Swing, Tarzan, Swing! Ch.7: Oscar Loves "Greystoke"
Monday, August 22, 2016 at 8:57PM 
During this summer of the Tarzan reboot we've revisited past films in the long history of Tarzan on film. Four more episodes to go!
Impossible as it may be to move Tarzan away from his ultra-specific origins as a colonial era fantasy, filmmakers have tried over and over again to do exactly that. As we've seen in past installments of our "Swing, Tarzan, Swing!" series, he keeps changing with the times despite his historical baggage. We've seen starkly different depictions of his relationship to Jane from equal partners to Head of the Household suburban conformity. The Lord of the Apes even tried to get bachelor hip with the 1960s at the beginning of the James Bond frenzy. Nearly every Tarzan on television has attempted to place him closer to the actual timeline in which it aired. The new Legend of Tarzan (reviewed) works hard to downplay the racism in the myth, but it's never going completely away given that the story is, at heart, about a white man who becomes king of the jungle and often the savior of Africans in his ongoing adventures.
Tarzan works best when he's allowed to stay in the era to which he belongs. So it was a stroke of inspiration for director Hugh Hudson (fresh off a Best Picture win with Chariots of Fire) to give him the historical epic treatment in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) even though the Ape Man doesn't belong to world history any more than, say, Batman, Superman and Spider-Man who were all also tragically orphaned (it's a superhero thing, okay?).
The marketing was so committed to this "serious" prestige historical treatment that the poster even has a four paragraph synopsis closer to a novel than a movie tagline...
In 1886, following a shipwreck off the west coast of Africa, an infant child became part of a family of apes who raised and protected him.
As he grew, he learned the laws of the Jungle and eventually claimed the title, Lord of the Apes.
Yet, years later, when he was returned to civilization, he would remain uncertain as to which laws he should obey...those of man... or those of the jungle.
Now the director of "Chariots of Fire," captures this epic adventure of a man caught between two different worlds."
Does it hold up in 2016? The answer, I'm happy to report, is a clear yes.
Once you acclimated to the humans in ape suits (I remember the makeup work being impressive back in the day as a youngster -- and hey, it's still better than fakey computer animation) it's easy to get lost in the world Hudson and his team have so soberly realized. Aside from one strangely superhuman moment (teenage Tarzan breaks a native's back over his head in a fit of rage over an ape killing) it's grounded in something approaching reality in ways that other Tarzan films aren't. Tarzan is strong but he's not a superhero -- sorry for the false advertising in our intro!
Despite a two hour plus running time, it doesn't drag either. By the end of the first reel, baby Tarzan has been adopted by apes and within another reel he's orphaned again. In one of the movies slyest touches, Tarzan's sustained grief yelling morphs into something far more adult and he stands erect for the first time. It's a perfect act break in the well judged screenplay which has very clear chapters.
John Alcott's cinematography on Greystoke was nominated for a BAFTA award
We jump forward in time to an ill advised exploratory safari (a typical Tarzan plot device that brings civilization to Tarzan) in this case that's a Belgian man Capitaine Phillippe D'Arnot (Sir Ian Holm, BAFTA nominated and wonderfully engaged with the material taking it seriously but having great fun). Phillipe's party is killed by natives and he is wounded. Hiding in a tree where he's dying from an arrow wound, he sees a backlit man emerge from the trees. I'd rank this as the single greatest entrance of the star player in Tarzan film history. Christopher Lambert had appeared in a few French films but he was largely an unknown actor when he put on the loincloth. The film made him a star and he immediately capitalized on it with starring roles opposite Isabelle Adjani (Subway, 1985) and Sean Connery (Highlander, 1986) in France and in Hollywood, respectively.
The perfect punchline to that gorgeous shot is the actual meeting. Phillipe doesn't know what to make of this jungle Jesus who is making weird animal noises at him. As he's trying to acclimate, the apes appear behind Tarzan. Phillipe does the only sensible thing to do: he faints.
Christopher Lambert has come under his share of "wooden acting" criticism in his career but I maintain that he was just terrific in this particular role, vanity-free, funny and committed to an otherworldly mix of human and animal. The scenes of him discovering and alternately rejecting or embracing his newly discovered humanity are wonderfully handled in their directness and simplicity in both direction and performance. The psychology may be broadstrokes but that's right for a Tarzan movie.
