

If reading the ORIGINAL story teaches you anything, its that Disney loves to ruin things. I originally watched this when I was very young and only saw pieces of it, but since I was only 9 or so at the time, I thought it was a very strange movie. I liked the Disney version growing up, and with another release of the Tarzan story I decided to finally read the book. To quell my thirst for more, I bought this movie and watched it as an adult, and Im surprised that it still looks amazing to me. (My only complaint was the black panthers body... it looked like a tiny stuffed animal compared to a real one... but that is only a small scene in the movie.) I can honestly say that this is the best adaptation of the original ERB story, but it actually removed some of the things I had an issue with in the book. I dont doubt that someone can learn some English writing from picture books and other similar things, but to be able to form sentences and have full conversations is unlikely. They dont have the apes speaking English when English-speaking people arent around, and he does not name himself as Tarzan, nor is the name Tarzan ever mentioned throughout the movie. Also, the writer of this movie must have done a lot of research into the study of feral children because they often relapse back into their wild selves, especially when under stress. To sum it up, I love it to pieces, I highly recommend it, and I will definitely watch it again.

Might have given it 5 stars except that I read most of the original novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs of which Tarzan was only one. There was Princess of Mars, John Carter of Mars and a whole list of others. Some have been made into movies. Tarzan of the Apes has never been give the justice in film, TV series or anywhere to match what Burroughs created in his novels. This aside... was not that bad... at least not picturing Tarzan as a dumb ape-man as in other filmings!

Having owned the DVD since its release, and anxiously awaiting the Blu-ray with a street date of April 26, 2013, this is still the best Tarzan movie up to today!. The majestic cinematography and musical score are a magnificent backdrop to a very emotional retelling of the story. The cast is terrific, and very believable in their roles. If you care a little bit about our relationships as humans to the other animal species, and if you have ever loved a pet, you will have at least one tear in your eyes before the end credits begin to roll. I love this movie, and I recommend it highly. Well, the Blu-ray release is a limited release by the Warner Brothers Archive collection, and apparently, there are not many copies around!. So if you love this movie like I do, hurry, before it becomes a collectors item selling for over $100 on e-bay! So I finally received my copy directly from Warners (3 months later than anticipated), and another from a third party with Amazon, because apparently it is temporarily out of stock in the Amazon warehouses. The film is indeed the extended version (137 minutes) with an Overture, and a prologue, before the main titles. The transfer from film to Blu-ray in PANAVISION is breathtaking, and the 5.1 DTS soundtrack is sensational. Not many special features: just the commentary by the director and the standard definition trailer. What happened there Warners?, the previous Blu-ray Archive releases like GYPSY, DEATHTRAP, etc had the trailers remastered in HD. I figured, a relativily newer film, would be easier to have the trailer in good shape to master in 1080p. In any case THANK YOU Warner Archives, for making this jewel of a movie available to us. It is hard to believe it did not warrant a general commercial release for its 30th anniversary. It is still great to watch after 3 decades. I strongly recommend this film, especially in HD!

I of course love Edgar Rice Burroughs original book, and this retains enough elements of it to make the narrative work. The scenery and ambience are wonderful too--from the wild forest in West Africa to the long shots of Great Houses in the UK, to the cool cameo by a period steam-powered buzz saw.. But there are two drawbacks, one minor, one more serious. The minor problem is the sound recording levels. I dont know how the original sounded in a real theater, but streaming it at home, I had to sit on the volume control. In some scenes you need nearly full volume to understand the dialogue; in others you need to turn it way down or have your eardrums blown out by pant-hoots from the chimps. And speaking of chimps, using human actors just doesnt work if the viewer has any knowledge of how real apes climb and move. Roger Fouts, the primate advisor, is one of the worlds greatest experts on ape ethology, and its clear that he gave them really good direction. Chimps really do hug one another when scared, and they kiss, fight, and even kill each other too. But the human actors just couldnt possibly climb a tree with anything like the agility of a real chimp, nor are the real guys so slow and awkward, even on the ground. This isnt the actors fault; an adult male chimp enjoys around seven times the strength of a human man. So, if you can suspend your disbelief on the sub-standard movement science, and if you dont mind hovering your mouse over the volume control throughout the whole thing, youll enjoy the rest of the movie. Ive read that a great deal of film was cut from the final version, so a new edition with the cut scenes restored might make it more entertaining.

