Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes

Play trailer Poster for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes PG 1984 2h 9m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
79% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
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.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes

Critics Reviews

View More
Vincent Canby New York Times 07/20/2004
'Greystoke' is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable films of its kind I've ever seen. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Dec 2
3/4
A visually resplendent film that, while perhaps a bit too rigid to offer the proper degree of high adventure synonymous with the Tarzan trademark, contains no small measure of compelling sequences and strong performances. Go to Full Review
Octavi Marti El Pais (Spain) 02/19/2020
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] Go to Full Review
Sergio Benítez Espinof 08/27/2019
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] Go to Full Review
James Plath Family Home Theater 03/30/2016
B-
For all its flaws, Greystoke is still better than the romanticized live-action versions of Tarzan that Hollywood has produced. Go to Full Review
Rob Vaux Mania.com 04/01/2014
B+
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. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Alec B 01/10/2024 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. See more jelisije j 12/23/2021 A movie that took a realistic approach to the character of Tarzan and his journey from the jungle to civilized society. See more 07/20/2021 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. See more steve d 07/13/2020 It brings nothing new to the often told tale. See more jordan m 04/28/2020 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! See more 01/25/2019 I saw this movie in the theater when it was first released. I had been a Tarzan fan since the early 60's. My favorite had always been Johnny Weismuller, though Ron Ely was good, even in the TV series. As much as I liked the movies. none of them ever did the books justice, in my opinion. I walked out of the theater convinced that Tarzan had finally gotten a proper treatment, and that I had seen the best Tarzan ever, both the movie, and the actor. I just watched it again tonight, and that opinion has not changed. See more Read all reviews
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
The Accidental Tourist 82% 60% The Accidental Tourist Watchlist Time After Time 88% 72% Time After Time Watchlist Hamlet 76% 59% Hamlet Watchlist Barry Lyndon 78% 92% Barry Lyndon Watchlist Eleni 83% 76% Eleni Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

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
Producer
Hugh Hudson, Stanley S. Canter
Screenwriter
Robert Towne, Michael Austin
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Bros., 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
Most Popular at Home Now