Wall St. Journal: How The Legend of Tarzan Got Modernized
Lucy Feldman writing in the Wall St. Journal offers some of the first thoughtful commentary on Legend of Tarzan and what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish.
Here are some meaty bites:
“The Legend of Tarzan,” a high-stakes, big-studio movie coming July 1 and starring Alexander Skarsgard of “True Blood,” sets out to introduce the iconic, if dusty, character to a new generation.
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“Here we have a character who has a kinship and an empathy and a deep understanding of the natural world. That to me is a very contemporary, interesting character to explore.”
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This Jane doesn’t wilt in Tarzan’s arms. She is feisty and independent. When in jeopardy, she fights back. The animals are hyperrealistic—all are computer-generated except a few village goats. The African characters are mostly valued allies, not just servile or menacing figures in the background. Tarzan is more psychologically complex.
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“It’s a very 21st-century approach to that singular story and that person,” Mr. Yates said. “Those notions of ‘Me, Tarzan,’ You, Jane’…aren’t interesting at all.”
“Here we have a character who has a kinship and an empathy and a deep understanding of the natural world. That to me is a very contemporary, interesting character to explore.”
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Tarzan has deeper motives for his tree-swinging heroics in this case: uncovering slavery in the Congo in the late 19th century. He is aided by George Washington Williams, an American soldier played by Samuel L. Jackson. Williams is based on a real African-American soldier who traveled to the Congo and criticized the colonists’ treatment of the natives; some of Mr. Jackson’s lines come from an old letter, Mr. Yates said. “The real hero is George Washington Williams in some ways,” he added.
Read the full article at Wall Street Journal
4 comments
Funny how while “modernizing” the tale in their eyes, they in fact go back in more ways than one to Burroughs! 🙂
I know. I’m going to have fun writing about that. I do think there are some “legitimate” modernizations — and others are just a matter of picking up on what Burroughs actually wrote. It’s an interesting dynamic…..
The only qualm here: “Conflicted hero and feisty Jane.” Yeah that worked great for John Carter!
Yeah …. I’m really interested in seeing how it plays. My thought is . . . . can’t be that bad. What was so frustrating about Carter was that he got transported to Barsoom and rather than embracing it as his place of destiny, he hated being there and just wanted to go back to his cave of gold for 85% of the movie. Tarzan is conflicted in London, and has this whole not-quite-fitting-in-anywhere vibe, but just from the shots in the trailer with Numa and Tantor, for example, it seems like he certainly “feels it” when he gets to Africa. I can’t believe it will be a repeat of JC …. but I get your concern …..