Tarzan, the Ape Man | |
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Directed by | John Derek |
Written by |
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Based on | Tarzan of the Apes 1912 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs |
Produced by | Bo Derek |
Starring |
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Cinematography |
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Edited by | Jimmy Ling |
Music by | Perry Botkin Jr. |
Color process | Metrocolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | United Artists (North America) Cinema International Corporation (international) |
Release date |
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Running time | 115 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $6.5 million [1] or $8 million [2] |
Box office | $36.5 million [1] |
Tarzan, the Ape Man is a 1981 American adventure film directed by John Derek and starring Bo Derek, Miles O'Keeffe, Richard Harris, and John Phillip Law. The screenplay by Tom Rowe and Gary Goddard [3] is loosely based on the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but from the point of view of Jane Parker. [4]
The original music score is composed by Perry Botkin Jr. Former Tarzan actor Jock Mahoney (billed as Jack O'Mahoney) was the film's stunt coordinator. The film is marketed with the tagline "Unlike any other 'Tarzan' you've ever seen!" The original actor cast in the Tarzan role was fired (or quit) early in production, resulting in the sudden casting of his stunt double, Miles O'Keeffe, in the title role. The film was panned by critics and fans of the books for its storyline, acting and R-rating, and in some circles has been considered to be one of the worst films ever made. Despite this, it was a box-office success, grossing $36.5 against a $6.5 million budget.
This article needs an improved plot summary.(January 2019) |
James Parker is a big game hunter in Africa, searching for a place in the jungle where elephants allegedly go to die, wanting to retrieve its ivory. For this, he abandoned his wife and daughter, when the latter was but a child. After her mother's death, Jane, James's estranged daughter, decides to visit him and eventually joins the expedition. During their travels, Jane learns of legends about the "white ape" Tarzan, a supposedly giant man whom James's party is afraid of. One night, they even hear his loud yells in the distance. Tarzan, however, is actually an uncivilized white man raised by apes living in the African jungle. After he has a brief encounter with Jane, some of the people within James's party start disappearing, captured by a local tribe. Blaming Tarzan for these kidnappings and fearing he is after Jane, James starts pursuing Tarzan with the purpose of killing him.
Realizing that James is on his trail, Tarzan manages to kidnap Jane without getting caught. Over time, Jane and Tarzan become fascinated by each other. Helped by Tarzan, Jane eventually returns to her father. However, when James sees her approach with Tarzan to his party, he misinterprets the situation, thinking that Jane is running away from her kidnapper. Despite Jane's attempts to clarify the situation, her father starts shooting at Tarzan, who runs away. Soon after, James's group is kidnapped by the natives, who intend to make Jane the wife of the tribe leader, the Ivory King. A monkey witnesses this and runs to Tarzan, who understands the animal and springs into action. Meanwhile, the natives remove Jane's clothes and tie her up. They wash her naked body in plain view, laughing at her shocked, humiliated protests and then smear her with white paint. James tries to protect Jane from the Ivory King, who beats him up and stabs him with a severed ivory tusk. Tarzan arrives, kills the Ivory King in single combat by breaking his neck, and rescues Jane.
Jane says one last goodbye to her father before he succumbs to his injuries. Tarzan and Jane later become a couple, and interact with the local animals peacefully.