At the halfway mark of the movie, we shift genres completely and return to the civilization for something like a comedy of manners at the Greystoke estate. Here Tarzan's grandpappy waits (Sir Ralph Richardson, posthumously Oscar nominated as career tribute, having died five months before the film premiered. He also won the NYFCC prize). He's eager to meet the grandson he thought had died decades earlier.
Sir Ralph Richardson, Oscar nominated
It's here where we also meet our Jane, the fussiest and prettiest Jane -- the Jane least likely to ever swing from vines herself --in the form of porcelain doll Andie MacDowell. But something is wrong with her vocal chords! When her lips move, Glenn Close's familar refined hauteur voice emerges. (Andie's Southern drawl was apparently a deal breaker in post-production.) I had never actually seen a Glenn Close movie at that point and it was MacDowell's debut so this was not distracting at all in 1984. Today in 2016 for the seasoned actressexual it is very distracting.
But Tarzan doesn't care because he's got his own vocal sleight of hand... uh... mouth going on as the sound mix grants Lambert perfect panther sounds in a party trick he performs for Jane. Lambert's Tarzan is both Beauty and Beast and Just Beauty Jane is clearly into it. Her stuffy would be suitor (James Fox) is hopelessly outmatched.
After Grandpa Greystoke passes, Jane & Tarzan take it to the bedroom -- excuse me, [in Glenn Close's voice "Jane's bedchamber"), mutual grief being as good as reason as any to consummate.
There are undoubtedly people in the world who found this sex scene only comic but they are wrong. It is H-O-T-N-E-S-S embodied because it's so weirdly character specific; as Tarzan gets more aroused, his monkey comes out.
In the last chapter of the film, the new Earl of Greystoke finds his worlds colliding as Tarzan realizes how shabbily mankind treats animals when a museum opens with taxidermied animals and Tarzan discovers apes in captivity. His attempts to release them end in tragedy, giving the film a potent soulful undertow after two hours of enjoying a more typical "adventure" and fish-out-of-water story. Tarzan's heart will always be in the jungle. His body must also return.
Greystoke's emphasis on Tarzan's relationship to nature and his embrace of his animal side, gave the film both a unique character among Tarzan movies and provided an unexpected bonus gift: this angle helps Greystoke sidestep most of the uncomfortable racial landmines these movies often trip upon when we see them with modern eyes. The result in 1984 was the most acclaimed Tarzan film ever, free of the prejudices, conscious or otherwise, that often greet B movies and genre films. It was a box office success and received three Oscar nominations. That's three more than all other live action Tarzan films combined. And in 2016, this still feels like a happy deserved ending for the best Tarzan film in our lifetimes.
As the credits rolled I was as happy to have returned to Greystoke as Tarzan was to the jungle, though one single mystery from the film still haunts 32 years later: Why does Phillipe teach Tarzan how to shave when the Lord of the Apes has never grown a single facial hair after 30 years in the jungle without a razor?
Next Episode: Casper Van Diem in Tarzan and the Lost City (1998)
All Chapters:
Ch. 1 Buster Crabbe in Tarzan the Fearless (1933)
Ch. 2 Johnny Weissmuller & Maureen O'Sullivan in Tarzan and His Mate (1934)
Archive Extra: Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
Ch. 3 Lex Barker in Tarzan's Peril (1951)
Ch. 4 Gordon Scott in Tarzan's Great Adventure (1959)
Ch. 5 Mike Henry in Tarzan and The Valley of Gold (1966)
Ch. 6 Bo Derek & Miles O'Keeffe in Tarzan the Ape Man (1980)
Ch. 7 Oscar loves Greystoke, The Legend of Tarzan: Lord of the Apes (1984)
Reader Comments (17)
That seduction gif is AMAZING. I love this series, and I was waiting for this one. I've never seen Greystoke, but one day soon I will. It's always been on my radar - even if mostly to see how the nominated performance is.
But it always stood out to me when I was learning all the Oscar nominations because, a) it's such an over-punctuated movie title; and, b) it's such an unusual category. Only one live white man on the list! And two Asian actors!
I need to see Greystoke again. I remember thinking it long-winded and too earnest. But perhaps a new viewing will help. Your write-up certainly encourages me to give it another go. And we must mention how this is the only film in Academy history for which a dog was nominated for a Screenplay Oscar!
I re-watched it a few months ago and I was amazed by how much I liked it. Richardson is very moving.
