Legend of Tarzan

Movie
German title	Legend of Tarzan
Original title	The Legend of Tarzan
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	2016
length	109 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12 JMK 12
Rod
Director	David Yates
script	Stuart Beattie , Craig Brewer , John Collee , Adam Cozad
production	David Barron , Mike Richardson , Alan Riche , Jerry Weintraub , David Yates
music	Rupert Gregson-Williams
camera	Henry Braham
cut	Mark Day
occupation
Alexander Skarsgård : Tarzan Margot Robbie : Jane Porter Christoph Waltz : Captain Léon Rome Samuel L. Jackson : George Washington Williams Djimon Hounsou : Chief Mbonga Casper Crump : Captain Kerchover Ella Purnell : young Jane (body double) Rory J. Saper : young Tarzan John Hurt : Prof. Archimedes Q. Porter Osy Ikhile : Kwete Madeleine Worrall : Kala Matt Cross : Acute Charles Babalola : Kulonga Antony Acheampong : Kanam Mens-Sana Tamakloe : Kolo Lamin Tamba : Cuba Ashley Byam : Kasai William Wollen : Kerchak Joshua Teya : Mombolo

Legend of Tarzan (Original title: The Legend of Tarzan ) is an American adventure film by David Yates , which was released in US cinemas on July 1, 2016 and in German cinemas on July 28, 2016. There is a live-action adaptation based on the novel Tarzan of the Apes (Engl. Tarzan of the Apes ) by Edgar Rice Burroughs is based from 1912.

action

Late 19th century: John Clayton II, Lord Greystoke and his wife Lady Alice Clayton survive in the Congo and have a son, John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke. His mother dies a natural death, his father dies fighting the Mangani, a gorilla-like species. The female Mangani girl Kala finds the boy and raises him, together with her biological son Akut, as Tarzan. As a child, Tarzan was attacked by the brutal Mangani leader Kerchak. He learns the languages ​​of animals and as an adult he meets Jane Porter, who lives with her father with a native tribe. He becomes the lord of the jungle and kills the son of the chief Mbonga after he had previously killed Kala as a manhood test.

Eight years later: The Belgian King Leopold II controls the Congo. Since he can no longer service his loans and is therefore completely destitute, he has sent his henchman Captain Léon Rom to the Congo, where he is supposed to find the diamond mines of Opar. Rome and its soldiers are attacked by Mbonga's warriors and only Rome survives. He concludes a deal with Mbonga: he will get the diamonds in return if he delivers Tarzan, on whom Mbonga wants revenge for the death of his son, to him.

The man who was once known as Tarzan now lives a normal life in London as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke. At the invitation of King Leopold II of Belgium he is to travel to the Congo as a special envoy for trade issues. The Prime Minister says King Leopold needs a business partner who can step in as a financier. The second reason is John's fame because of his past as Tarzan. At first John refuses, but through George Washington Williams, a diplomatic representative of the USA, he learns the following: Williams wonders how a completely penniless king can still keep the Congo going and suspects slavery behind it. Williams wants to collect evidence for the enslavement of the natives and persuades John, because he knows the Africa where no one else has been and also has friends there. John travels to the Congo with Williams and his wife Jane. The small group comes to the village where Jane grew up. The children sing “The Legend of Tarzan” there.

Captain Léon Rom, who arranged the invitation himself, raids the village with his troops. Rome shoots the chief in the head and takes John prisoner. John is able to free himself with Williams' help, but Jane is kidnapped, along with the warrior Wasimbu, on Rome's river boat. Rome is certain that John will come to save Jane and that he can hand him over. After the chief's burial, John, Williams, and some of the village warriors set out to save Jane. They swing themselves on lianas on a train and discover numerous captured natives in a carriage. In another car, John easily overpowers the soldiers there and they learn Rome's plan from a Belgian officer: Rome, which is about to be appointed Governor General of the Congo, needs the diamonds from Opar to pay the royal army, which consists of mercenaries and arrives in a few days. The people of the Congo are actually being enslaved so that the king can get what he wants. 400 mercenaries are to be stationed at each position. To get them to Opar faster to stop Rome, John decides to cross the Mangani area. Since the Mangani are very aggressive, all the others stay behind except Williams. John and Williams meet the Mangani, who are now led by Akut, who now regards John as a traitor. John has to fight Akut, but loses and is injured by Akut. In order not to appear like a threat, Williams has to kneel down in front of acute. In the evening, John tends his wound with Williams, and Williams tells of his past, when he fought in the American Civil War and then became an Indian hunter. Having been involved in the terrible things that were done to the Indians, he believes he is no better than Rome and her men. Then they have an encounter with a herd of elephants whose leader John knows.

