Line #7 Film/TarzanTheApeMan1981


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tarzan_3.jpg]]
2	->''"''Tarzan, the Ape Man'' is ''Film/{{The Blue Lagoon\|1980}}'' with elephants."''
3	-->-- '''Creator/RogerEbert'''
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5	''Tarzan, the Ape Man'' is a 1981 film starring Creator/BoDerek as Jane, Creator/RichardHarris as James Parker, John Phillip Law as Harry Holt, and Miles O'Keeffe as Tarzan. The movie was intended to retell the ''Franchise/{{Tarzan}}'' story [[POVSequel from Jane's perspective]], a fact which was made clear by the original WorkingTitle of ''Me, Jane''. As it is, audiences are left to wonder why Tarzan seems to be a SatelliteLoveInterest in his own film.
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7	The storyline, such as it is, is mostly a rehash of the [[Film/TarzanTheApeMan1932 1932 film by the same name]]. This version is meant to be a more adult look at the ''Tarzan'' mythos, focusing on Jane's sexual awakening, and featuring a large supply of {{Fanservice}} along the way. This is ''Tarzan'' updated for the sexual revolution, or at least that's what they seem to be going for here. To date, this is the only ''Tarzan'' movie to receive an "R" rating.
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9	While the film made back nearly six times its budget at the box office, reception from general audiences was largely negative. Male audience members hoping to see a naked Bo Derek were disappointed to see what was mostly a romance film with Tarzan in a supporting role, while female audience members were turned off by the more blatant scenes of nudity. It was also ravaged by the critics, and nominated for several [[UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward Razzies]], winning "Worst Actress" for Bo Derek. Since then, it's come to be regarded as a camp classic of the SoBadItsGood variety.
10	----
11	!!This movie provides examples of:
12	* AdaptationalNationality: Jane and her father are American in the original novels (and British in most adaptations); they're Irish in this movie, with Jane having a noticeable lack of accent.
13	* AnachronismStew:
14	** At one point, James Parker sings, "Jerusalem." Although the words were written by Creator/WilliamBlake in 1804, they weren't put to music until 1916. The movie is set in 1910.
15	** In another scene, he mentions "the seat of my pants" in reference to acting on instinct. "The seat of my pants" is short for "fly by the seat of my pants" and comes from 1930s aviation parlance.
16	* BatheHerAndBringHerToMe: Happens to Jane as she is captured by the generic African savages and prepared as the royal bride for their chief, alongside getting a BodyPaint.
17	* BodyPaint: The hostile natives wear nothing but this and loincloths. After capturing members of the expedition, the natives quickly set about putting Jane into this attire as well. For [[{{Fanservice}} some reason]], they don't seem to care about doing the same to their male captives.
18	* TheEdwardianEra: Set in 1910, around the time when [[Literature/TarzanOfTheApes the original book]] was written. This may be the first movie to treat ''Tarzan'' as a PeriodPiece, beating ''Film/GreystokeTheLegendOfTarzanLordOfTheApes'' by three years.
19	* ElephantGraveyard: As in the 1932 version, the expedition is looking for one of these. Budget-savingly, they never actually get there in this version.
20	* HollywoodNatives: A tribe of these act as the villains at the end.
21	* HotterAndSexier: The whole point, pretty much.
22	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Jane's dad is killed when a native impales him with a giant elephant tusk. Well, he wanted ivory.
23	* IncestSubtext: Jane is said to look a great deal like her mother. Her loopy father seems to be, at best, only mildly aware that Jane and her mother are not actually the same person:
24	-->'''Parker:''' I loved her too much. So frail. So very... fragile. God, how I loved you.\
25	'''Jane:''' Her. You loved her.\
26	'''Parker:''' Yes. Her. But you ''are'' her!\
27	'''Jane:''' I am not.
28	* LargeHam: Ironically, Richard Harris seems to be playing the Creator/MichaelGambon version of [[Film/HarryPotter Dumbledore]].
29	--> '''''”WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!?!? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?”'''''
30	* LogoJoke: The MGM lion emits the Tarzan yell instead of its usual roar.
31	* MaleGaze: Even though this is supposed to be from Jane's perspective, the movie is clearly a lot more excited about her body than Tarzan's body.
32	* MisplacedWildlife: Those are Asian elephants, not African elephants. Orangutans and Burmese pythons are not native to Africa either.
33	* MsFanservice: Let's face it, they didn't cast Bo Derek for her acting talent.
34	* NakedFirstImpression: Jane is in her underwear when Tarzan meets her for the first time. And before you object that Edwardian underwear is not that revealing, note that she was in the water, rendering said underwear transparent.
35	* NationalGeographicNudity: We see a lot of topless native women. Then again, we also see a lot of topless Bo Derek, so at least it's equal opportunity this time.
36	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Jane has an American accent while Creator/RichardHarris speaks with his native Irish accent.
37	* OutWithABang: Telling Jane about her mother, her father says, "Your conception almost killed her." No, not [[DeathByChildbirth her birth]], her ''conception''. He goes on to explain that he left Jane's mother because he "loved her too much." So, you see, James Parker ''had'' to abandon his wife in order to save her from succumbing to his mighty penis. Seriously.
38	* {{Overcrank}}: In what may be the film's most infamous sequence, a FightScene between Tarzan and a snake is filmed ''entirely'' in slow motion. It's completely incomprehensible what's supposed to be going on in the fight, and it comes complete with a steady drone of "danger" music in the background. And it goes on a loooooong time.
39	* RuleOfPool: Two separate scenes on the docks feature someone falling into the water, Jane the first time and Holt the second time.
40	* RomanticFalseLead: Seriously, did anyone think Jane might actually end up with Harry Holt instead of Tarzan?
41	* SignatureRoar: Rather than letting Miles O'Keeffe do his own Tarzan yell, they dub in the old Creator/JohnnyWeissmuller yell. This is Tarzan's only "dialogue" in the film.
42	* SkinnyDipping: Judging from this film, one of Jane's favorite activities.

Context Film / TarzanTheApeMan1981