| The Phantom | |
|---|---|
 original movie poster |
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| Directed by | Simon Wincer |
| Produced by | Alan Ladd, Jr Robert Evans |
| Written by | Jeffrey Boam |
| Starring | Billy Zane Kristy Swanson Catherine Zeta-Jones Treat Williams James Remar |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 7, 1996 |
| Running time | 100 min. Simon Wincer (born 1943 in Sydney) is an Australian Film director and Film producer. Robert Evans may refer to Bob Evans (race driver (born 1947 Formula One driver from England Bob Evans (restaurateur (1918&ndash2007 Jeffrey Boam ( November 30, 1946 &ndash January 24, 2000) was an American Screenwriter and Film producer. William George "Billy" Zane Jr (born February 24, 1966) is an American Actor and director. Kristen Noel "Kristy" Swanson (born December 19, 1969) is an American Actress best known as the original Buffy Summers Catherine Zeta-Jones ( "zeeta" born September 25, 1969) is a Welsh actress, presently based in the United States Treat Williams (born December 1, 1951) is an American actor who has appeared on film stage and television over the course of his prolific career William James Remar (born December 31 1953) is an American Actor. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) |
| Country | Australia, United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $42,000,000 (estimated) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Phantom is a 1996 action/adventure movie starring Billy Zane, and directed by Simon Wincer. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The year 1996 in film involved some significant events Major releases this year included Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient William George "Billy" Zane Jr (born February 24, 1966) is an American Actor and director. Simon Wincer (born 1943 in Sydney) is an Australian Film director and Film producer. It was based on Lee Falk's comic strip The Phantom, about a seemingly immortal crimefighter and his fight against all forms of evil. Leon Harrison Gross, more known by the alias of Lee Falk ( April 28, 1911 - March 13, 1999) was an American writer The film is loosely based on the first two Phantom stories, "The Singh Brotherhood" and "The Sky Band", and features Treat Williams, Kristy Swanson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The Singh Brotherhood is a fictional global crime syndicate They are the best known adversaries of the Lee Falk created superhero The Phantom, and have Treat Williams (born December 1, 1951) is an American actor who has appeared on film stage and television over the course of his prolific career Kristen Noel "Kristy" Swanson (born December 19, 1969) is an American Actress best known as the original Buffy Summers Catherine Zeta-Jones ( "zeeta" born September 25, 1969) is a Welsh actress, presently based in the United States
Taglines
- The Ghost Who Walks
- Slam Evil!
Contents |
Plot summary
The legend of the Phantom starts when a young boy, the last survivor of a pirate attack, is washed ashore on a mysterious island called Bengalla. He swears to devote his life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty, and injustice, in all their forms. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering Greed is the Selfish desire for or pursuit of Money, Wealth, power, Food, or other Possessions, especially when this denies Cruelty can be described as indifference to Suffering, and even positive Pleasure in inflicting it When he grows to be a man, he adopts the identity of 'The Phantom', a masked avenger. The role of the Phantom is passed on from father to son through centuries, causing people to believe it is the same, seemingly immortal man, giving him nicknames such as "The Ghost Who Walks" and "The Man Who Never Dies".
The film tells us the story of Kit Walker, the 21st Phantom (Zane), and his attempts to prevent the rich madman Xander Drax (Treat Williams) from obtaining a weapon of doom, the Skulls of Touganda, possession of which will give him the secret to ultimate power and world domination. Treat Williams (born December 1, 1951) is an American actor who has appeared on film stage and television over the course of his prolific career
In the process of tracking down the crystal skulls, the Phantom also meets his former girlfriend Diana Palmer (Kristy Swanson), who proves to be an invaluable help for him. The crystal skulls are a number of Human skull models fashioned from blocks of clear or milky quartz crystal rock claimed to be Pre-Columbian Kristen Noel "Kristy" Swanson (born December 19, 1969) is an American Actress best known as the original Buffy Summers The search for the skulls becomes even more complicated for the Phantom when he discovers that one of Drax's henchmen, Quill (James Remar), is the killer of his father. William James Remar (born December 31 1953) is an American Actor. The Phantom kills Quill near the climax of the film.
Appearing prominently is Sala (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a feminist air-pirate who is apparently an ally of Drax but later converts to the Phantom's side. Catherine Zeta-Jones ( "zeeta" born September 25, 1969) is a Welsh actress, presently based in the United States Sala attempts, during their first meeting, to seduce the Phantom, who remains faithful to Diana.
Xander Drax eventually obtains three of the four Skulls, whose united power he demonstrates by destroying objects around him. The Phantom then reveals the skull of his ring to be the fourth and unleashes it against Drax, destroying him and the other three Skulls. Diana later returns, in Sala's airplane, to America, though it is suggested that he will follow and marry her. Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft.
Production
Rumours of a Phantom movie adaptation had first started to circulate when director Sergio Leone expressed his interest in the property in an interview. Sergio Leone ( January 3, 1929 &ndash April 30, 1989) was an Italian Film director. Leone had started to write a script and scout locations for his proposed film version of the Phantom, which he planned to be followed by an adaptation of Lee Falk's other comic strip hero, Mandrake the Magician. Mandrake the Magician is a US Comic strip created in 1934 by Lee Falk (also creator of The Phantom) and mainly appearing [1] However, the project never finalized.
