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A determinedly non-formulaic adventure film, The Emerald Forest unfolds in picturesque, still-unexplored South American jungles skirting the Amazon, where dangerous animals and primitive natives defy the efforts of civilization to penetrate the savage wilderness. Powers Boothe, a fine actor generally seen in supporting roles, stars as an American engineer who loses his young son in the Brazilian woods and spends ten years trying to find him. Finally, the two are reunited -- under dangerous circumstances -- but the son, by now having been integrated into a native tribe, shows little interest in returning to America. Director John Boorman (Deliverance) makes the Amazonian wilderness a quasi-mystical place, and underlying the plot device of Boothe's lengthy quest is an almost wistful appreciation for nature in its most basic, untrammeled manifestation. Boorman cast his own son, Charley, as Boothe's missing boy, and the young man performs more than adequately well. But Emerald Forest isn't an actor's movie; the real star of Boorman's film is the forest itself: timeless, alternately tranquil and menacing, and above all awe-inspiring. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

The Emerald Forest is based on a true story, as related by Los Angeles Times correspondent Leonard Greenwood. Powers Boothe stars as Bill Markham, a US engineer working on a dam project in the Amazonian jungles. Bill's young son, Tomme (played by director John Boorman's son Charley Boorman) is kidnapped in the rain forest by a tribe called "The Invisible People" because of their skills at camouflage - a group that has reportedly never experienced contact with Caucasians. The authorities give up the boy for lost, but Bill perseveres in searching for his son, for over 10 years. While fleeing for his life from The Fierce People - enemies of The Invisible People - he's rescued at the last minute by Tomme, now an adoptee of The Invisible People's chief. To Bill's frustration, Tomme initially refuses to join his biological dad and return to civilization, but when The Fierce People swing in and abduct all of the women in the Invisible People tribe, Tomme seeks his dad's help in rescuing them. Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

The Emerald Forest is based on a true story, as related by Los Angeles Times correspondent Leonard Greenwood. Powers Boothe stars as a US engineer working on a dam project in Brazil. Boothe's young son (played by director John Boorman's son Charley Boorman) is kidnapped in the rain forest by a tribe called "The Invisible People" because of their skills at camouflage. The authorities give up the boy for lost (he's hardly the first abduction victim in the region), but Boothe and photographer Uwe Werner (Eduardo Conde) persevere. When Conde is killed, Boothe goes on alone for several years. He eventually stumbles upon the Invisible People and finds his son...but the adventure is just beginning. Director Boorman toys with our own notions of what is civilized and what isn't, comparing the purity of the Invisible People with the intrusiveness of developers. Some have criticized Boorman for sacrificing logic in favor of atmosphere in The Emerald Forest, though few have denied that it took great personal and professional courage for Boorman to tackle so daunting a project in the first place. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 027616858474
• Source: MGM (VIDEO & DVD)
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital, stereo
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Français, Español
• Time: 1:54:00
• Sales Rank: 11,137

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