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Bo Derek, Richard Harris, John Phillip Law, Miles O'Keeffe, Wilfrid Hyde-White ... see more see more... , Akushula Selayah , Steven Strong , Laurie Main , Harold Ayer , Steve Strong

John Derek directed this 1981 vanity production of the Tarzan tale as a bon-bon for his wife Bo Derek. The Bo Derek version answers any questions viewers may have had concerning Tarzan and Jane's sex ... read more read more...life. The film begins as Jane (Bo Derek)'s father Parker (Richard Harris) heads to the African interior on the pretext of searching for hidden jungle secrets. He is actually looking for Tarzan (Miles O'Keeffe), whom he plans to kidnap and bring back to England dead or alive. Jane accompanies her manic father, along with his unassuming assistant Holt (John Phillip Law). Realizing that Parker is on his trail, Tarzan kidnaps Jane and it is love at first sight. Parker forges on, trying to capture Tarzan and save his daughter. But Tarzan finally saves the day when Jane is kidnapped by a band of African mud worshippers, who are preparing her to be sacrificed to the gods. ~ Rovi

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29% liked it

3,413 ratings

Critics

11% liked it

18 critics

R, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: John Derek

Release Date: July 24, 1981

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DVD Release Date: June 8, 2004

Stats: 122 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (122)

  • Deano78
    March 27, 2011
    Deano78
    I saw this a long time ago and thought it was ok then. Bo Derek covered in white paint and not much else for most of the film.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 13, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    Jane showing Tarzan how to have Sex in 81. I dont know if one should call this Movie a Soft Porn. Two Nacked Adults running around in a Movie casually having sex doesnt make it even near to a soft Porn. Each to their own.
  • webalina
    July 6, 2009
    webalina
    The story of the Lord of Greystoke as soft core porn. Junk.
  • jjnxn
    May 4, 2008
    jjnxn
    Awful, cardboard adventure, Richard Harris must have needed the money badly.
  • deano
    November 28, 2006
    deano
    Bo Derek is the most famously erotic in this adventure film.
  • broadwaymo
    April 15, 2007
    broadwaymo
    OMG!!! Richard Harris must have been in dire straits to have agreed to this piece of dung! If there was ever any doubt that Bo Derek was not an actress, you'll be convinced within 15 minutes of the opening credits. Run away, fast!
  • eddiecantor2
    June 24, 2010
    eddiecantor2
    Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981) was John Derek?s most successful picture as director (31 million in 1980s dollars). This may be because Tarzan is a known commodity (though Tarzan is not in the film a great deal, familar aspects from early Tarzan picture: the chimps, the Tarzan yell, a... read morend the vine swinging are however included) or it may be because it was Bo?s follow up to 10 and was sold this way: ?The most beautiful woman of our time in the most erotic adventure of all time.?

    Is Bo Derek the most beautiful woman of that time? It is possible. She certainly seemed to be for John Derek who photographed her spectacularly. The film seems to suggest so too. People in the film talk at length about her beauty (including her father, more on this later) and native children touch her skin and hair as if she is a goddess. John would try to claim her as the female Valentino in his next film, Bolero; that claim I am less sure about.

    Is it the most erotic adventure? Not really, this has to be if not the only then one of few films where Tarzan gets laid but the scene is a quick begining with a fade out. Of the eroticism that is shown, it is not exactly HOT, more of the John Derek, idiosyncratic variety:

    several nude natives covered in clay.

    Bo being forcefully washed on all fours (1:31).

    And a chimp licking one of her nipples (I?m not getting moderated, don?t believe it click
    here)

    Bo plays Jane a rich young woman (She is always wealthy in her husband?s films though likely because of its jungle setting this is the only John/Bo film without ostentatious displays of wealth). Her mother has just died and she heads to Africa to track down her long absent adventurer father, James (Richard Harris).

    Bo is very good in the film. She is bright and tough when she needs to be and vulnerable when she is in danger. In her husbands films, Bo usually plays a woman who has sat her mind to do something and lets nothing get in her way. If tragedy happens (her boyfriend being gorged by a bull or husband dying) she deals with it with fortitude, not ever really scared. Here she is required to be scared. Tarzan (Miles O Keefe) only appears in this film to rescue Bo, first from a lion (0:43) then from a snake finally with a herd of charging elephants when she is held captive by natives.