During these events, Jane had her own experiences on board Rome's river boat. She is forced to dine with Rome, otherwise Wasimbu would be drowned in a cage and learns of Rome's plans. She and Wasimbu manage to escape from the boat. In the river they are shot at, attacked by a hippopotamus and escape to the bank. Wasimbu sets out to contact the other native warriors while Jane gets to the Mangani. Rome appears with its men, who shoot numerous Mangani. John and Williams hear the carnage and go to the scene where John saves the life of his foster brother Akut. Jane is captured again and John follows them to the Opar diamond mines. There he faces Mbonga to fight. When he has Mbonga in his pincers, the feelings of the two opponents discharge. Mbonga's son had killed John's foster mother, but this could not have known and John admits that he had no honor at the time. Then Akut, who has a change of heart towards John, shows up with his entourage and Williams explains to Mbonga that Rome has only taken advantage of him and his people and will wipe them all out. John and Williams arrive at the town of Boma, in front of which there are already 1000 soldiers and the arrival of the rest of the army is expected. John has an idea. Together with Williams, Akut and a group of lions, he triggers a gnu stampede that overruns the soldiers, wreaking havoc in the city and forcing Rome and its men to flee. Wasimbu frees the slaves. Rome's men shoot John, but the latter can save Jane and pursue Rome on his boat, which is under fire from Williams with a machine gun and begins to sink shortly afterwards. Rome overpowers John and calls in Mr. Frum, who wants to bring the mercenaries there by ship and whose company the king owes a lot to. John utters a crocodile mating call, breaks free, overwhelms Rome, and escapes from the boat while Rome falls prey to the crocodiles in the water. John comes back ashore and Mr. Frum leaves with the mercenaries.

Williams is back in England presenting his evidence of the oppression and enslavement of the Congolese to Parliament. One year later: John and Jane stayed in Africa and have children. In the last scene you see John swinging on lianas through the jungle again, together with some Mangani, which suggests that he has resumed his role as Tarzan.

production

Rod

David Yates directed the film. The script, which is based on the Tarzan story by Edgar Rice Burroughs , was written by Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer . The producers of the film are Jerry Weintraub , David Barron , Alan Riche and Tony Ludwig . Executive producers are Susan Ekins , Nikolas Korda , Keith Goldberg , David Yates, Mike Richardson and Bruce Berman .

occupation

In August 2012, swimmer Michael Phelps was in discussion for the role of Tarzan, later Tom Hardy , Henry Cavill and Charlie Hunnam . On November 14, 2012, Alexander Skarsgård was finally cast for this role. His younger self was taken over by Rory J. Saper . After Jessica Chastain was still under discussion for the female lead as Jane Porter in March 2013 , it was announced in January 2014 that Margot Robbie would take on this role. As a young woman, Jane is portrayed by Ella Purnell , who only functions as a body double, while Robbie's face was transferred to Purnell's using CGI technology. In September 2013 it became known that the two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz would play a villain in the film, the Belgian soldier Captain Rom. Samuel L. Jackson played George Washington Williams, Djimon Hounsou played Chief Mbonga and John Hurt played Professor Archimedes Q. Porter's role. Oscar winner Jim Broadbent can be seen in the film as British Prime Minister .

