Rating: 
Summary: Not Burroughs but as close as you are going to get!
Review: I really liked this film but apparently I'm in the minority. I must admit that, in general, I like Tarzan movies. I also like the original novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs (actually, I like the Pellucidar books the best, but I digress). Anyway, the great problem with Tarzan films is that since the days of silent cinema and Elmo Lincoln, a faithful adaptation of the Burroughs character has not existed. So what? By the mid-1930s, Burroughs himself was incorporating elements from the films into the Tarzan novels. Greystoke is about as close to the spirit of the Burroughs character as we can seriously expect to get. Yes, it slips to the silly side when Tarzan gets to England. Again, so what? The movie is good fun!
Rating: 
Summary: Simply the best Tarzan movie made...
Review: I remember watching this movie back when it came out in the early 80's. It was refreshing compared to the cheesy Tarzan movies I used to watch as a kid. Here we have a real story that takes you from the beginning, through the jungle, back to civilization and to the jungle again. I just can't wait for this movie to come out on DVD. I refuse to buy the VHS version unless it's really cheap. Don't miss this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Greystoke - the movie vs Edgar Rice Burroughs
Review: I saw this film many moons ago, and only recently read the original "Tarzan" by Edgar Rice Burroughs to answer a question from my daughter. The film would have done well to have gone back to the original for the most part, as the bit about Tarzan saving a French soldier from cannibals before he learned to speak was in the book and would have explained Lambert's accent just fine. I have to agree with the other reviewer about the silliness of the bit in England, though. The Jane in the book was a very dizzy 19-year-old American who chose Tarzan's cousin over him, and the film removed a lot of Tarzan's dignity by changing that part....
Rating:
Summary: Greystoke - the movie vs Edgar Rice Burroughs
Review: I saw this film many moons ago, and only recently read the original "Tarzan" by Edgar Rice Burroughs to answer a question from my daughter. The film would have done well to have gone back to the original for the most part, as the bit about Tarzan saving a French soldier from cannibals before he learned to speak was in the book and would have explained Lambert's accent just fine. I have to agree with the other reviewer about the silliness of the bit in England, though. The Jane in the book was a very dizzy 19-year-old American who chose Tarzan's cousin over him, and the film removed a lot of Tarzan's dignity by changing that part....
Rating:
Summary: I just love this movie!
Review: I'm ashamed to admit that it took going to see the Disney version of Tarzan to get me to actually read the REAL Tarzan legend as written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but the old Tarzan movies and serials seemed so corny to me, that I wasn't interested. Then I discovered this wonderful film which is as close to the original Burroughs concept as any Tarzan on screen, at least in the early scenes of his life in the jungle. I've watched it at least a dozen times since. In the Burroughs stories, Tarzan is often referred to as a Forest God by the other humans he encounters and Christopher Lambert is almost God-like and extremely believable as John Clayton/Greystoke/Tarzan. The "real" Tarzan as Burroughs conceived him, was highly intelligent, compassionate - but also a killer when he needed to be, and struggling to find his place in two very different worlds. Christopher Lambert captures these facets very exquisitely. The stories of Tarzan have a lot of tragedy and that is pretty well played in the love affair between John Claton and Jane. While I found the adaptation back in England perfectly reasonable, I would have liked to have seen more of the original story presented with the kind of authenticity as in the first half of the movie. I would also love to see a proper sequel (with Christopher Lambert as Tarzan) that does justice to the continuing legends as did the original movie.
Rating:
Summary: It's like reading the novel!!
Review: I've reviewed Disney's Tarzan, the animated story recently, but looking at this film, there is, by far, no comparison between the two. This film was produced in 1984, and with Christopher Lambert in the starring role, it is truly one of the best of the genre. The first half hour or so, we come to "discover" how he ended up in the jungle, and then as the years go by, we see "little" Tarzan (AKA: Greystoke), as he lunges through the vines and has his rapport with the animals. And this, contrary to what many feel, is one of the highlights of the movie. Not much English language, but a language only true to its form - which is animal communication, and Lambert pulls it off brilliantly. Then the "group" come into the jungle, along with Andie MacDowell, and her father. To watch how Greystoke deals with the intruders is stunning, and the way he "rescues" the stranger from death is well worth viewing. The saddest part of this film, I believe, is when Greystoke is brought back to "civilization," and you can just about feel his pain at the loss of what he knew. Then, of course, he has become an oddity in "proper England," only to arouse the jealousy of Ms. MacDowell's suitors, as well as uproot whatever theories the social scientists had about human nature. This is a remarkable film, and it is, in some ways, truly a sensational and exotic adventure into the heart of the human heart. The scene between Greystoke and his newly acquired "girlfriend" (MacDowell) borders on the erotic, although this was done with great art, and it didn't plunge the viewer into a tasteless scene of sensationalism. A brilliant movie, and like the title of this review suggests, it is like reading the original novel. Highly recommended!!