Edward - your comment made me do some research on this... that bit of trivia about the dog is hilarious!
I've been checking the "Swing, Tarzan, Swing!" regularly to check if your Greystoke write-up is up… and yay! It's finally here.
You've hit several of the points of why this fold holds up very well, and how it managed to a heartfelt Tarzan story. It's so hard to watch that ending ("He was my father!!") that usually I stop watching when Lord Greystoke starts to visit the exhibit.
I love the many clever touches the film did with the story, from committing a full section of the film of Tarzan among the apes (no dialogue!), to the use of a Belgian (not French!) mentor to cover Christopher Lambert's French accent. Ian Holm and Ralph Richardson combined broke my heart and I shed tears!
Lastly, I watched this film as a child when it came out in 1982, and my brothers and I enjoy repeating dialogue from this movie over the years, out of affection! Our go-to is "Mirroah! Razoah!" and "This is your mothahh! This is your fathhah! Fah-meee-leee!"
Mike in Canada: For me, Pat Morita is probably the biggest surprise. For two reasons: 1. They were already, obviously, going to give Ngor the win, 2. Their minority choices tend toward black people way more than the other minorities and 3. As far as "genre acting" (and, to be clear, Morita was their concession to non-prestige acting that year) goes? Based on what I've seen of Morita, they could have easily tossed that nom to Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger or Harry Dean Stanton's Bud (1984 was an amazing year for Dean Stanton, Paris, Texas also being that year) in Repo Man and made a decision that felt like it had a bit more integrity.
Mike: Sorry, forgot to change the reason count to three. I added the second reason mid-way through.
Carlos: Yes, it's crazy, right? Love it!
Volvagia: I can see why Pat Morita got a nomination. Oscar loves a mentor, and Morita is to his film what Burgess Meredith is to Rocky. (Same director too.) For my money, they could have easily managed a third Asian actor in the category: John Lone, who is terrific in Year of the Dragon (and who got a Golden Globe nomination for it).
Lone was 85 and is indeed fabulous.
mark: My mistake - of course, '85. Thanks for the correction!
Edward L: I admire that field (one dead, one black, two Asian), but I could only seriously imagine Adolph Caesar being on my personal ballot.
Adolph's my winner by a mile.
of the nominees that year i loved
CAESAR - a soldier's story
MORITA - karate kid
and i probably would have included
HOLM (instead of Richardson) for Greystoke
i also remember really *loving* John Lithgow in Buckaroo Banzai but not sure if that would hold up (haven't seen it since 1984)
This might just be the best example of taking a well revered film (or series) and remaking it because the makers have a new spin on it rather than just making it over, almost always to the story and film's disadvantage. Taking something that had a good idea behind it but whose execution up to that point was wanting, the Rat Pack Ocean's 11 and the remake are another example, rather than an acknowledged classic Hudson was able to rework the material into something that is the best all around version of the story.
I also didn't have a problem with the Glenn Close/Andie McDowell back in '84 but rewatching it now it has become very distracting. Not enough to ruin the enjoyment of the film though.
Chris Lambert was scorchin HAWT.
Ralph Richardson gets my vote. He's wonderful, as usual, and none of the other 4 impress me much. I think it's rather odd that they didn't nominate Jeffrey Jones for Amadeus. He's brilliantly understated (wait, maybe now I know...) and very funny. Had he been nominated he'd have given Sir Ralph a run for his money. Also, Ralph Richardson's loss for The Heiress to Dean Jagger in Twelve O'Clock Hich in 1949 is the most idiotic injustices in the Best Supporting Actor category ever.
The 1st half of this movie related the origin story of Tarzan pretty well and it was filmed beautifully. The 2nd half of Greystoke is a complete disaster. It falls apart at at least 2 levels: 1. Christopher Lambert played Tarzan as a buffoon. His monkey act is an embarrassment to most Tarzan fans. By this time in the original story, Tarzan had learned a little about civilized people and how they act in social settings. And he was a perfect gentleman. He already had learned French and spoke perfect English. No one would ever mistake him for an ape-man. 2. The story in the 2nd half was weak and boring.
Tarzan is an action/fantasy character and this movie needed some action. The script was anemic and the film suffered for it.
Also, my biggest gripe about Greystoke is Christopher Lambert as Tarzan. At his height, weight and physique, he did not look like Tarzan. He looked like a '60s hippie who lost his pants at Woodstock.
In my view, this review is way off the mark.