• 

  Alexander Skarsgård (2011) plays Tarzan

• 

  Margot Robbie (2011) plays Jane

• 

  Christoph Waltz (2015) plays Captain Rom

• 

  Samuel L. Jackson (2014) plays George Washington Williams

• 

  Djimon Hounsou (2016) plays Chief Mbonga

• 

  John Hurt (2009) plays Archimedes Q. Porter

• 

  Jim Broadbent (2007) plays the Prime Minister

Filming and post production

Filming began at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in June 2014, continued in various locations across the UK and ended in October 2014.

With the exception of a few goats living in a village, all the animals seen in the film are computer-generated , including Tarzan's adoptive mother, the Mangani female, who is a fictional great ape created by Edgar Rice Burroughs that is said to be more aggressive than gorillas. At Warner Bros. Studios, an artificial waterfall and a 100-meter-long collapsible pier were built. These served as a backdrop in Africa, and the days of shooting there increased the cost of the film. After initially planned for 65 million US dollars and later an estimated 90 million US dollars, the production costs of the film were ultimately 180 million US dollars.

In October 2015, concerns arose that David Yates would have to neglect the post-production of the film, since he was in the process of making the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them from August 2015 . However, Warner Bros. trusted his ability to complete both films as planned.

Film music

The soundtrack was composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams . The soundtrack is 109 minutes long, comprises 22 songs and was released on June 16, 2016 by WaterTower Music . The Irish singer-songwriter Hozier contributed the song Better Love . This song made it onto the UK iTunes charts straight away. The soundtrack rose in July 2016 in the US Billboard soundtrack album charts and had at the same time at No. 33 in the soundtrack album charts in the United Kingdom, its highest placement. Mihnea Manduteanu says it is unmistakable that Hans Zimmer was also involved in the production of the film music, and the song Streamer and Butterfly is reminiscent of the music for the film The Dark Knight . In December 2016, the soundtrack was included in the list of candidates (longlist) at the Academy Awards 2017 in the category Best Film Music , from which the members of the Academy will determine the official nominations. The song Better Love featured on the soundtrack and sung by Hozier was included in the longlist for Best Film Song .

Title list of the soundtrack

1. Opar - Zoe Mthiyane and Rupert Gregson-Williams (3:28)
2. Diamonds - Rupert Gregson-Williams (4:50)
3. Togetherness - Rupert Gregson-Williams (1:44)
4. Steamer and Butterfly - Rupert Gregson-Williams (2:40)
5. Orphaned - Rupert Gregson-Williams (2:46)
6. Returning Home - Rupert Gregson-Williams (4:01)
7. Campfire - Rupert Gregson-Williams (2:40)
8. Tarzan and Jane - Rupert Gregson-Williams (3:39)
9. Village Ambush - Rupert Gregson-Williams (4:41)
10. Catching the Train - Rupert Gregson-Williams (2:16)
11. Rome's Plan - Rupert Gregson-Williams (2:11)
12. Akut Fight - Rupert Gregson-Williams (2:17)
13. Elephants In The Night - Rupert Gregson-Williams (3:12)
14. Jane Escapes - Rupert Gregson-Williams (2:44)
15. Jungle Shooting - Rupert Gregson-Williams (2:41)
16. Kala's Death - Rupert Gregson-Williams (5:15)
17. Where Was Your Honor? - Rupert Gregson-Williams (2:29)
18. Boma Port - Rupert Gregson-Williams (4:04)
19. Stampede - Rupert Gregson-Williams (4:33)
20. On The Boat - Rupert Gregson-Williams (3:10)
21. The Legend Of Tarzan - Rupert Gregson-Williams (2:36)
22. Better Love (From The Legend of Tarzan - Film Version) - Hozier (3:23)

Marketing and Publishing

As part of the MTV Movie Awards 2016 , Alexander Skarsgård , who had taken on the eponymous role of Tarzan in the film, entered the stage in underpants when he was supposed to give the laudatory speech for the film of the year. Skarsgard then said to the audience, alluding to his latest film: Me Tarzan. Must give fans a bit of skin. Shortly before the official US theatrical release, Warner Bros. released new sets and a fourth and final trailer.

The film celebrated its world premiere in Los Angeles on June 27, 2016 in the presence of the director and actors Samuel L. Jackson , Alexander Skarsgård , Margot Robbie and Christoph Waltz and was released in US cinemas on July 1, 2016. The film was shown in Germany from July 28, 2016.

