Romancing the Stone (1984)

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writer:

Diane Thomas (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

30 March 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

She's a girl from the big city. He's a reckless soldier of fortune. For a fabulous treasure, they share an adventure no one could imagine... or survive.

Plot:

A romance writer sets off to Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure.

Plot Keywords:

Colombia | Map | Jungle | Soldiers Of Fortune | Novelist

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Michael Douglas	...	Jack T. Colton
Kathleen Turner	...	Joan Wilder
Danny DeVito	...	Ralph
Zack Norman	...	Ira
Alfonso Arau	...	Juan
Manuel Ojeda	...	Zolo
Holland Taylor	...	Gloria
Mary Ellen Trainor	...	Elaine
Eve Smith	...	Mrs. Irwin
Joe Nesnow	...	Super
José Chávez	...	Santos
Evita Muñoz 'Chachita'	...	Hefty Woman (as Chachita)
Camillo García	...	Bus Driver
Rodrigo Puebla	...	Bad Hombre
Paco Morayta	...	Hotel Clerk
Jorge Zamora	...	Maitre'D
Kymberly Herrin	...	Angelina (as Kym Herrin)
William H. Burton	...	Jessie (as Bill Burton)
Ted White	...	Grogan
Manuel E. Santiago	...	Vendor (as Manuel Santiago)
Ron Silver	...	Vendor
Michael Cassidy	...	Zolo's Men (as Mike Cassidy)
Vince Deadrick Sr.	...	Zolo's Men
Richard Drown	...	Zolo's Men
Joe Finnegan	...	Zolo's Men
Jimmy Medearis	...	Zolo's Men
Jeff Ramsey	...	Zolo's Men

Directed by
Robert Zemeckis

Writing credits
Diane Thomas		(written by)
Lem Dobbs		uncredited
Howard Franklin		uncredited
Treva Silverman		uncredited

Produced by
Jack Brodsky	....	co-producer
Joel Douglas	....	co-producer
Michael Douglas	....	producer

Original Music by
Alan Silvestri

Cinematography by
Dean Cundey

Film Editing by
Donn Cambern
Frank Morriss

Production Design by
Lawrence G. Paull

Art Direction by
Agustín Ituarte

Set Decoration by
Enrique Estévez

Costume Design by
Marilyn Vance

Makeup Department
Kathryn Blondell	....	hair stylist
E. Thomas Case	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Carlos Rodríguez Álvarez	....	unit production manager: Mexico (as Carlos Rodriguez)
John D. Schofield	....	unit production manager (as John Schofield)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Javier Carreño	....	second assistant director
Joel Douglas	....	first assistant director
Terry Leonard	....	second unit director
Joseph Paul Moore	....	second assistant director: second unit
José María Ochoa	....	first assistant director: Mexico

Art Department
George Jensen	....	production illustrator
Antonio Mata	....	property master: Mexico
German Ramirez	....	greensman
Rudy Reachi	....	property master: USA
Jorge Sainz	....	set designer
Tom Southwell	....	graphic illustrator
Gregg Vance	....	assistant production designer
Brent W. Bell	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Steve Bartlett	....	post-production sound
Charles L. Campbell	....	supervising sound editor
Larry Carow	....	sound editor
Samuel C. Crutcher	....	sound editor
Don Digirolamo	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mike Dobie	....	sound editor (as Michael Dobie)
Louis L. Edemann	....	sound editor
Robert Glass	....	sound re-recording mixer
William B. Kaplan	....	sound mixer
Robert Knudson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chuck Neely	....	assistant sound editor
David Pettijohn	....	sound editor
Rod Rogers	....	assistant adr editor
Earl Sampson	....	boom operator
Victoria Rose Sampson	....	adr editor
Larry Singer	....	supervising adr editor
Jonathon 'Earl' Stein	....	sound mixer: Utah
Roger Sword	....	sound editor
John Roesch	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Laurencio Cordero	....	special effects coordinator: Mexico
Ken Estes	....	special effects foreman
Christopher Gilman	....	special effects makeup
Jay King	....	special effects crew
Robert King	....	special effects crew
Terry W. King	....	special effects assistant (as Terry King)
Alan E. Lorimer	....	special effects coordinator: second unit coordinator
Robert Moore	....	special effects crew
Billy Myatt	....	special effects coordinator: USA
Harold Weed	....	creature maker
Kelly Lepkowsky	....	mechanical alligator effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Peter Bloch	....	optical effects
Kerry Colonna	....	optical effects