A great movie very good actors, so realistic

Ive always enjoyed this movie from the first time I watched it when it was first released. I will always enjoy it every time I watch it

As far as I know this is film comes closest to the original books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but only in the first half. Its a beautifully photographed film, well directed, and with an outstanding cast. And it is very enjoyable. Christopher Lambert is appealing as Tarzan, and the boy actors who play him growing up in the jungle are excellent. The attempt to portray the apes as characters works well. Ian Holm is marvelous in his role as an educated European who discovers Tarzan in the wild, and Sir Ralph Richardson is unforgettable as the grandfather(Lord Greystoke) whom Tarzan comes to meet in England. Andie McDowell is appealing and lovely as Jane, though it is a tragedy that her voice was removed from the film and the voice of Glenn Close was dubbed instead. In the novels, Jane is from Baltimore, and undoubtedly Andie McDowells sensitive and tender voice would have been very effective. That being said, the dubbing is very skilled; I doubt anyone who doesnt know the voice is being dubbed would even notice it. I certainly didnt know the first time around. And I didnt notice anything false about the dubbing a couple of nights ago when I watched the film again. The second half of the movie involves an original story on the part of the movie people as to what happens to Tarzan on his return to England. Its well done. But its not Burroughs. And its really not Tarzan of the Apes either. --- I recommend this film for Tarzan aficionados because of what it does attempt and achieve, and see no point on missing out on the fun of it due to what it doesnt attempt or achieve. BUT some day I hope some one does attempt a great Tarzan movie truly based on the first two books of Edgar Rice Burroughs series. ---- In those books, Tarzan is a super hero, a man of the jungle with such strength, skill, cunning and intelligence that he can adjust to any society --- including that of Europeans or Arabs, as well as the society of the apes in Africa and the natives in Africa. In this age when there is so much attention to the super hero, and we have so many stunning films exploring super heroes with high productive values, we could really use a great Tarzan film. I hope we get it. I hope some one does for the franchise (?) what Kenneth Branagh did for Mary Shelleys Frankenstein --- In the meantime, I like this film very much for what it does offer. I admire its productive values, and its cast, and its cinematography.

I remember liking this back when it came out and hadnt seen it for a really long time, so I decided to get the Blu-ray. I think it still holds up really well. The cinematography is great and really provides fantastic views of both the African jungle and Scottish estate. Whats really impressive is the ape portrayals. They are people in suits, but the details and mechanics incorporated into those suits is unmatched even today. Rick Baker strikes again. This should have won the Oscar for makeup, but didnt. The actors in suits did great Ape performances as well. The Ape species is supposed to be fictitious, but theyre clearly modeled after Chimpanzees more than any other species. Story is good too. From what Ive heard, this is the closest adaptation to the original Tarzan novel by Burroughs. It follows the circumstances of the child being adopted by an Ape mother, his development, discovery and his reintroduction into society. Its different from the other versions in that Jane doesnt meet Tarzan in the jungle and, in fact, we never hear the name Tarzan mentioned once throughout the entire film. Still, its a story thats captivating and worth watching. Blu-ray is good. Really good picture and sound and even restored the Overture music sequence at the beginning. As with just about all Warner Archive releases, its a pretty bare bones release, but surprisingly there is a feature commentary provided. I strongly suggest that anyone who considers themselves a fan of Tarzan should get this film. Todays films rely so heavily on CGI and massive battle sequences that we can forget that these stories can be told more simply and still be captivating. Well worth it.

Just how many Tarzans can you stomach ? There are so many. If I had to chose just one, This version is it! There are so many overt caricatures that I yearned for something more realistic. Christopher Lamberts portrayal is perfect. No overacting here. The story is alive and genuine. I noticed that, because of my personal overexposure to the character, in general, that I was left feeling that something was missing. There wasnt. I was lacking in objectivity. The film was beautifully done, and I have since found that my feeling came from the fact that I wanted more from THIS portrayal. Alas, Too many years have passed for that. This version stands well above the rest.