Rating:
Summary: Amazon.com's editorial reviews SUCK!!!
Review: Marshall Fine, in his featured review (above) states that Greystoke was a 'missed opportunity'. He claims that "the film tried to rethink the Tarzan legend of Edgar Rice Burroughs". Well, sure it did, and thank the stars that it had such talented writers and a great director. I wonder if Marshall Fine has ever read 'Tarzan of the Apes'? The book is appallingly written trash - the worst of the pulp genre. Far from being a misbegotten attempt to create a film version of Tarzan, this movie represents the best Tarzan ever created - a realistic rendition of what Edgar Rice Burroughs' book should have been. Marshall Fine's review states that "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". Again, Marshall misses the mark, since it's clear that he doesn't realise that Edgar Rice Burroughs WROTE Tarzan as having learned French under the tutelage of a French naval lieutenant. According to the BOOK, Tarzan's English was poor, and he DID speak it with a French accent. The casting wasn't a mistake - it was intentional, and it was the correct decision if the filmmakers wanted to faithfully transfer the book to the screen. What was Marshall Fine thinking??? In my opinion, this movie brings us the REAL Tarzan. It's such a pity that because of shortsighted and ignorant reviews, the movie did not attract the audience it should have reached. Too bad it's only available on VHS - I would like to see a feature-packed DVD version of this classic movie.
Rating:
Summary: excellent in jungle, which is not enough of movie.
Review: The amazon reviewer obviously never read the books. The reason why he has french accent is that is the first language Tarzan learns. His mentor was French. Tarzan learned to read english but speak french. How about getting people who represent Amazon who know their subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is the DVD version?
Review: The first half of this film was true to Burroughs' novel, It was exceptional. Unfortunately, the Tarzan character from the novel evolves into something less during the second half. Even so, WHEN IS THIS FILM GOING TO BE RELEASED ON DVD? That's what I'd really like to know.
Rating:
Summary: The best adaptation of Burrough's "Tarzan, Lord of the Apes"
Review: There have been many film adaptations of Edgar Rice Burrough's tales of Tarzan. Most of them were produced in the earlier days of movie making, and were filmed on back lots in Hollywood. While a number of them provided good entertainment, few of them really depicted Burrough's book, "Tarzan, Lord of the Apes." "Greystoke" is, however, different in that respect. While there are certainly disparities between Burrough's book and this movie, "Greystoke" is the most faithful in storyline, character development, and essence of any Tarzan movie I have seen. Christopher Lambert does a great job as Tarzan. And Andie MacDowell makes an enticing Jane. I wonder how the movie would have played though if the director/producer had decided to use Andie MacDowell's own voice instead of opting to have Glenn Close do voice overs for all of Andie's lines? Perhaps they thought that Andie's slight southern accent would detract from the atmosphere they were trying to develop? Anyway, the visual impact of the movie is great. The scenery is awesome. The sound track is supporting and blends into the overall sensory effect that helps drive the movie forward. One down side has to be the costuming for the apes. While the costumes were adequate, they were inferior to other top-notch visual effects of the movie. To be fair to the special effects folks, there were few other options in 1983 that would allow a more realistic representation of animals like great apes and the kinds of ape-human interactions needed to make the film work. While the intent of Burroughs, or of the movie, is not to depict true ape biology, the scenes showing apes using leaves to get water from a puddle, and twigs to get ants from an ant hill are well documented ape behaviors. Another impressive part of the movie to me was the accurate portrayal of the state of the art of Victorian English biological science -- "Bring 'em back preserved." Along those same lines, the overriding sense of human, and especially British superiority of that era also comes through in the movie. All in all a great effort. Definitely 5 stars for setting the standard for Tarzan movies, and for being a well-done piece of film making. Alan Holyoak
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