US (1984): Drama/Adventure/Family/Romance
One of those legendary missed opportunities, this film is a movie that should have been great but wound up the victim of conflicting egos and wrong-headed choices. Based on a screenplay by Robert Towne (who took his name off it when he wasn't allowed to direct) and directed by Hugh Hudson (riding high on the basis of Chariots of Fire), the film tried to rethink the Tarzan legend of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and boy, did it have to: By casting French-accented Christopher Lambert as Tarzan, the filmmakers had to transform his white-hunter mentor Ian Holm into a Frenchman to explain those inflections in Tarzan's monosyllabic speech. The film has some amazing jungle footage and a truly touching relationship between Tarzan and the apes -- but it gets pretty silly when Tarzan gets to London and hooks up with Sir Ralph Richardson, as his grandfather. The cast also features James Fox, Andie MacDowell and Nigel Davenport. (Warner Bros.) (Marshall Fine, Amazon.com)
3 nominations
· Supporting Actor 1984: Sir Ralph Richardson
· Writing (Best Screenplay based on material from another medium) 1984: P. H. Vazak, Michael Austin
· Makeup 1984: Rick Baker, Paul Engelen
