Better Late Then Never

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Probably the most serious and realistic adaptation of Tarzan I've seen. The first act is great. The harshness and grittiness in the tone was a great way to set the mood. The second half is good and has some better moments, but it doesn't hold up as well as the first half and leaves the film a little anticlimactic.The development and exploration of John/Tarzan's character is well thought out and the performance was really believable. Ian Holm is fantastic in the film as his friend and the journey they make together should have been explored more. Going into the film i expected to see a film where Tarzan defends his animal friends from evil humans in the jungle, but I got a very grounded and simple film about a man trying to adapt into a life he naturally wasn't raised for. The duality and having to choose between the two lives is an interesting concept, but it leaves it unresolved in my opinion.There are some very dramatic and sad moments here too. The bond between the apes and the man is felt more than the bond between humans sometimes. The apes have their cheesy moments, but there's also really strong and emotional moments too. The detail in the costumes switches around a bit. The best compliment to the ape costumes I can give is that the eyes where done so well that I actually thought those were real ape ayes.There are even some scenes that deal with the human beings desire to kill and rip apart other animals, like dissecting, hunting and chaining them up. Seeing those things from Tarzan's perspective was a bit haunting and heartbreaking and you feel the conflict.Some great performances, great first half, gritty & grounded moments are all strong points, but it loses steam in the second half and drags on a bit for too long and leaves you feeling unresolved. The film also lacked more tension and intensity towards the end which would have picked the whole thing up and made up for the calmer moments. I like calmer films, but it really builds up to something exciting to happen, and it never does.Still, it's probably the best adaptation of Tarzan I've seen and the one who truly makes you feel the tragedy of this truly sad and haunting tale. It ain't as light as you might expect.

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984): Dir: Hugh Hudson / Cast: Christopher Lambert, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, Andie MacDowell, James Fox: Another attempt at a Tarzan adaptation although it might appeal better without its cheesecake title. It stars Christopher Lambert as Tarzan who grew up in the jungle and raised by apes. Ian Holm shipwrecks onto the island and is founded by Tarzan. Holm studies him closely and observes his authority amongst the apes. Soon he is shipped to England where he meets his grandfather at the Greystoke manor. Directed by Hugh Hudson whom gives the story an artistic approached never seen before but its more adult appeal strikes against the very audience it should fancy too. Hudson previously made the acclaim Chariots of Fire. The screenplay is predictable but detailed with terrific art direction. Lambert does a tremendous job with the mannerisms of Tarzan but his concluding decision is somewhat hopeless. Ralph Richardson as Tarzan's grandfather provides wisdom. Holm steals scenes early on with his introductory to Tarzan. Only Andie MacDowell as Jane is subdued in predictable drivel that render her more as a romantic fling than a personality. More adult oriented than fantasy adventure and that greatly works against it but it is unique in its presentation nonetheless. Score: 5 ½ / 10

Okay - this movie starts with Tarzan's parents getting killed after experiencing a shipwreck that gets them to Africa - after apes kill his parents Tarzan gets brought up as an ape - now this is where the bad things happen - you have 1 hour or so of apes behaving typically with Tarzan, they spent too long doing this and I would rather them get to the point. Tarzan is now a fully grown man and earns his title as ruler of the apes, an expedition comes along and all but 1 die - this guy played by Ian Holm then starts to teach Tarzan how to speak English, maybe it's just me but I can't suspend my disbelief to buy that he learns English within a few months.Then Tarzan and Phillipe (the person teaching him) decide to bring him to his family. Tarzan then meets his grandfather when he's back at England, he tries to adapt from ape society to high-class society (which is obviously not an easy task) and falls in love with a woman named Jane. Soon the grandfather experiences an accidental death. This pushes Tarzan over the edge because he then has to run the estate as his grandfather did. He then finds the ape that raised him in captivity and both behave like apes then one person shoots the ape, Tarzan then (in a way) begs to go back to Africa because he can't take the responsibility of what was being presented to him and he goes back.In my opinion this movie really picks up into the good parts of the movie when dialogue occurs. It definitely took too long with the ape part it said what was needed to be said about 15 minutes into the thing. Christopher Lambert is definitely the best performance out of the whole thing. It's decent entertainment, at least.

This film is a retelling of the Tarzan legend. The main differences from this one than those in the past is that the film is a bit more gritty. The focus is of a more mature nature than a man swinging from vines and doing that famous call. Not to say this film is entirely serious or anything as it does have a few humorous moments within it. The story has a family that has been stranded in the jungle. The wife is dead and all that remains is the father and his infant son. Well a gorilla soon comes upon his doorstep and kills the father and a female gorilla ditches her dead child and takes the young infant baby. We watch as this young boy grows up among the apes and runs afoul of this mean looking monkey. After this segment, the boy turns to a man and stumbles upon an explorer who is running from natives and not in very good shape. For some reason he is nursed back to health and the man takes the jungle guy back with him to the uncle he never knew. The film is rather good, I did not care for certain aspects of it, but overall it worked. Christopher Lambert plays his role very well and this has to be one of the better films I have seen him in. The apes are done rather good, and look rather realistic. The story does get a bit to tragic for my tastes near the end, but I guess it fits in with this being a more mature and gritty Tarzan film.