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Tarzan, the Ape Man

Play trailer Poster for Tarzan, the Ape Man R 1981 1h 52m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
9% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 19% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Innocent Jane (Bo Derek) seeks her flamboyant British father (Richard Harris) in Africa and meets Tarzan (Miles O'Keeffe), who shows her around.
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Tarzan, the Ape Man

Critics Reviews

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Variety Staff Variety 03/26/2009
This opus will disappoint both Tarzan fans and Bo admirers. Go to Full Review
Time Out 06/24/2006
Judging by the amount of time everybody spends swimming, the African jungle resembles Hornsey Baths filled with oversized pot plants. Go to Full Review
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 10/23/2004
2.5/4
Of course it's completely ridiculous, but at the same time it has a certain disarming charm. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Dec 2
1/4
This cinematic atrocity truly is one of the all-time worsts. Go to Full Review
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Jan 18
1/4
...a laughably bad disaster that fares even worse than its bleak reputation might’ve indicated. Go to Full Review
Mark Hiers Our Own Community Press (Norfolk, VA) 05/03/2023
It is neither erotic nor an adventure. The R stands for Rotten. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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CodyZamboni Z Jan 16 Movie is inept, stupid and boring. Only the Bo Derek beach scene is memorable. See more mark g @Mark_Alan_G. 12/09/2024 Start with the positive. You get to see Bo Derek nude. Negatives, everything else. Including a performance by Richard Harris that is so bad that a debate will begin over whether he was on drugs or drunk. I say both. See more Kevin B 02/02/2023 So bad but would watch again only for Bo Derek 🤣 See more 04/04/2022 Oh no, more Bo. Marketed with the tagline "Unlike any other Tarzan you've ever seen!," this was written by Tom Rowe and Gary Goddard, who would go on to direct Masters of the Universe. Goddard had originally been hired to write a screenplay based upon the Marvel Comics character Dazzler for Bo. And of course, this being a John and Bo Derek movie, there were issues. As soon as MGM announced the studio was making a Tarzan film with them, Warner Bros. complained, as they were developing a Tarzan film with Robert Towne called Greystoke. Maybe they had a point, as they had the rights to the character from the Burroughs estate. MGM argued that the Dereks would be remaking 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man, which they had the right to do, as they had released another remake in 1959. The Burroughs estate responde by suing MGM before a single frame was shot. The original actor cast in the Tarzan role, Lee Canalito, had injured his knee, making him need a stuntman. That stuntman had to undergo an emergency appendectomy, so Canalito quit or was fired five weeks into shooting and the second stunt double, Miles O'Keeffe, debuted in the title role. You may know him as Ator or the Green Knight in Cannon's astounding Sword of the Valiant. Somehow, Richard Harris was in this, playing James Parker, the hunter father of Jane (Bo), who gets lost in Africa searching for a mythical white ape. James wants to capture this ape — who is Tarzan — dead or alive. Hey look! John Phillip Law is in this! Anyways… The natives, led by Ivory King (Steve Strong, the former tag team partner of Jesse "The Body" Ventura), kidnap Jane and tie her up nude, which is pretty much John Derek's id on full display. They also kill her dad. So Tarzan saves her then they make sweet, sweet jungle love. And a chimpanzee — played by CJ, who was Clyde in Any Which Way You Can — sucks on Jane's nipple because hey, John Derek. The most beautiful woman of our time in the most erotic adventure of all time. See why Playboy calls Bo Derek the sexiest Jane in Tarzan history! The Lord of the Apes goes ape for Bo Derek! Yeah, OK. Anyways, here's the William Castle-level BS. Maybe. During a scene involving Jane attempting to get away from Tarzan, Miles O'Keeffe found himself face-to-face with Neal, a full grown African lion, who protected Derek. In fact, Nea was a method actor and nearly went after O'Keeffe for real. Now, I am not sure I believe this, except that Neal was also in Roar and everyone involved is lucky that they weren't mauled. See more Matthew D 08/10/2021 Gotta hand it to John Derek; it does take a special talent to make a Tarzan movie boring. See more 02/27/2021 The greatest story about Tarzan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Read all reviews
Tarzan, the Ape Man

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Movie Info

Synopsis Innocent Jane (Bo Derek) seeks her flamboyant British father (Richard Harris) in Africa and meets Tarzan (Miles O'Keeffe), who shows her around.
Director
John Derek
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Rating
R
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 24, 1981, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2008
Runtime
1h 52m
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