The film was shown in a 2D and a 3D version in cinemas and also in IMAX format.

reception

Age rating

In Germany, the film was approved by the FSK from the age of 12. The statement of reasons for the release states that the film is staged with powerful visuals and sound and contains numerous dramatic action scenes as well as dark passages that could emotionally overwhelm children under 12 years of age. However, since the film renounces explicitly played out violence, repeatedly provides calm, sometimes humorous scenes, nature and animal shots for relief and shows a clear good-evil drawing with the hero as a consistently strong and positive figure of identification, it can already be from 12 -Year-olds are processed. The clearly fictional setting also enables distancing, and the risk of fear or disorientation is therefore not to be feared for this age group.

Reviews

The film was only able to convince 36 percent of the Rotten Tomatoes critics (of 189 critics in total, as of July 29, 2016).

Several critics have said that the film has a problem with racism and shows Africa from a colonial perspective . Elmar Krekeler from Die Welt says, especially at the end, when the white man saves Africa from evil while the blacks just stand around, this becomes clear. Anke Westphal from the Berliner Zeitung acknowledges that the makers of the film are looking for a more advanced, even political approach to make a long-serving figure like Tarzan compatible with the present, but the film itself is not free from the racism it denounces . The Zimbabwean reporter Cecilia Kamuputa notes in the Tagesspiegel that in the film the lions are only tame towards Tarzan and the wild natives in the jungle are helpless. Kamuputa finds it retrograde to make a film today that still depicts Africa as a wild prehistoric place and thus adheres to the stereotype of the white savior and civilization bringer. Kamuputa recognizes in this the Eurocentric tradition of racist degradation of Africa. In particular, the portrayal of how Tarzan has to save the Africans, who have lived in Africa since ancient times, but strangely enough not get along with the jungle as well as the white man, is questionable. Tarzan is set up as the king of the jungle, although he has his own heroes.

Regarding the work of the scriptwriters, Elmar Krekeler says: “A real story will not come of it. And that starts with the fact that Yates anchors his legend historically exactly, which is rather unusual for legends and - as shown here once again - quite restricting the imagination. "Jenni Zylka from Spiegel Online acknowledges the well-intentioned attempt:" Yates and his Scriptwriters have tried hard to turn the well-known story into a drama of loss and love. ”Regarding the cast, Zylka says:“ With Alexander Skarsgård, Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson you have won multi-layered actors who are only too happy to have those many layers would show - if they were asked. But above all the jungle hero himself, interpreted by the Swede Skarsgård after a fitness program, waxing and kajal tutorial as the male counterpart to Bo Derek [...], remains juicy, powerless and characterless despite the show-stopping muscles. ”In some blacks who took on roles in the film have, including Jackson, Cecilia Kamuputa sees only an alibi for the problematic racist perspective of the film. George Washington Williams , embodied by Jackson, was a figure who fought in the American Civil War and was a great advocate of human rights . In the portrayal of Jackson, however, he becomes a joke. Tarzan, on the other hand, would always remain the boss, even with the natives.

From the German Film and Media Review was Legend of Tarzan with the predicate particularly valuable provided. In the explanation it says: “Although the story and character development remains a little smooth and predictable, many film artistic moments, created by the camera and editing, create a special tension dramaturgy. Otherwise, the new edition of the classic relies on its stunning 3D optics, especially in the animal animations with high visual values. "

Gross profit

The film has worldwide revenues of approximately $ 356.7 million. The film has so far attracted 476,756 visitors to German cinemas (as of August 14, 2016).

