Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes

PG

Released Mar 30, 1984

2h 9m

Drama

List

73%

15 Reviews

Tomatometer

60%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

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Alec B

Easily the best film version of Burroughs's character so far. This is likely because it was made late enough to not be cluelessly romantic about the 19th century, while also being made early enough to avoid the need to be deconstructive or ironic. Gorgeously filmed and the make-up effects are still remarkable.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

jelisije j

A movie that took a realistic approach to the character of Tarzan and his journey from the jungle to civilized society.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

kevin c

Out of all the Tarzan movie adaptations I've seen, this is by far the best one. Christopher Lambert plays the adult Tarzan in this one. What I really liked about it was the depiction of him being raised by the apes after his shipwrecked parents died while he was still an infant. Really well performed by the cast especially the actors in the ape costumes. My only detraction was that they kind of glossed over where Tarzan is trained to join society, that would have been interesting to watch a little more in-depth. Really enjoyed revisiting this lost gem.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Easily the best film version of Burroughs's character so far. This is likely because it was made late enough to not be cluelessly romantic about the 19th century, while also being made early enough to avoid the need to be deconstructive or ironic. Gorgeously filmed and the make-up effects are still remarkable.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

steve d

It brings nothing new to the often told tale.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

jordan m

I loved the entire first half of the movie - I don't know that I've seen so much emotion and drama portrayed without any words as I saw in the first 40 minutes of this. The jungle scenes were just fantastically done, with the monkey suits done extremely well and the production values and acting were very convincing. I think they could easily have avoided showing the child actor's butthole and was disconcerted by all of that, and the plot was too wordy and rushed when he was out of the jungle and so that part wasn't very interesting. It's unfortunate Jane was near-exclusively shown there. I appreciated the way they handled the end of the movie. The highlights for me were Lambert prior to them tidying him up with a ponytail, the costume work and the film score, which was really tremendous given the composer was a short notice replacement!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Hugh Hudson

Director

Christopher Lambert

John Clayton

Andie MacDowell

Miss Jane Porter

Ralph Richardson

The Sixth Earl of Greystoke

Ian Holm

Capitaine Phillippe D'Arnot

James Fox

Lord Charles Esker

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

'Greystoke' is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable films of its kind I've ever seen.

Jul 20, 2004

Full Review

Octavi Marti

El Pais (Spain)

An odd and attractive adventure, with a notable ability to to fictionalize at the same time that it's concerned with historical reconstruction. [Full Review in Spanish]

Feb 19, 2020

Full Review

Sergio Benítez

Espinof

The beauty with which John Alcott photographs the African natural landscapes and the extraordinary personality displayed by John Scott in the composition of the soundtrack that makes the film stay in the cinematic memory. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 27, 2019

Full Review

James Plath

Family Home Theater

For all its flaws, Greystoke is still better than the romanticized live-action versions of Tarzan that Hollywood has produced.

Rated: B-

Mar 30, 2016

Full Review

Rob Vaux

Mania.com

As long as they stay in the jungle, this Tarzan may be one of the very best versions of the character you're likely to see.

Rated: B+

Apr 1, 2014

Full Review

Luis Martinez

Cinenganos

Beautiful. A real view of an ape man clashing with the civilization.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 20, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

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.

Director: Hugh Hudson
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 30, 1984, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Runtime: 2h 9m
Sound Mix: Surround

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