1995 Directed by Frank Marshall
Eight people embark on an expedition into the Congo, a mysterious expanse of unexplored Africa where human greed and the laws of nature have gone berserk. When the thrill-seekers -- some with ulterior motives -- stumble across a race of killer apes.
Laura Linney Dylan Walsh Ernie Hudson Tim Curry Grant Heslov Joe Don Baker Lorene Noh Mary Ellen Trainor Misty Rosas Stuart Pankin Carolyn Seymour Romy Rosemont James Karen Bill Pugin Lawrence T. Wrentz John Hawkes Bruce Campbell Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Jimmy Buffett Thom Barry Karara Muhoro Kevin Grevioux Taylor Nichols Joel Weiss Robert Almodovar Peter Jason Delroy Lindo Joe Pantoliano Kathleen Connors Show All…
Congo – Wo der Mensch zur bedrohten Art wird, Kongo
Ebert was on to something with this one. The actors are having a blast (Ernie Hudson is charming as all get out and Tim Curry is a hoot — like his accent is so thick, he almost literally hoots a few times), the cast is nothing but Hall of Fame That Guys (Bruce Campbell! Joe Pantoliano! Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje! Joe Don Baker! Grant Heslov! John Hawkes! Delroy Lindo in an uncredited role!) and the plot is so pulpy Tropicana should bottle it and sell it as a new variety of orange juice.
The character of Amy, the talking gorilla is also very affecting. The prosthetic gorilla costume by the Stan Winston Studio is so expressive, with these big, sad eyes. And…
I remain a fan of such merciless silliness, especially when it has this movie's Irwin Allen-esque charms. You can blame this for not being as convincing or as exciting as JURASSIC PARK but why would you want to when it's this much stupid fun?
Congo has my vote for the greatest bad film of all time. Things that make it awesome include but are certainly not limited to: an outrageously campy scene where Delroy Lindo calmly requests then promptly and inexplicably shouts "STOP EATING MY SESAME CAKE", murderous grey gorillas, silly Bruce Campbell, avaricious Joe Don Baker, charismatic Joe Pantoliano, The Lost City of Zinj (aka King Solomon's Mines with a more exotic name), Amy the talking gorilla, and of course Tim Curry's preposterous character, Herkermer Homolka, who is more obsessed with diamonds than anyone ever.
My conversation with Tim (via text) while watching this:
Me: Walking around the house and I realized something...
Tim: What?
Me: It's time to watch CONGO.
Tim: What the actual fuck.
Me: sends a picture of me watching it
Tim: Please tell me you didn't pay for that.
Me: sends a picture of a chill ass dog
Tim: Have fun wasting two and half hours.
later
Me: The gorilla is drinking a martini.
Tim: Yeah, Sara. You do this to yourself.
Me: Now she's smoking...
later
Me: The accents in this movie. Tim Curry sounds like he has peanut butter in his mouth.
later
Me: Laura Linney is the fucking worst.
Tim: That's funny.
later
Me: All of the killer…
"Congo" ist ein wunderbares Beispiel für ein Genre, dass es leider nicht mehr gibt, die Dschungel-Abenteuergeschichte. Ich liebe Filme wie „König Salomons Diamanten“, „Indiana Jones“,„Quatermain“ oder so manchen Tarzan Film.
„Congo“ ist bestimmt kein Film für die Ruhmeshalle der Kunst, er ist aber unterhaltsam und lustig. Pseudointellektuelle werden ihn verachten. Echte Intellektuelle werden ihn genießen. 😉
Der Star des Film ist natürlich Amy, das Gorillamädchen. Ihr gehören auch die besten Szenen des Films und sie ist eine fantastisch Kreation von Stan Winston, der damit wieder einmal beweist, dass praktische Effekte viel beeindruckender sein können, als alles was aus dem Rechner kommt, wenn es nur gut gemacht ist. Amy findet die wilden afrikanischen Gorillas anfangs sehr hässlich, bis aber auch sie ihren…
A gorilla has a martini, a gorilla skydives, and you’ll totally forget all about it by the end it gets so fabulously stupid. Say a prayer that they didn’t name the gorilla Carol Anne.
A cracking, old-fashioned adventure film that receives a laughable amount of disdain, Frank Marshall's "Congo" offers a fun, if sometimes goofy, ride. Based on Michael Crichton's novel, the film combines a batch of tried, true, and slightly disparate genre elements to create an energetic and tonally mixed thriller.
