Congo (UK)
Where you are the endangered species
Certificate: 12
Running Time: 104 mins
Retail Price: £19.99
Release Date:
Content Type: Movie
Synopsis:
They`ve eluded heat-seeking missiles, gone eyeball-to-eyeball with enraged 5,000-pound hippos and hacked through a jungle curtain. Still, the expedition continues.
Amy, a gorilla who was part of a university learning experiment, is at last returning home. A professor (Dylan Walsh), electronics expert (Laura Linney, The Truman Show), guide (Ernie Hudson), explorer (Tim Curry) and others follow the scampering ape.
They know she will lead them to the place that`s more than her home - it`s the site of the fabled lost city of Zinj and its diamond mines. But what they don`t know can be fatal. Once they enter Zinj, they`ll be the endangered species!
From the best seller by Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park) comes an event-packed adventure filled with state-of-the-art technology and primal fear.
Special Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer
Teaser Trailer
Video Tracks:
Widescreen Anamorphic 1.78:1
Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital Surround 2.0 Czech
Dolby Digital Surround 2.0 Hungarian
Dolby Digital 5.1 German
Subtitle Tracks:
Swedish
Finnish
Turkish
English
German
CC: English
Dutch
Danish
Norwegian
Directed By:
Frank Marshall
Written By:
John Patrick Shanley
Michael Crichton
Starring:
Grant Heslov
Tim Curry
Ernie Hudson
Laura Linney
Dylan Walsh
Casting By:
Mike Fenton
Allison Cowitt
Soundtrack By:
Jerry Goldsmith
Director of Photography:
Allen Daviau
Editor:
Anne V. Coates
Costume Designer:
Marilyn Matthews
Production Designer:
J. Michael Riva
Producer:
Sam Mercer
Kathleen Kennedy
Paul Deason
Michael Backes
Executive Producer:
Frank Yablans
Frank Marshall
Distributor:
Paramount Pictures
Your Opinions and Comments
3 people with ulterior motives fly out to africa. Their destination, a remote region of the congo covered in rainforests, surrounded by wild animals and native tribes.
A scientist wants to return his tamed gorilla friend to the wild, A communications expert wants to find her ex who has disappeared and an explorer who is searching for the lost city of Zinj, said to be the source of king solomons mines. Guided by Ernie Hudson, they travel through the mysterious jungles of the Congo, unsure about what they are about to run into..........
Acting wise the film wasnt that great. Laura Linney did a decent job. She has shown she can act brilliantly in later films such as "You can count on me". Ernie "Ghosbusters" Hudson was the only well known face. I suppose more better known actors may have given the film more character. The film is directed by frank marshall who is fairly unknown to me. The film could have done with a more superior director. The words Steven Spielberg spring to mind. The relationship between Peter(scientist played by dylan walsh) and Amy(the female gorilla) has already been developed before the movie commences but it does continue to grow as the film goes on.
The special effects were really great. The editing also was smooth and slick. It gave the jungle life. The set design had a lot to do with this also. They were really well made.
The Picture is really crisp and clear but that is just what you would expect from a dvd released in 2001 although it does not always work that way. The sound also a great DD 5.1 that is loud and sharp. The soundtrack is awesome. Full of sounds of the jungle and traditional african music. The theme "spirit of africa" is mesmerising and really fits the picture well. The are hardly any extras on the disc. There is only a teaser and a full trailer. Sometimes I wonder was it really worth putting a special features menu for just those 2 extras?
Overall this is a movie that I have seen many times and will continue to do so now that I have the dvd. Its a big(not huge) budget jungle adventure that has plenty of scenery and action. Has its flaws but comes out a good movie nonetheless.