Yet another grass roots adaptation of a classic tale, on this occasion Edgar Rice Burrough's "Legend of Tarzan", which is skilfully brought to the screen by Hugh Hudson, though the end result is not without flaw.
Screenwriters Robert Towne (who used a pseudonym) and Michael Austin have perhaps over cooked the plot a little, and as a result it is inherently silly when you boil it down. The whole thing is at times hard to swallow even if Christopher Lambert does a fairly good job of convincing us that he was raised by apes. In the typical naive British manner, "Greystoke" is told too matter of fact, as if recounting an historical event - in other words the audience is expected to accept it all as the irrefutable truth. While one could entertain the possibility of such an occurrence, Hudson has left no room for fantasy in this tale.
Therein lies the downfall of this potential epic, which fails to measure up to Hudson's "Chariots of Fire", only because the styles are too similar. The approach was marvellously effective for the 1981 Best Picture, alas not for "Greystoke".
This picture is still an enjoyable entertainment though, with spectacular cinematography from John Alcott, splendid Art Direction (Stuart Craig) and set decoration and a regal score from John Scott. Costume design is also resplendent, and the apes are frighteningly convincing.
Co-starred Andie McDowell (with a voice provided by Glenn Close amazingly), James Fox and a very strong Ian Holm.
Saturday, November 4, 1995 - Video
Screenwriters Robert Towne (who used a pseudonym) and Michael Austin have perhaps over cooked the plot a little, and as a result it is inherently silly when you boil it down. The whole thing is at times hard to swallow even if Christopher Lambert does a fairly good job of convincing us that he was raised by apes. In the typical naive British manner, "Greystoke" is told too matter of fact, as if recounting an historical event - in other words the audience is expected to accept it all as the irrefutable truth. While one could entertain the possibility of such an occurrence, Hudson has left no room for fantasy in this tale.
Therein lies the downfall of this potential epic, which fails to measure up to Hudson's "Chariots of Fire", only because the styles are too similar. The approach was marvellously effective for the 1981 Best Picture, alas not for "Greystoke".
This picture is still an enjoyable entertainment though, with spectacular cinematography from John Alcott, splendid Art Direction (Stuart Craig) and set decoration and a regal score from John Scott. Costume design is also resplendent, and the apes are frighteningly convincing.
Co-starred Andie McDowell (with a voice provided by Glenn Close amazingly), James Fox and a very strong Ian Holm.
Saturday, November 4, 1995 - Video