roar ( 1981 film )
urltoken lw2795 | film - arts |' roar' (1981) news photo, 1977: tippi hedren, melanie griffith, jerry & john marshall, tiger, lions .
the animals film is a feature documentary film about the use of animals by human beings, directed by victor schonfeld and myriam alaux, and narrated by actress julie christie. the film was first released in 1981 .
the movie had a brief overseas release in 1981. marshall and hedren divorced the following year .
hank (noel marshall) receives a kiss from one of the lions in the film
roar .
crew: (color) widescreen. extract of a review from 1981. running time: 102 min .
noel marshall’s action - adventure film was originally released in 1981 and its 11 - year production is infamous for the injuries received by 70 members of the cast and crew .
reintroducing roar: the most dangerous movie ever made | daily review: film, stage and music reviews, interviews and more .
life with neil looks like a lot of fun, which is more than they can say about their film roar. roar was released in 1981, and included way more lions than just one. it starred the real life couple, tippi and noel, alongside tippi’s daughter melanie. noel’s biological sons also play roles in the movie. but while life with neil was a success, roar was not .
drafthouse films is releasing a cult oddity called roar from 1981, a reckless and little seen box office bomb. and my, does it look glorious. the film' s working title was supposedly lions, lions, and more lions, and it delivers .
independent u. s. distributors olive films are inviting urltoken members to submit their questions for actor / filmmaker john marshall and be entered to win one of five blu - rays of roar (1981) .
is a 1981 film, nearing a theatrical re - release, that was written and directed by noel marshall and co - written and co - directed by a pride of lions. it is perhaps
and yet, the film eventually was released in 1981 with its disney - esque plot intact – and bombed miserably. however, roar still stands as a singularly terrifying monument to good intentions – good, stupid, horrifyingly dangerous intentions. it can be truthfully said that there has never been another film quite like it before or since .
the tagline for the newly remastered re - release of noel marshall ‘s forgotten 1981 film “roar” reads, “there’s never been a film like roar – and there never will be again! ” this isn’t hyperbole, this is 100% honest - to - goodness truth in advertising. “roar” is more than an oddity, it is a literal journey into the mouth of madness; a film that took nearly a dozen years to get to the screen and saw more than seventy members of the cast and crew suffer injuries during that time period. this is a singular film, the kind of film that simply should not exist, and yet it does, and it is spectacular .
tippi was presented with an honorary mfa degree in acting for film from the new york film academy in january, 2012 .
by the time the film was completed and released in australia in 1981, it had been more than a decade since conception, and five years of actual production at a cost of $ 17 million .
the film' s tagline said everything :
there' s never been a film like roar - and there never will be again !
however, this curious film had some similarities to the big hit in the mid 1960s, born free (1966) .
the
snuff version of swiss family robinson
finally gets a proper re - release, though stars like tippi hedren and melanie griffith won' t discuss the 1981 film that almost cost them their lives .
after forking over an estimated $ 17 million in production costs, the movie grossed a disappointing $ 2 million when it debuted in theaters in 1981 .
in the meantime, the production of roar became an extraordinary, almost surreal experience .
that’s not true of roar, a film from 1981, recently re - released via drafthouse films. directed by noel marshall, a producer on the exorcist, roar tells the story of a zoologist (played by marshall) living and working in africa. the twist? marshall’s character loves big cats, and his home is filled to the brim with lions, tigers, and pumas .
roar is not labeled as a horror movie, but most of the cast and crew were mauled by the wild cats, so the horror side of things lies within the making of the film and not the film itself .
drafthouse films and olive films are promoting the limited theatrical release of the 1981 adventure spectacle roar with a memorably eye - catching tagline. “no animals were harmed in the making of this movie, ” declares the advertising slogan for the film, out april 17. “70 members of the cast and crew were. ”
the grandeur of roar, an essay by tim league is a text supplement which features a funny but fond account of the film' s history and reputation .
you can find the list of theaters where roar is screening at the drafthouse films website .
to shoot the long - forgotten 1981 wildlife thriller roar, producer - director noel marshall lived with 150 lions, tigers, cheetahs and jaguars along with his actress wife tippi hedren​ (the birds) and her daughter melanie griffith (working girl) .
use the thumbs up and thumbs down icons to agree or disagree that the title is similar to roar. you can also suggest completely new similar titles to roar in the search box below .
