| Tarzan and the Lost City | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Carl Schenkel |
| Written by | Bayard Johnson J. Anderson Black |
| Based on | Characters created byEdgar Rice Burroughs |
| Produced by | Stanley S. Canter Dieter Geissler Michael Lake |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Paul Gilpin |
| Edited by | Harry Hitner |
| Music by | Christopher Franke |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $2.2 million[1] |
Tarzan and the Lost City is a 1998 Americanadventure film directed byCarl Schenkel, written by Bayard Johnson and J. Anderson Black, and starringCasper Van Dien,Jane March, andSteven Waddington. The screenplay by Bayard Johnson and J. Anderson Black is loosely based on theTarzan stories byEdgar Rice Burroughs. The film received largely negative reviews and was abox-office bomb.
One of the film's producers, Stanley S. Canter, had previously produced another Tarzan film forWarner Bros.,Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984).
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In 1913 on the night beforeJane Porter's wedding to John Clayton II (also known asTarzan, 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 ofOpar 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.
The film was shot inBethlehem, Free State andPort Edward, KwaZulu-NatalSouth Africa.[2]
German composerChristopher Franke composed the original musical score.
The film received mainly negative reviews, criticizing the low budget production values, effects and writing.[3][4] On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 6% based on reviews from 18 critics.[5]
A rare positive review came fromThe New York Times, where criticLawrence Van Gelder declared the film "A throwback to the days of Saturday afternoon adventures in exotic locales that were usuallyHollywood back lots" and that it "zips along, past the ritual lions, elephants and cobras to the city ofOpar and its temple of illusions, tunnels and traps, and right to the inevitable satisfying showdown."[6]
The film opened in the same weekend asThe Big Hit and grossed $1 million in 12th place. It only took $2 million at the box office, making it a commercial failure.