Stunts
Gerardo Albarrán	....	stunts (as Gerardo Moreno)
Vince Deadrick Jr.	....	stunt coordinator: first unit
Vince Deadrick Jr.	....	stunts
Eurlyne Epper	....	stunt double
Eurlyne Epper	....	stunts
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts
Dean Jeffries	....	stunts
Tracy Keehn-Dashnaw	....	stunts (as Tracy Keehn)
Terry Leonard	....	stunt coordinator: second unit
Raúl Martínez	....	stunts
Victor Moreno Jr.	....	stunts
Lem Dobbs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Leonard	....	waterfall stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bruce Birmelin	....	still photographer: USA
Clyde E. Bryan	....	first assistant camera (as Clyde Bryan)
Donaciano De Anda	....	dolly grip
Richard Hart	....	director of photography: second unit
Adolfo Lara	....	best boy
Alfredo Ruvalcaba	....	still photographer: Mexico
Bill Sheehan	....	film loader
Robert C. Thomas	....	camera operator (as Robert Thomas)
Ronald Vidor	....	Steadicam operator
Mark Walthour	....	gaffer
Ronald Woodward	....	key grip (as Ron Woodward)

Casting Department
Claudia Becker	....	casting: Mexico
Karen Rea	....	casting: USA
Luis Sánchez	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gracielo Castillo	....	assistant costume supervisor
Juana Oliver	....	costumer: women
Gilda Texter	....	costume supervisor
Enrique Villavicencio	....	costumer: men

Editorial Department
Jorge Azcárate	....	assistant editor
William J. Meshover	....	assistant editor (as William Jay Meshover)
Kevin Stitt	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Kathleen Bennett	....	assistant music editor (as Kathy Bennett)
James B. Campbell	....	orchestrator (as James Campbell)
Tom Carlin	....	music editor (as Thomas Carlin)
Eddy Grant	....	composer: song "Romancing the Stone"
Tom Nixon	....	music researcher
Ben Rodgers	....	music recording engineer
Dennis S. Sands	....	music scoring mixer (as Dennis Sands)

Transportation Department
Steve Patten	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Beth Anthony	....	production secretary: USA
Reneé Armaun	....	production secretary: USA
Dr. Crypton	....	map designer
Peter DePalma	....	assistant to producer
Ricardo Frera	....	auditor: Mexico
Emily Gamboa	....	production secretary: Mexico
Nikki Allyn Grosso	....	production coordinator
Miguel Gurza	....	animal trainer
Karen Hale Wookey	....	continuity
Jeffrey Hornaday	....	choreographer (as Jeffrey D. Hornaday)
Cesar Jimenez	....	location manager
Robert A. Levine	....	publicity coordinator
Sandy McLeod	....	script supervisor: New York only
José Luis Ortega	....	continuity: second unit
Theodore R. Parvin	....	production consultant
Nina Saxon	....	title designer
Dorothy Schlom	....	auditor: USA
Marshall Schlom	....	unit coordinator: second unit
René Simon Cruz Jr.	....	translator (uncredited)
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler (uncredited)
'Chico' Hernandez	....	wrangler (uncredited)
Harry Kopoian	....	airport liaison: Mexico (uncredited)
Robert Tafur	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• El Corazon Producciones S.A.
• Nina Saxon Film Design (uncredited)
• SLM Production Group

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1984) (UK) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox Video (1985) (Belgium) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox Video (1985) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• CBS/Fox (1985) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1987) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• CBS/Fox (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Encore Entertainment (1996) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Fox Film (1984) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1994) (Sweden) (theatrical) (16 mm)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Abril Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2009) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Chris Walas (mechanical alligator effects)

