Casper Van Dien and Jane March play Tarzan and Jane in this watered down version of the Lord of the Jungle.
--Randy
Tarzan And The Lost City
Directors: Carl Schenkel
Producers: Stanley Canter, Dieter Geissler And Michael Lake
Writers: Bayard Johnson And J. Anderson Black
Features: Widescreen, English And French Dolby Surround Sound.
Characters:
Tarzan...Casper Van Dien
Jane Porter...Jane March
Ravens...Steve Waddington
Mugambi...Winston Ntshona
Genre: Action/Adventure
Review:
Everytime there is a new Tarzan movie there is hope. Hope that a new he-man type, physical specimen can fill the non-existant shoes of the Tarzan's that have gone before. Johnny Weissmuller, the five time Olympic gold medal winner in swimming always leads the pack of fond rememberances. After that it is a hodge podge of almosts like Gordon Scott, Lex Barker and Mike Henry. After Mike Henry in the sixties it got pretty bleak. Critics would rave about Christopher Lambert in "Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan, Lord Of The Apes," but that was a more civilized Tarzan who would probably be more at home dining with the critics that loved him than a Tarzan that could wrestle a gorilla or fight a crocodile underwater. With Lambert as Tarzan, you half expected at any moment for him to ask for the Grey Poupon. In 1998 there was another Tarzan movie made starring Casper Van Dien as Tarzan or John Clayton as he was known in England. This movie, "Tarzan And The Lost City," tries feebly to bring some of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan mythos to the screen, but it wanders over too much territory to make a solid movie. Released in 1999 on DVD with no extra features this movie was soon forgotten and rightfully so. Bits and pieces from the Tarzan novels and the Tarzan movies are patched together to make only a passing effort at a satisfying movie. Complicating things is what looks to be an effort to appeal overtly to a young child's audience as some of the villains are heard to utter lines like, "Oh, Shoot!" and "What the heck was that?"
This movie starts out in the year 1913 in England as John Clayton is at a party to celebrate his upcoming wedding to the lovely Jane Porter played by Jane March. In this movie Jane Porter is British, not American. As Clayton is toasting with a drink he hears a lion's roar from a nearby fireplace and turns to see supernatural images of African natives he calls friends beseeching his aid from white plunderers who are seeking the fabled city of Opar which is rumored to be rich in jewels and gold. Clayton quickly tells Jane the wedding needs to be put on hold until he returns. Six weeks later Tarzan is shown on a tugboat on an African river. I say Tarzan because Clayton's hair is now considerably longer than it was in England though he is still wearing normal clothes. Unknown to Tarzan, Jane Porter is following close behind as she has not given up on her wedding day.
At the very beginning of "Tarzan And The Lost City," I had an instant's hope as the movie opened up to African natives pounding out a very riveting cadence on their drums. Almost as fast, the movie dropped into mediocrity and continued to sink. When introduced to Casper Van Dien's Tarzan in England you have the feeling that you have accidentally tuned in a historical soap opera. Van Dien has soap opera star looks. He is pretty looking with no edge to his continence. He is not too large either. When standing next to Jane March he barely tops her. Having him appear in turn of the century English clothing when he is first seen does nothing to dispell the illusion. Even when he gets to Africa, he still wears his civilized clothing a lot. Worse he takes to swinging through the trees and doing Tarzan-like stuff in a long pair of shorts. It is only very much later through some African magic that he is transformed into a loin clothed Tarzan. By then it is too late to save his appearance and the picture.
The soundtrack music is horrible. It is nothing at all that should be in a jungle action movie though in truth this movie is barely that. The music is locked into a serene flow and detracts from any suspense or anticipation of action. When Tarzan alights from the boat he arrives on he rides an elephant to his destination as the music gives off a travelogue style theme.
There are no stampeding elephants in this movie. Tarzan does run and swing around with a tribe of badly outfitted actors in ape costumes. These costumes are so fakey looking they make the 1940 Hollywood ape costumes look good. This group of apes is photographed fast and choppy, but that cannot hide the sorry costumes. it only gets worse as a real chimpanzee is added, but thankfully not called Cheeta. This chimpanzee has none of the charm of 'the' Cheeta and doesn't appear to know any tricks. It is just there to try and rekindle fond memories.
When it all goes down it can be clearly seen that there was never a need to call in Tarzan. The vile villain, Ravens(Steve Waddington) is on his way to the lost city of Opar to find wealth. Protecting this city is a mystical African something or other named Mugambi(Winston Ntshona) who appears in the last part of the movie in human form to save Tarzan and route the transgressors. Up until he gets a quiver full of arrows and a bow, courtesy of Mugambi, watching Van Dien fight is laughable. In one scene a villain pulls a gun and Van Dien somersaults across a room to subdue him. Johnny Weissmuller would turn in his grave.
Jane March looks pretty and toothsome as Jane Porter. Her role trys to show her modern leanings by having her knowing how to shoot her brother's army revolver way back in 1913. When she points the pistol at point blank range to blast apart a padlock, Tarzan compliments her on how well she shoots. March's career had started out so promising in 1984's sexy, pyschological thriller "Color Of Money" co-starring Bruce Willis, but by appearing in this drivel she all but accedes to the film actors' retirement home.
The colors, picture and sound were great on this DVD. The movie itself is the problem.
I would give this DVD movie of "Tarzan And The Lost City" only one star out of five. As I briefly mentioned in the first paragraph this movie may have an appeal for a young child.
----Randy