    Since conventions of a Tarzan plot require he be heroic, I guess there was not much way around it, the good fortune of this film is that he saves her but she corrupts him or at least introduces him to sexuality (If this all sounds like a kooky version of a beloved classic, it may be but it is always good fun unlike the dour and unwatchable Where the Wild Things Are).

    Naturally, since she keeps getting saved, Jane develops an attraction to Tarzan. It?s just that she has ?never touched a man before?(1:05) but she does so in a most slow and delicate matter, esp when she gets around the loincloth. 3/4 of Bo and John?s films together, she is a virginal character, and in all but one, Fantasies, she takes charge of the situation. Regarding Fantasies,it is the only other Derek where a man is given equal time as desired object.

    All that being said, The film really belongs to Harris though. From the first scene, where we see James lying next to a beautiful woman to the expertly delivered speech about fear (Harris, the best actor of the group, gets the bulk of the lines)John Derek was a famous actor before he decided to write, photograph and direct instead, and the famous actors in his films (George Kennedy, Richard Harris, Anthony Quinn) seem to be him to some extent. Harris is maybe not attracted to his daughter but there is some odd tension there, she does look just like her mother after all.

    He goes on and on about her beauty while searching for her in the jungles as she is exploring Tarzan?s body (1:05). He is also captive with her as she is being scrubbed down naked on all fours, like a horse (see my other write ups, the Derek?s love horses and I guess if one could not be in the jungle then Bo could be sort of made into one). He tries to comfort her

    ?You are not here. Whatever happens you are no longer of your body.?

    Sounds like something a father could say in that situation; then again, how many of us have used that line when trying to seduce chicks?
  • rune081624
    January 7, 2008
    rune081624
    Intended as a starring vehicle for Bo Derek and directed by her husband, John Derek, this awful excuse for an adventure film was panned by the critics and dubbed "The little Bo peep show" as the heroine spent a good portion of the film in the nude.
    Unfortunately, it didn't help a... read morend the poor direction, bad acting, and mediocre script (not to mention the infamous fight scene with the rubber snake) make it the worst of the Tarzan films.
    Where is Johnny Weissmuller when we need him?

View All Tarzan, the Ape Man Reviews

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff, Variety

This opus will disappoint both Tarzan fans and Bo admirers. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Of course it's completely ridiculous, but at the same time it has a certain disarming charm. Full Review

Vincent Canby
August 30, 2004
Vincent Canby, New York Times

To describe the film as inept would be to miss the point, which is to present Mrs. Derek in as many different poses, nude and seminude, as there are days of the year, all in something less than two ho... Full Review

August 4, 2009
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Painfully dull. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Judging by the amount of time everybody spends swimming, the African jungle resembles Hornsey Baths filled with oversized pot plants. Full Review

Tony Medley
October 27, 2005
Tony Medley, tonymedley.com

Lots of untittilating nudity

Steve Crum
October 19, 2004
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan

Truly forgettable, except for Bo's booty

John J. Puccio
July 4, 2004
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

Silliness abounds, so much so that the picture comes off closer to a comedy than the romantic action-adventure it was meant to be. Full Review

Matt Brunson
June 16, 2004
Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing

This cinematic atrocity truly is one of the all-time worsts. Full Review

Christopher Null
June 3, 2004
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

not even funny as modern irony Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Tarzan, the Ape Man Trivia

  •   Answer »
  • In Johnny Weismuller's first Tarzan role (Tarzan, the Ape Man [1932]), he introduced himself to co-star Maureen O'Sullivan by saying, "Me Tarzan, you Jane."  Answer »
  • 'Tarzan, the Ape Man', featuring Bo Derek ,was brought to the world by none other than what film 'director'?   Answer »
  • "Me Tarzan, you Jane" was never said by Tarzan in 'Tarzan, the Ape Man' (1932)as it is commonly quoted.   Answer »
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