Bo Derek was extremely popular at the time due to her appearance in 10 . After making A Change of Seasons , she was meant to appear in High Road to China but pulled out of the film saying she wanted to be directed only by her husband John. [5]
In February 1980, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer announced the studio was making a Tarzan film with the Dereks. Warner Bros. complained, as that studio was also developing a Tarzan film with Robert Towne called Greystoke and they had the rights to the character from the Burroughs estate. MGM argued the Derek film would be the second remake of their 1932 film Tarzan the Ape Man which they had the right to do, having released the first remake in 1959. [6] The Burroughs estate sued MGM. [7]
In a 2012 interview with the film history magazine Filmfax , co-writer Gary Goddard revealed that he had originally been commissioned to write a screenplay for Bo Derek based upon the Marvel Comics superheroine, Dazzler; a 30-page treatment was completed before the project was canceled and work instead proceeded on Tarzan, The Ape Man which initially carried the working title Me, Jane reflecting its focus on Jane Porter as a showcase for Derek. [3]
Goddard, who became better known for his work in theme parks, said he wrote the script in two weeks. [8]
Filming took place in Sri Lanka in February 1981. [9]
The original Tarzan was Lee Canalito. [10] He injured his knee in 1980 meaning he was reliant on his stuntman. His stuntman had to undergo an emergency appendectomy when filming started. This resulted in Canalito being replaced by Miles O'Keeffe. [11] However, there was another version which says that Lee Canalito was replaced by Miles O'Keefe because Bo Derek said that "Lee was too fat. There was too much jiggling on him when we saw the first rushes". [12]
Richard Harris enjoyed working with the Dereks; Bo had played a supporting role in his movie Orca , four years prior to Tarzan. [13]
The film was widely panned upon its release. Film critic and historian Leonard Maltin considers Tarzan, the Ape Man one of the worst films ever; in his popular Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide , he wrote: "Deranged 'remake' lacks action, humor and charm...Forget about comparisons to Johnny Weissmuller; O'Keefe makes Elmo Lincoln seem like Edwin Booth...Should you feel an earthquake while watching this picture, chances are it's Edgar Rice Burroughs reeling in his grave." Leslie Halliwell described Tarzan, the Ape Man as "certainly the worst of the Tarzan movies and possibly the most banal film so far made; even the animals give poor performances." [14] In a discussion of Tarzan films, Thomas S. Hischak was also negative: "Produced and directed without a shred of talent by John Derek, Tarzan, the Ape Man often ranks high in the lists of the worst movies ever made." [15]
The sexual innuendos provoked laughter and the Hollywood trade publication The Hollywood Reporter called the film "ludicrous" with "stilted dialogue and ridiculous situations" and labeled the final scene, in which Jane and an orangutan are involved in what "looks like sexual foreplay" as "almost pornographic." The scene was subject to much argument and controversy. The heirs to Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs sued John Derek's Svengali Productions and distributor MGM, and a judge ordered the four-minute-long final scene to be cut to less than one minute. [16]
Critic Roger Ebert offered a somewhat more positive review of Tarzan, the Ape Man, awarding it two and a half stars out of a possible four. According to Ebert, the film was "completely ridiculous, but at the same time it has a certain disarming charm." Ebert thought Harris's talents were completely wasted and the film's dramatic peak was "incomprehensible," yet he praised the forthright depiction of the sexual passion and tension between Tarzan and Jane, which had more typically been downplayed in film adaptations of the characters: "The Tarzan-Jane scenes strike a blow for noble savages, for innocent lust, for animal magnetism, and, indeed, for soft-core porn, which is ever so much sexier than the hard-core variety." [17]
Reviewing Tarzan, the Ape Man retrospectively for The Encyclopedia of Fantasy , John Grant commented that the film "is widely regarded as the direst of the Tarzan movies, but it has enough good bits (including some spectacular photography and moments of exquisite wrongness) that, if cut by about 40 minutes, it would be highly regarded. As it is, it leaves a nasty taste: its intention seems to be to appeal to those who find eroticism in the sexual humiliation of women." [18] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an aggregate score of 10% based on two positive and 19 negative critic reviews. [19]
Despite its negative reviews, the film was a success at the box office. During its opening weekend, it was the highest-grossing film in the U.S. with receipts of $6,700,809. [20] [21] It grossed a total of $36,565,280 in the United States and Canada. [22]
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref. |
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Golden Raspberry Awards | March 29, 1982 | Worst Picture | Tarzan, the Ape Man (MGM, United Artists) | Nominated | [23] |
Worst Director | John Derek | Nominated | |||
Worst Actor | Richard Harris | Nominated | |||
Worst Actress | Bo Derek | Won | |||
Worst New Star | Miles O'Keeffe | Nominated | |||
Worst Screenplay | Tarzan, the Ape Man – Tom Roew and Gary Goddard | Nominated | |||
Jupiter Award | 1982 | Best International Actress | Bo Derek | Nominated | |
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | 1982 | Worst Picture | Tarzan, the Ape Man (MGM, United Artists) | Won | [24] |
2007 (expanded ballot) | Nominated | [25] | |||
Worst Director | John Derek | Nominated | |||
Worst Actress | Bo Derek | Nominated | |||
Worst Screenplay | Tarzan, the Ape Man (MGM, United Artists) | Nominated | |||
Worst Remake | Won | ||||
Tarzan, the Ape Man was released to DVD by Warner Home Video on June 8, 2004, as a Region 1 widescreen DVD.
The Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure references this movie in chapter 265, the final chapter of the manga's third part, Stardust Crusaders . Jotaro Kujo tests his grandfather Joseph Joestar with trivia questions, including "Who's the female lead in the 1981 film, Tarzan, the Ape Man?", which Joseph correctly answers with "Bo Derek". This scene is also featured in the last episode of the second season of the manga's 2012 anime adaptation. [26]
Gary Goddard said he was going to write more films for the Dereks including one called Pirate Annie. [8] However, financing for Annie was withdrawn when the studio, CBS, read the script and were unhappy with what they considered too small a role for Bo Derek. [27]
Cheeta is a chimpanzee character that appeared in numerous Hollywood Tarzan films of the 1930s–1960s, as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarzan. Cheeta has usually been characterized as male, but sometimes as female, and has been portrayed by chimpanzees of both sexes.
Bo Derek is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before deciding to pursue acting on the advice of a talent agent she met through actress Ann-Margret, who was acquainted with her parents. In 1972, she was cast in the romantic drama film Once Upon a Love (1973), which was directed by her first husband John Derek and eventually released as Fantasies in 1981. Her breakthrough performance came in the romantic comedy film 10 (1979), which cemented her status as a sex icon and mainstream celebrity. The role earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination for New Star of the Year – Actress.
Tarzan of the Apes is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine The All-Story in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 1914.
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a 1984 adventure film directed by Hugh Hudson based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes (1912). Christopher Lambert stars as Tarzan and Andie MacDowell as Jane; the cast also includes Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, James Fox, Cheryl Campbell, and Ian Charleson.
John Derek was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He appeared in such films as Knock on Any Door, All the King's Men, Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950), and The Ten Commandments (1956). He was also known for launching the career of his fourth wife, Bo Derek.
Tarzan the Ape Man is a 1932 pre-Code American action adventure film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan and starring Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith and Maureen O'Sullivan. It was Weissmuller's first of 12 Tarzan films. O'Sullivan played Jane in six features between 1932 and 1942. The film is loosely based on Burroughs' 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, with the dialogue written by Ivor Novello. The film was directed by W.S. Van Dyke. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released two remakes of Tarzan, the Ape Man in 1959 and in 1981, but each was a different adaptation of Rice Burroughs' novel. It is also the first appearance of Tarzan's famous yell.
Bolero is a 1984 American romantic drama film written and directed by John Derek and starring Bo Derek. The film centers on the protagonist's sexual awakening and her journey around the world to pursue an ideal first lover who will take her virginity.
The Tarzan yell or Tarzan's jungle call is the distinctive, ululating yell of the character Tarzan as portrayed by actor Johnny Weissmuller in the films based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs starting with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932). The yell was a creation of the movies based on what Burroughs described in his books as simply "the victory cry of the bull ape."