“with roar, filmmaking feels as dangerous and immediate as bomb defusing. ” – consequence of sound
roar is screening at sydney' s golden age cinema and bar on july 10 and 12 .
hedren had invited the associated press to her shambala home for an interview about roar and concerns regarding promotion of the re - release. but she canceled when the board of directors of the preserve and her roar foundation asked her not to speak publicly about the film .
los angeles (ap) —
no animals were harmed during the making of' roar.' but 70 members of the cast and crew were .
so claims a trailer for the theatrical re - release of a little - seen 1981 adventure film starring tippi hedren, daughter melanie griffith and 150 lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars and elephants .
was roar unionized? of course not — legally, that would have required 260 trainers on set .
roar was first released 1981 and was basically about a household of people sharing a house and surrounding area with over 70 wild lions, tigers, cougars, cheetahs, jaguars (with other wild animals also, but mainly cats). thanks to drafthouse films, we will now have a chance to see the most dangerous film ever made in selected theaters soon .
in 1999, tippi was honored as “woman of vision” by women of film and video in washington, d. c. , and received the presidential medal for her work in film from hofstra university. in 2000, tippi was honored as “best actress in a comedy short” in the film mulligans! at the method fest, independent film festival, and in 2002, tippi won “best actress” for the short film tea with grandma from the new york international independent film festival .
the man whose father married tippi hedren and who spent years living with melanie griffith as her stepbrother is opening up about the infamous lion film the two made with their parents, roar .
and yet, as authentic as the terror is, roar' s flimsy story and cheesy script are sorely lacking. even hedren admitted as much after seeing the film at its australia premiere .
touted as the most dangerous movie ever made, roar was the ill - fated brainchild of alfred hitchcock muse hedren and her then - husband, exorcist producer noel marshall. years past schedule and millions over budget, hollywood eventually lost interest in roar, and the film was never released in north america .
tim league: i was first turned on to roar at the telluride film festival. the film wasn’t playing, but i was in line with film director greg marcks. we were talking about drafthouse films’ previous release miami connection, and he asked if i had ever seen roar. he was a huge fan of the movie and gave me the complete rundown. i managed to watch it a few weeks after telluride and was blown away. that’s when the hunt began .
at the time of the film' s production, hedren was an extreme animal rights activist and conservationist, who lived with her husband (marshall) and daughter (actress melanie griffith) on a quasi - animal sanctuary. where hedren and her family would routinely interact with a number of african lions. (hedren has since established the non - profit
roar
foundation, named after the 1981 film, which was a decade - long passion project for the actress. )
the imdb trivia page on this film is outrageous: urltoken my favorite item: during the promotion of this picture, tippi hedren categorically stated that there would never be a' roar 2' sequel .
, a carnage - stricken action / drama from 1981 about a family battling to survive against hundreds of lions and tigers. avant garde american distributor drafthouse films have plucked the film from obscurity, returning it to american cinemas this week with the not undeserving tagline “the most dangerous movie ever made” .
a celebrity family adopted 150 dangerous animals to make roar — and it nearly killed them | l. a. weekly
during the promotion of this picture, tippi hedren categorically stated that there would never be a' roar 2' sequel .
and the thunderous roar of shotgun blasts. kamen' s music spreads out wonderfully into every other available channel as well .
needless to say, the money for the project would run out at intervals. finally, in 1981, after 11 years and an astonishing $ 17 million, roar was completed and released to theaters worldwide—except for the united states, where distributors wanted—dare i say it—the lions’ share of the profits (hedren wanted most of the money to go to support the animals that made the movie). as amazing a film as it is, roar garnered only $ 2 million worldwide. a year later (1982), hedren’s marriage to marshall came to an end .
roar (1981) has been called “the most dangerous movie ever made. ” how did it earn such a dubious distinction, you ask? well, the cast and crew of the film worked with more than 130 wild animals—including panthers, tigers, lions, and elephants—that were allowed to roam free while the cameras rolled. the actors often appear to be genuinely terrified as these animals pursue them, knowing they could strike at any moment (and they often did). 70 people were injured during the making of the film .
the trailer for the film documents some of the dangers the family put themselves through during production .