Other Companies

• DeLuxe Laboratories  color by (as DeLuxe)
• Group IV Recording  music recorded at
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Silvercup Studios  production coordination: New York
• Varèse Sarabande  score album released by (limited edition)

Also Known As:

2 bribones tras la esmeralda perdida (Mexico)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Mexico | USA

Language:

English | Spanish | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 | Ireland:15 (uncut) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:12 | Brazil:Livre | South Korea:15 (2001) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:7 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (re-rating) (2001) (uncut) | UK:PG (original rating) (cut) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The stunt double for Kathleen Turner who did the actual mud slide scene was Jeannie Epper who was also the stunt body double for actress Lynda Carter on the "Wonder Woman" (1976) television series.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Joan's sister gets knocked out with the bolas her hat falls to the ground. When the boy climbs in and the car speeds away the hat is not on the ground.

Quotes:

Ralph: I had it in my hands, Ira. These hands that are going to break every bone in your body.
[Zolo points a gun at his face]
Ralph: ... later.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in This Is an Adventure (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

ROMANCING THE STONE

Superb adventure-comedy

"Romancing the Stone" is argubly my favorite adventure movie of all-time. Yep, in my opinion it surpasses all three movies in the "Indiana Jones" trilogy (which are right behind in terms of greatness). This movie has action, adventure, comedy, drama, and romance all rolled up into one great motion picture. Kathleen Turner stars as Joan Wilder, a romance novelist who flies to the South American country of Colombia to rescue her kidnapped sister. She's ordered by the kidnappers to bring a treasure map that she received in the mail with her to the Colombian city of Cartegna. Ms. Wilder ends up getting on the wrong bus that ends up taking her deep into the jungle where she meets a fortune hunter who saves her life in more ways than one. He also seems to resemble the hero in her books. Jack Colton, the fortune hunter, is played by Michael Douglas (who also produced the film) and he talks her into using the map to find the treasure. But they're not the only ones who are dying to get their hands on the treasure. A couple of bad guys are in hot pursuit of the two adventurers. There's Zolo (Manuel Ojeda), an evil colonel who's on to Ms. Wilder (and is the real nasty bad guy of the bunch); Ira (Zack Norman), one of the crazed kidnappers who's obsessed with crocodiles (he's always saying "Look at those snappers!"); and Ralph (Danny DeVito), Ira's bumbling cousin who goes to the airport to pick up Ms. Wilder, see's at the last second that she got on the wrong bus, and is forced to go into the jungle to find her. Even Ralph and Ira know that Zolo is bad news. There are also minor supporting characters in the film. There's Gloria (Holland Taylor from TV's "The Practice"), Ms. Wilder's publisher; Elaine (Mary Ellen Trainor), Ms. Wilder's sister; and Juan (Alfonso Arau), a Colombian native who actually turns out to be a huge fan of Ms. Wilder. In one very funny scene, Ms. Wilder and Mr. Colton go to the house of this man and ask him if they can borrow his car. The Colombian tells them to get lost, until he finds out that the woman is actually Joan Wilder the novelist, and admits that he's one of her biggest fans who has read every one of her books. He proceeds to help the two get out of a jam. "Romancing the Stone" has plenty of exhilarating action scenes, and a load of big laughs. This was director Robert Zemeckis' first hit movie (which he made before the original "Back to the Future"), and I still think this is his best film. Zemeckis is one of our best directors working today, and rarely (like Steven Spielberg and James Cameron) does he make a bad film. "Romancing the Stone" is a great movie. Turner is splendid as the novelist up to her neck in trouble; Douglas is terrific as her sidekick; and Norman and Arau are hilarious in smaller roles. But the one who provides the biggest laughs in the movie is Danny DeVito. He is literally a scream in "Romancing the Stone". I kept falling down on my side because he had me laughing so hard. This is one movie that's a must-see for people who like a mix of action, suspense, adventure, romance, thrills, and lots of comedy. One of the '80s best. Followed by the very good sequel "Jewel of the Nile".

**** (out of four)