George of the Jungle is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and based on Jay Ward and Bill Scott's 1967 American animated television series of the same name, which in turn is a spoof of the fictional character Tarzan, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Written by Dana Olsen and Audrey Wells, and starring Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Holland Taylor, Richard Roundtree and John Cleese. It tells the story of a young man raised by wild animals who falls for an heiress and contends with the heiress's spoiled and narcissistic fiancé. The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and was released in theatres throughout the United States and Canada on July 16, 1997. It was later aired on Disney Channel in the United States on December 5, 1998. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $174 million worldwide. A sequel, George of the Jungle 2, was released direct-to-video on October 21, 2003.
Tarzan and His Mate is a 1934 American pre-Code action adventure film based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Directed by Cedric Gibbons, it was the second in the Tarzan film series and starred Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. In 2003, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Tarzan Escapes is a 1936 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the third in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Tarzan series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes". Previous films were Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) and Tarzan and His Mate (1934), with Jane's bikini-like attire and the famous skinny-dipping sequence. Weissmuller and O'Sullivan starred together in three more Tarzan films, Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939), Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941) and Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942).
Jane Porter is a fictional character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Tarzan novels and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly film. Jane, an American from Baltimore, Maryland, is the daughter of professor Archimedes Q. Porter. She becomes the love interest, later the wife of Tarzan and subsequently the mother of their son, Korak. She develops over the course of the series from a conventional damsel in distress, who must be rescued from various perils, to an educated, competent and capable adventuress in her own right, fully capable of defending herself and surviving on her own in the jungles of Africa.
Tarzan, the Ape Man is a 1959 American action adventure film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Denny Miller as Tarzan, Joanna Barnes as Jane, Cesare Danova, and Robert Douglas. The film is loosely based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes, and is a remake of the classic 1932 film of the same name. The film was directed by Joseph M. Newman, and the score was composed by jazz musician Shorty Rogers. MGM would release another remake of the film in 1981.
Tarzan Finds a Son! is a 1939 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the fourth in the MGM Tarzan series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes" and the fourth of six films in which he stars with Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane; following this pairing was Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941) and Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942).
Tarzan, a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in twenty-four sequels by Burroughs and numerous more by other authors. The character proved immensely popular and quickly made the jump to other media, first and most notably to comics and film.
Tarzan and the She-Devil is a 1953 American film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Joyce MacKenzie as Jane. The seventeenth film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man, it also features Raymond Burr, Tom Conway and Monique van Vooren, who plays the "She-Devil."
Tarzan and the Lost Safari is a 1957 action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Robert Beatty, Yolande Donlan and Betta St. John. Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, it was the first Tarzan film released in color, Eastman Color. The nineteenth film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man and the first produced by MGM since 1942, it was filmed in Nairobi, British East Africa. The character of Jane does not appear in this motion picture. Released April 12, 1957, it was followed by Tarzan and the Trappers in 1958.
Tarzan the Fearless is a 12 chapter American Pre-Code film serial starring Buster Crabbe in his only appearance as Tarzan. It was also released as a 61-minute feature film which consisted of the first four chapters edited together, and which was intended to be followed on a weekly basis by the last eight chapters in individual episode format, but which was often exhibited instead as a stand-alone feature film. Actress Jacqueline Wells co-starred; she later changed her name to Julie Bishop. The serial was produced by Sol Lesser, written by Basil Dickey, George Plympton and Walter Anthony, and directed by Robert F. Hill. The film was released in both formats on August 11, 1933.
Tarzan's Fight for Life is a 1958 American Metrocolor action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen, Jil Jarmyn, and Cheeta the chimpanzee. The film was directed by H. Bruce Humberstone. The twenty-first film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man, the picture was the second Tarzan film released in color, and the last to portray the ape man speaking broken English until Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981). The filming locations were in Africa and Hollywood, California. It was also the only film in the Scott series to feature the character of Jane. It was followed by Tarzan's Greatest Adventure in 1959.
Tarzan is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer.