The Emerald Forest | | Cast : | Powers Boothe, Meg Foster | | Director : | John Boorman | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Color, Widescreen, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | July 03, 1985 | | DVD Released Date : | February 06, 2001 | | Language : | French (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 10, 2005 | | Summary | "When You Hear The Toucan, Danger Is Near" - A Termite Child From The Dead World | Content
 | Bill Markham (Powers Boothe), an American engineer supervising a development project in the Amazon Rainforest has his young son Tomme (Charley Boorman) abducted by an elusive Indian tribe known as "The Invisible People." Bill spends the next ten years combing the jungles trying to find Tomme and bring him home.
When they are finally reunited Tomme is now a young man and the adopted son of the tribal chief and shaman (played by Ruy Polanah). He has also chosen a wife and is about to be married. And so the struggle begins, not only between father and son, but between two very foreign cultures in search of mutual understanding and acceptance.
While the two fathers and son work through the implications of their chance meeting danger looms on the horizon. A neighboring tribe of cannibals known as "The Fierce People" will soon attack. The ensuing confrontation will force Bill to join in the battle in an effort to defeat a mutual enemy.
Everything about this film is first rate. Acting (Powers Boothe, Charley Boorman and Ruy Polanah), directing (John Boorman), cinematography, and screenplay. It even has an important message to get across (saving the Rainforest) and does so without preaching to the audience or jeopardizing the integrity of the story.
It has been some twenty years since the release of this film, yet it still remains to be relatively unknown by a vast majority of movie watchers. Why it hasn't received more attention by now is a total mystery to me. This is one of the true undiscovered gems of cinema that everyone should experience. Definitely one of my all-time top ten films! |
| Rating | | | Date | July 26, 2005 | | Summary | subtitles? | Content
| I originally saw this on VHS and later purchased it on DVD because I love the story. The DVD ad said it had subtitles, which is important since about half of the movie is in a South American language. What a disappointment when I got my DVD and the subtitles were in French, German...but not English! What a rip-off!!
five stars for the movie, one star for subtitle misinformation. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 06, 2005 | | Summary | 20 years old already!? | Content
| I saw this movie on VHS back when I was a teen. The only reason why my friend and I rented it was because of the promise of naked girls. The movie doesn't disappoint in this area... there are lots of topless young cuties. Now I think I'll get a copy of it on DVD to revisit the girls that I remember looking so scrumptious... and this time I'll see if the story is any good. I wasn't really concerned with that when I was 18. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 06, 2005 | | Summary | an interesting movie | Content
| i really like this movie for it's visual style. the colors of the forest are bold, as are all the people's faces, and there is an intensity to all that color. the story is supposed to be based on a true story, which adds to the drama of seeing it unfold..you can't help wonder what you would do. i saw this movie at around 12 yrs old, and i loved it because it was so unusual, and because you really care about all the people involved in the story....it grabs you and you want to know what happens to the end. i highly reccomend it to anyone, although no boys under 17-18 should see it because it has a million beautiful, bare breasted tribeswomen in it!! haha. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 22, 2005 | | Summary | A Young Man's Dream? | Content
| I had heard a bit about "The Emerald Forest" when it first came out so I got the video as soon as it was available. This is a terrific movie! It has some faults but I am willing to forgive them for the fun, adventure, and excitement that I got from watching this movie.
For openings, the concept is terrific. It may be the worst nightmare for a parent but we, the audience, are spared that knowing that it won't be much of a movie if the son doesn't reappear. It is from the perspective of the son that the story holds its' magic. Suppose you were captured by obscure Amazonian tribesmen around the age of 5 and swept of into the depth of the vast jungle world they live in. I know...lousy food, no indoor plumbing, no TV, etc. etc. etc.. But let's forget about that (and missing mommy and daddy) and consider the adventure of a lifetime.
The story, of course, involves the reuniting of parents and child. It is something like 7-10 years later and our little boy is now a teenager in his Amazonian society. The family members reunite, solve a crisis of modern man, and the boy, now a man in his new society, faces the choice of which world to live in.
The cinematography is outstanding and the infinite possibilities are well-utilized. Some parts of the story slow the movie down a bit but the impact remains profound. This is a movie to watch with just about the whole family. Some of the corruption of the modern world may cross over a line or two but it does fit into the message of the movie. For some reason this outrstanding movie seemed to have come in under the radar as far as audiences went. So what! Watch it and enjoy it for the good movie that it is. |
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