Joe Dante was originally attached to direct a Phantom film for Paramount Pictures in the early 1990s, and he developed a draft of the script together with Jeffrey Boam. Joseph Domenick "Joe" Dante (born November 28, 1946) is an American Film director and producer of films generally with Jeffrey Boam ( November 30, 1946 &ndash January 24, 2000) was an American Screenwriter and Film producer. However, when Paramount pushed the film back a year, Dante left for other commitments, and eventually ended up as one of the executive producers. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. Joel Schumacher was considered to direct the film, but the job was given to Simon Wincer, who had been a fan of the character since childhood. Joel Schumacher (born August 29, 1939 in New York City) is an American Film director, Screenwriter and producer
Director Simon Wincer then cast Billy Zane, who had recently won praise for his work as a psychopath in Dead Calm. Dead Calm is a 1989 Thriller film starring Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane. Zane, a fan of the comic strip, won the part after competition from Bruce Campbell and actor Kevin Smith. Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22 1958) is an American Actor, producer, Writer and director. Kevin Smith (actor may refer to the following actors Kevin Smith, American actor writer and director Kevin Smith (New Zealand actor After his casting, he feverishly pumped iron for over a year and a half to get the right muscular look of the Phantom. He would also study the character's body language in comic strip artwork, carefully imitating it in his performance. A Batman-like costume with moulded muscles was made for him to wear, but by the time filming started, Zane was so beefed up that he did not need it. Batman is a 1989 Superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name.
The film features several elements from Lee Falk's first two Phantom stories, The Singh Brotherhood and The Sky Band. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa plays Kabai Sengh, leader of the Sengh Brotherhood (the name of the brotherhood was changed from Singh to Sengh in the movie, to avoid offending people named Singh), and Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Sala, leader of the Sky Band, a group of female criminal air-pirates. is a Japanese American actor In addition to his extensive film work he has appeared on television in Star Trek The Next Generation - " Encounter Catherine Zeta-Jones ( "zeeta" born September 25, 1969) is a Welsh actress, presently based in the United States The more realistic plots of Falk's original stories were dropped in favour of an adventure tale that featured the supernatural Skulls of Touganda. Falk's story The Belt, where the Phantom fights the killer of his father, was also a major influence on the story.
Deleted scenes
Many scenes developing the romance between the Phantom/Kit Walker and Diana Palmer were cut in order to make the film more fast paced. Many of the scenes took place in the Deep Woods of Bengalla. Bangalla, also known as Bengali and Bangolia, is a fictional African country (originally set in Asia, near India, until the 1960s An action scene featuring the Phantom wrestling a lion and one with him fighting a snake were also cut. A scene with the Phantom and his horse Hero rearing in the sunset was cut out of the film, but shown at the end of the 1996 A&E Phantom documentary, The Phantom: Comic Strip Crusader. Rearing is when a Horse "stands up" on his hind legs so that his body becomes more perpendicular to the ground
Reaction
The movie suffered the same fate as two other period-piece comic book/pulp adaptations at the time, The Shadow and The Rocketeer, and did not fare very well at the box office in the US. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Reviews were mixed, with Roger Ebert calling it one of the best looking movies he had ever seen. Roger Joseph Ebert (iːbɝt born June 18, 1942) is an American film critic and Screenwriter. [1]
In spite of the film's failure, a new movie about the Phantom is under development by Hyde Park Entertainment and Baldwin Entertainment Group, called The Ghost Who Walks, though no release date has been confirmed. However, it aims to distance itself from the 1996 film, and provide an updated take on the character.
Novelization
A novelization of the film was written by Rob MacGregor, author of many novels featuring Indiana Jones. Dr (also Col Henry Walton Jones Jr, better known as Indiana Jones or Indy after his pet dog is a fictional Adventurer, Soldier It included a more detailed look at the backstory of the characters and the origin of the Phantom, and also several scenes which were omitted from the final cut of the movie.
Tribute
The Palmers' butler is named Falkmoore. This name is derived from Lee Falk, the creator of The Phantom, and Ray Moore, The Phantom's first artist. Leon Harrison Gross, more known by the alias of Lee Falk ( April 28, 1911 - March 13, 1999) was an American writer There are several notable people called Ray Moore: Ray Moore (comics, comic strip artist and co-creator of The Phantom Ray Moore
Advertising
To coincide with the premiere of the film, the Phantom was used as a part of the Got Milk? campaign, based on the character often being seen drinking milk in the comic. Got Milk? is an American Advertising campaign encouraging the purchase of cow's milk, which was created by the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein
Shooting locations
The movie was shot on location in The USA, Australia, and Thailand. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj Hugh Hefner, creator of Playboy magazine, a fan of the Phantom comic strip, allowed the filmmakers to use his Playboy Mansion as the home of the wealthy Palmer family. Hugh Marston Hefner (born April 9 1926 is an American Magazine Publisher, and best known as the editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine Playboy is an American Men's magazine, founded in Chicago Illinois, by Hugh Hefner and his associates which has grown into Playboy The Playboy Mansion (also known as the Playboy Mansion West out of reference to the original Playboy Mansion that was located in Chicago at 1340 N
References
External links
- The Phantom at the Internet Movie Database
- The Phantom at Allmovie
- Roger Ebert review
- Time Out review
- Billy Zane talks about The Phantom
- The Phantom at the National Film and Sound Archive
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