Awards

Saturn Awards 2017

• Nomination for best action / adventure film

Web links

• Legend of Tarzan in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Legend of Tarzan in the German dubbing file
• Legend of Tarzan at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
• Official website for the film

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Release certificate for Legend of Tarzan . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 160799 / K).
2. ↑ Age rating for Legend of Tarzan . Youth Media Commission .
3. ^ Brian Gallagher: Warner Bros. Expands Leavesden Studios as 'Tarzan' Begins Production In: movieweb.com, June 30, 2014.
4. ↑ Gordon Cox: Warner Bros. to Expand Leavesden Studios as 'Tarzan' Starts Filming In: Variety, June 30, 2014.
5. ↑ Lucy Feldman: How 'The Legend of Tarzan' Got Modernized. The filmmakers introduce a conflicted hero and a feisty Jane In: The Wallstreet Journal, June 23, 2016.
6. ↑ Kim Masters: Warner Bros. Faces 'Tarzan' Trouble as Director Is Double-Booked In: The Hollywood Reporter, October 14, 2015.
7. ↑ Sandy Schaefer: The Legend of Tarzan Images & Poster: Alexander Skarsgård of the Jungle In: screenrant.com, September 12, 2015.
8. ↑ Sven Pfizenmaier: Harry Potter spin-off puts Tarzan in distress In: moviepilot.de, October 15, 2015.
9. ↑ Kim Masters: Warner Bros. Faces 'Tarzan' Trouble as Director Is Double-Booked In: The Hollywood Reporter, October 14, 2015.
10. ↑ Hozier Better Love from The Legend of Tarzan debuts In: Entertainment Weekly, June 17, 2016.
11. ^ Hozier - Better Love (From 'The Legend of Tarzan'). British iTunes Chart Performance In: itunescharts.net. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
12. ↑ Soundtracks. The Week of July 23, 2016 In: billboard.com. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
13. ↑ Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50 In: officialcharts.com. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
14. ↑ Mihnea Manduteanu: Soundtrack review: The legend of Tarzan In: soundtrackdreams.com, July 3, 2016.
15. ↑ Hans Zimmer & Rupert Gregson-Williams Scoring David Yates' 'The Legend of Tarzan' In: filmmusicreporter.com, March 7, 2016.
16. ↑ 145 Original Scores In 2016 Oscar Race In: oscars.org, December 13, 2016.
17. ↑ 91 Original Songs Vie for 2016 Oscar In: oscars.org, December 13, 2016.
18. ↑ Kathy Ehrich Dowd: Wild Thing: Tarzan Star Alexander Skarsgård Strips Down to Skivvies (but Keeps His Tux Top!) At MTV Movie Awards In: people.com, April 10, 2016.
19. ↑ Sebastian Lorenez Lots of new scenes for The Legend of Tarzan In: robots-and-dragons.de, June 18, 2016.
20. ↑ Christopher Krizsak: The Legend of Tarzan - Final trailer brings momentum to the action In: moviepilot.de, June 20, 2016.
21. ↑ Lamarco McClendon: 'Legend of Tarzan' Director: Samuel L. Jackson's Character 'Deserves a Movie in His Own Right' In: Variety, June 28, 2016.
22. ↑ 'The Legend of Tarzan' premieres In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, June 29, 2016.
23. ^ Reasons for the release of Legend of Tarzan In: Voluntary Self-Control of the Film Industry. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
24. ↑ The Legend of Tarzan In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
25. ↑ ^{a b} Elmar Krekeler: In the end, the white muscle package has to save Africa In: Die Welt, July 27, 2016.
26. ↑ Anke Westphal: 'Legend of Tarzan': New Tarzan film is not free from racism In: Berliner Zeitung, July 26, 2016.
27. ↑ ^{a b} Cecilia Kamuputa: 'Legend of Tarzan': a criticism from an African perspective. Why does the white savior always have to come? In: Der Tagesspiegel, July 25, 2016.
28. ↑ Jenni Zylka: 'Legend of Tarzan': Er Tarzan, we skeptical In: Spiegel Online, July 26, 2016.
29. ↑ Legend of Tarzan. Jury reasons: Predicate particularly valuable In: German film and media evaluation . Retrieved August 4, 2016.
30. ↑ The Legend of Tarzan In: boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved August 6, 2019
31. ↑ Top 100 Germany 2016 In: insidekino.com. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
32. ↑ The 43rd Annual Saturn Awards nominations are announced for 2016 In: saturnawards.org. Retrieved March 2, 2017.