Overstuffed with a juicy array of plot points, "Congo" combines gorillas, diamonds, advanced weaponry, and a scenery-chewing villain for a story that threatens to burst from the pressure of its story elements. Together, those pieces may not add up to a lot; but they do offer a narrative tapestry unafraid to revel in its cinematic influences and provide a good time while doing so.
Marshall directs with a style that is professional…
Congo is a film that was slated to be 1995’s Jurassic Park... it was also based on a novel by Michael Crichton, and was directed by Steven Spielberg’s producing partner, Frank Marshall.
Jurassic Park this is not, but the result was another fantasy inflected action/adventure just this time with a HEAVY dose of camp... and Tim Curry doing his best Romanian (?) impression.
The animatronics are great as usual, Stan Winston Studios does not usually disappoint.
I don’t know that it fully fits the “90s monster movies” challenge I’m doing but at it’s heart it is about killer apes and the last half hour almost tip toes into “horror”. So, I’m sticking to it.
Best scene is definitely the entire African crew singing along to California Dreaming, it was just so endearing and fun.
With Jurassic Park leaving the public clamouring for more Michael Crichton adaptations, and another few years before the Lost World would satiate our creature feature appetite, the Kennedy/Marshall Company brought us the author's modern take on King Solomon's Mines. Albino gorillas might not hold the same chills as velociraptors, but these beasts are very much in the same vein, and also hold a much better record against Bruce Campbell than deadites.
Joe Don Baker gets former CIA operative, Laura Linney, to travel to the Congo in search of his missing son/her fiancé, Bruce Campbell. If she has time she should probably snag a diamond that will revolutionize the communication industry. As to not draw attention, she enters that region attached…
Top tier so bad it's good bullshit.
I just looked at the 9 wonderful humans who have this in their top 4 to find geniuses to follow and was rewarded by finding that the 9th person has this as their only film in their top 4. Obviously pounded that follow button.
I need to watch this drinking.
„Hören Sie auf meinen Sesamkuchen zu essen! HÖREN SIE AUF MEINEN SESAMKUCHEN ZU ESSEN!”
Congo war und ist einer meiner Lieblingsfilme. Früher hatte ich ihn fast regelmäßig geguckt. Ich hatte sogar das Making Of Buch zum Film; damals - Mitte/Ende der 90er - als Hintergrundinfos noch nicht so einfach überall und jederzeit verfügbar waren, war das für mich äußerst spannend. Vor allem weil in Congo hauptsächlich mit Modellen, Animatronics und Kostümen gearbeitet wurde und wenig mit CGI.
Das ist auch einer der Gründe warum Congo immer noch sehr gut aussieht. Ich hatte ihn jetzt bestimmt über 10, 15 Jahre nicht mehr gesehen - aus den Augen verloren könnte man sagen. Und ich bin beeindruckt, wie überzeugend die Gorillas, sowohl Kuschelgorilla…
Tickle me.
Another movie night with the boys with the most "for the boys" film I could possibly hope to watch with them. Congo is simultaneously a complete misfire of a 90's action adventure affair while also being a total blast to watch and comment on as you watch it. You can tell that the people behind it were so confident that it was going to be the next Jurassic Park, and what you get instead is a consistently odd, tonally misguided, strangely violent, and frequently baffling experience. Every time Amy or any of the gorillas are on-screen, instead of being amazed by the suits like the filmmakers would likely want you to be, you can't help but just burst…
Hits that exact sweet spot of dumb fun and pulpy extravagance that I think of with The Mummy (1999). Everyone seems to be having a good time. Multiple people try their best way-out-there accents and there is a talking gorilla, skydiving and lasers. Very fun!
Yeah, it wasn't quite the next Jurassic Park as it was hyped up to be. It's a good, dumb, fun B-movie adventure
It would be so cool to have a gorilla friend that could talk to you with a magic glove.
I understand when the producers read the book why their instinct was "it seems like a bit much that the killer gorilla's would also use giant stone paddles to crush the heads of their victims," but in hindsight, they should have included the paddles.
An endangered species kind of movie which legacy must be protected from those trying to discredit it, and attribute it to things it clearly didn't set out to do.
Things that gorillas do in this movie:
1) Talk via a gauntlet that turns sign language into vocals
2) Order a martini with said gauntlet
3) Smoke a spliff with Ernie Hudson
4) Get sliced in half via Laura Linney's diamond laser gun
5) Jump into ancient volcano lava
Congo should recognize it's strengths as a campy B-movie throwback, but it tries so hard to follow in Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park's path that it winds up being a bit of a snooze!
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