When GREYSTOKE – THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES arrived in Cinemas in 1984, alongside other key blockbusters like INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, it was cited as one of the most faithful adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels, given that over the years, the likes of Johnny Weissmuller and Ron Ely on TV had diluted the perception of what the story could be.
GREYSTOKE takes the story back to Tarzan’s point of origin as he is abandoned on a shipwreck and adopted by apes, but years later, he is found and brought back to Greystoke Manor, where the adult version (Christopher Lambert) is raised in more civilized surroundings.
Featuring Andie McDowell in one of her early roles (although she was dubbed by Glenn Close for this film), this film was CHARIOTS OF FIRE director Hugh Hudson’s follow-up and did pretty well, although Hudson’s career would suffer a year later with the debacle of the Al Pacino epic REVOLUTION, which bankrupted Goldcrest amongst others.