Congo (1995)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Frank Marshall

Writers (WGA):

Michael Crichton (novel)
John Patrick Shanley (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 June 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Where you are the endangered species

Plot:

When an expedition to the African Congo ends in disaster, a new team is assembled to find out what went wrong.

Plot Keywords:

Laser | Gorilla | Diamond | Talking Gorilla | Lion

Awards:

2 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Laura Linney	...	Dr. Karen Ross
Dylan Walsh	...	Dr. Peter Elliot
Ernie Hudson	...	Captain Munro Kelly
Tim Curry	...	Herkermer Homolka
Grant Heslov	...	Richard
Joe Don Baker	...	R.B. Travis
Lorene Noh	...	Amy
Mary Ellen Trainor	...	Moira
Misty Rosas	...	Amy the Gorilla
Stuart Pankin	...	Boyd
Carolyn Seymour	...	Eleanor Romy
Romy Rosemont	...	Assistant
James Karen	...	College President / Elliot's Boss
Bill Pugin	...	William
Lawrence T. Wrentz	...	Prof. Arliss Wender

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for jungle adventure terror and action and brief strong language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #33485) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Australia:M | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Germany:12 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:15 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Costa Rica

Company:

Kennedy/Marshall Company, The

Trivia:

Dylan Walsh plays Dr. Peter Elliot, a primatologist who's returning a gorilla to the wild. The real Peter Elliot is a gorilla choreographer and ape performer in many movies, including this one.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the plane lands in the runway, the baggage hatch is seen opening twice.

Quotes:

Dr. Peter Elliot: Oh, no! The bad apes have the crystal lasers!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Troldspejlet: Troldspejlet special: Troldspejlet i USA (#17.1)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Celebrated Minuet

I have a soft spot for this movie, but...

The idea is great, the book was a good read, and the film ought to have been great as well. I was disappointed, but I still have a soft spot for this story. They expected Congo to be the next King Kong and there were a good deal of toys, action figures, books, stickers, etc. to sell to the expected hordes of fans. The fans did not materialize and the action figures are an easy buy on the internet.

The legend of the city of Zinj is a phenomenal idea to work with for a film. Evolved apes is a sure seller. But this movie did not deliver. There were so many missed opportunities and examples of poor writing. For me the ape researcher on the expedition is a bit goofy to be credible. And he is one of the central characters! We are not given much to believe his knowledge or utility to the expedition or to Amy for that matter. This spoils that character. I liked the African actors in the film and was willing to go along with the hunter and his somewhat distracting phony English accent. But somehow, the film did not deliver what it could easily have delivered: action plus thought-provoking story about animal intelligence.