A hastily assembled expedition heads into the Congolese rainforest in search of a missing team and the remains of an ancient civilization. The telecommunications firm TraviCom funds the trip with its eye on rare blue diamonds, and among the travellers is a primatologist bringing his gorilla Amy, who communicates through sign language translated into a digital voice. The members of the group do not all share the same motives, and the journey soon becomes more complicated than anyone expected.

How it was made

The film adapts Michael Crichton's 1980 novel, although the final screenplay is credited to John Patrick Shanley. Crichton conceived the project as a tribute to pulp adventure stories, drawing on King Solomon's Mines, and pitched it to 20th Century Fox in 1979 without a complete story. He left the project when he learned he could not use a real gorilla to play Amy. Directors including Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter were approached along the way, and Frank Marshall eventually directed it with little involvement from Crichton himself. The gorilla suits, for Amy and for the gray gorillas, came from Stan Winston Studio. Filming also took unexpected turns: Delroy Lindo was originally set to shoot in the Dominican Republic, but his scene ended up being filmed in Pasadena.

Reception and legacy

Congo received negative reviews, though its box office performance exceeded expectations. Released by Paramount on June 9, 1995, it earned seven Golden Raspberry nominations, including Worst Picture, and three Saturn Award nominations, among them Best Science Fiction Film. Its place in film history is modest, and it is remembered mostly as one of the Crichton adaptations with the most old-fashioned adventure flavour.

Stills

Trailer

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Trivia

A gorilla that could not be real

Crichton left the project when he learned he could not use a real gorilla to play Amy. The role went to suits built by Stan Winston Studio.

A shoot that moved closer to home

Delroy Lindo was originally set to shoot his scene in the Dominican Republic, but it was filmed in Pasadena, California instead.

More films by Frank Marshall

Alive1993

Eight Below2006

Arachnophobia1990

Original Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (es) and Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.