Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) (DVD) (*)

$21.99

Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Ceasar Awards
Oscar Academy Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Subtitles )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/NTSC/Region 0 )

Running Time:
137 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen

Special Features:
Commentary
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)
Remastered

Movie filmed in 1984 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Hugh Hudson

Written By:
Hugh Hudson
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Robert Towne

Actors:
Ralph Richardson ..... The Sixth Earl of Greystoke
Ian Holm ..... Capitaine Phillippe D'Arnot
James Fox ..... Lord Charles Esker
Christopher Lambert ..... John Clayton/Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
Andie MacDowell ..... Miss Jane Porter
Cheryl Campbell ..... Lady Alice Clayton
Ian Charleson ..... Jeffson Brown
Nigel Davenport ..... Major Jack Downing
Nicholas Farrell ..... Sir Hugh Belcher
Paul Geoffrey ..... Lord John 'Jack' Clayton
Richard Griffiths ..... Captain Billings
Hilton McRae ..... Willy
John Wells ..... Sir Evelyn Blount
Ravinder ..... Dean
Eric Langlois ..... Tarzan aged twelve

Synopsis:

A shipping disaster in the 19th Century has stranded a man and woman in the wilds of Africa. The lady is pregnant, and gives birth to a son in their tree house. Soon after, a family of apes stumble across the house and in the ensuing panic, both parents are killed. A female ape takes the tiny boy as a replacement for her own dead infant, and raises him as her son. Twenty years later, Captaine Phillippe D'Arnot discovers the man who thinks he is an ape. Evidence in the tree house leads him to believe that he is the direct descendant of the Earl of Greystoke, and thus takes it upon himself to return the man to civilization.

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a reverent retelling of the Edgar Rice Burroughs original, with a 1980s-sensibilities slant. Shipwrecked on the coast of Africa, Lord Jack Clayton (Paul Geoffrey) and his pregnant wife Lady Alice (Cheryl Campbell) attempt to survive in the hostile environment, but both die shortly after the birth of their son John. Abandoned in the wilderness, the orphaned John is adopted by a family of rather highly evolved apes, and raised as one of their own. Years later, John-now known as Tarzan, and now played by Christopher Lambert-comes across a party of white hunters. Rescuing one of the intruders, Belgian Captain Phillipe D'Arnot (Ian Holm) from a horrible death , Tarzan is taught to speak English by the grateful D'Arnot. Coming across the remains and possessions of Tarzan's parents, D'Arnot discovers that the Lord of the Jungle is actually the Earl of Greystoke. Brought back to England, Tarzan is introduced to society, where his crude, apelike manners offend everyone--except the likeable (and painfully senile) 6th Lord of Greystoke (Ralph Richardson, in his final film role) and Greystoke's American ward, Jane Porter (Andie McDowell, whose Southern-fried voice is dubbed by Glenn Close). Disturbed at the notion of Tarzan's inheriting Greystoke manner, his more greedy relatives begin plotting against him. But it is Tarzan himself who decides that he cannot adapt himself to England-especially after a painful reunion with his ape foster father, imprisoned in a science-lab cage. Renouncing his title, Tarzan returns to the jungle, with Jane by his side.

Classic tale of the wild man raised by apes in the African jungle after his explorer parents are shipwrecked and then die while he is still a baby. Rediscovered by adventurers when he has grown to manhood, he is returned to the strange and unfamiliar world of the British aristocracy and discovers that, despite a doting grandfather and a female admirer, civilization can be a cruel place.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 27 September, 2016.