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Tarzan and the Lost City

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Tarzan and the Lost City
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCarl Schenkel
Written byBayard Johnson
J. Anderson Black
Based onCharacters created
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Produced byStanley S. Canter
Dieter Geissler
Michael Lake
Starring
CinematographyPaul Gilpin
Edited byHarry Hitner
Music byChristopher Franke
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • April 24, 1998 (1998-04-24)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million
Box office$2.2 million[1]

Tarzan and the Lost City is a 1998 American adventure film directed by Carl Schenkel, written by Bayard Johnson and J. Anderson Black, and starring Casper Van Dien, Jane March, and Steven Waddington. The screenplay by Bayard Johnson and J. Anderson Black is loosely based on the Tarzan stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film received largely negative reviews and was a box office bomb.

One of the film's producers, Stanley S. Canter, had previously produced another Tarzan film for Warner Bros., Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984).

Plot

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In 1913 on the night before Jane Porter's wedding to John Clayton II (also known as Tarzan, who is something of a celebrity), her bridegroom receives a disturbing vision of his childhood homeland in peril. The educated explorer and treasure seeker Nigel Ravens is seeking the legendary city of Opar to plunder its ancient treasures and uncover dangerous powers. Much to Jane's distress and confusion, Clayton leaves for Africa to help, meeting up with the shaman Mugambe whose village was plundered by Ravens' group to find a key to Opar.

Just as Tarzan's efforts to negotiate with Ravens to turn back fail, Jane decides to follow her fiancé. While glad to see her, he must now protect her while trying to stop Ravens and his men from continuing their expedition.

Cast

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Production

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The film was shot in Bethlehem, Free State and Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal South Africa.[2]

German composer Christopher Franke composed the original musical score.

Reception

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The film received mainly negative reviews, criticizing the low budget production values, effects and writing.[3][4] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 6% based on reviews from 18 critics.[5]

A rare positive review came from The New York Times, where critic Lawrence Van Gelder declared the film "A throwback to the days of Saturday afternoon adventures in exotic locales that were usually Hollywood back lots" and that it "zips along, past the ritual lions, elephants and cobras to the city of Opar and its temple of illusions, tunnels and traps, and right to the inevitable satisfying showdown."[6]

Box office

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The film opened in the same weekend as The Big Hit and grossed $1 million in 12th place. It only took $2 million at the box office, making it a commercial failure.

References

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  1. ^ "Tarzan and the Lost City". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  2. ^ "Reuters Archive Licensing". Archived from the original on 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  3. ^ "Review: 'Tarzan and the Lost City'". Variety. April 27, 1998. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  4. ^ "Tarzan and the Lost City". The Austin Chronicle. April 14, 2000. Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  5. ^ "Tarzan and the Lost City". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2020-10-04. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  6. ^ Lawrence Van Gelder (April 25, 1998). "Tarzan and the Lost City (1998)". New York Times. Archived from the original on October 4, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
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