“by the time that it got finished, it already smelled like failure to distributors, ” said shapiro. “roar” was never released in the u. s. it received a one - week international release in 1981, raking in less than $ 2 million and a plethora of bad reviews. it was deemed “the most expensive home movie ever made. ”
harry potter: complete 8 - film colle... $ 44. 99, save 55 %
the animals film presents a survey of the uses of animals in factory farming, as pets, for entertainment, in scientific and military research, hunting, etc. the film also profiles the international animal rights movement. the film incorporates secret government footage, cartoons, newsreels and excerpts from propaganda films .
the re - release of the film (which includes distribution on blu - ray) wasn’t timed to coincide with an anniversary. like any other release it is at least in part a cash grab, and presumably the rights for a forgotten film that bombed at the box office (roar took around $ 2 million) came cheap .
if you ever find yourself needing a reminder that wild animals belong in the wild - - well, a good place to start is by watching this new trailer for
roar .
it' s a weird, obscure nature - family drama from 1981, noted for featuring over 100 real - life wild lions and other dangerous african animals, which was produced by
marnie
and
the birds
star tippi hedren and her film producer husband noel marshall .
look for roar in select theaters around springtime, with a dvd, blu - ray, and vod release later in the year .
it was called a “suicide mission” and “the most disaster - plagued film in the history of hollywood. ”
cinematica movie of the month for september 2015. read the essay of the month: the dissonant idiocy of roar! by justin santelli .
if you’ve yet to be convinced that roar is indeed the most dangerous movie ever made, you surely will be after watching the trailer .
, a film which bears a supposed release year of 1981, but which was a multiyear ordeal for star - writer - producer - director noel marshall and his family, most of whom contributed to the film as either cast members or crew. this assemblage included marshall' s then wife tippi hedren, hedren' s then young daughter melanie griffith, and marshall' s sons john and jerry. probably the very definition of a
passion project
,
hedren first encountered a pride of lions in 1969 while working in africa on the movie satan' s harvest and has been smitten with big cats ever since. she, her then - husband noel marshall and griffith made a film, 1981' s roar, to increase awareness of the endangered species. hedren began living in a cottage on the property that is now shambala in 1976 and grew to love its inhabitants
more than my next breath ,
she told thr in 2013 .
tippi hedren’s leg was broken, melanie griffith required facial reconstructive surgery, the director got gangrene and the cinematographer needed 200 stitches on his scalp. to see this 1981 lion drama - on limited release this friday – is to become a dog person
roar, which starred hedren her husband and her young daughter, the future film star melanie griffith, was supposed to follow a nine - month shooting schedule, but it ultimately took five years. in fact, the entire process of getting the idea, searching for and buying the land, finding the animals and making the film took a total of 11 years. the film turned out to be an engrossing, transforming experience for everyone who worked on it .
copyright © 2004 - 2010 roar - john marshall. all rights reserved. republication or redistribution of content is expressly prohibited without prior written consent .
luke buckmaster is film critic and writer for daily review, and contributes commentary to a range of australian publications .
british singer - songwriter elvis costello says he was moved to reject meat after seeing the documentary the animals film .
tim league: i had never seen anything like roar. i was also really surprised that almost no one i talked to, including some pretty deep - track, serious cinephiles, had never heard of this film. roar felt like a fantastic discovery and i had the urge to share it with as many people as possible. as to my current feeling, it remains the same. i love this movie. i mentioned boyhood in the beginning: richard linklater received incredible (and justified) praise for his commitment to film a family over twelve years. roar documented a real - life family over eleven years while they were being attacked by more than 130 lions, tigers, leopards, panthers and jaguars. now that is an achievement. check out drafthouse film’s roar page to see if the film is headed to your town. if you’re in the los angeles area, note the special screenings at cinefamily, in which john marshall will be on hand for a q & a, and there will be a cast and crew reunion .
tippi continues to work frequently in motion pictures, theatre, episodic and cable television, and her contributions to world cinema have been honored with life achievement awards in france at the beauvais film festival cinemalia 1994, and in spain by the fundacion municipal de cine in 1995. in 1999, tippi was honored as
woman of vision
by women of film and video in washington, d. c. , and received the presidential medal for her work in film from hofstra university. and in 2000, tippi was honored as
best actress in a comedy short
in the film
mulligans !
at the method fest, independent film festival, and in 2002, tippi won
best actress
for the short film
tea with grandma
from the new york international independent film festival .
as one of the few cast members willing to help promote the roar re - release, john marshall said he still gets nightmares about the experience .
roar
was a box - office dud but has lived on and earned the title as
the most dangerous movie ever made .
the film is returning to theaters in april and will be available on blu - ray, dvd and vod later this summer .
roar is completely amazing, and barely even a movie. it' s mostly just documentation of the cast trying not to be eaten by the hundred plus
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a year after the film flopped, marshall and hedren divorced. wilderness families only live happily ever after in the movies .
the making of roar (1080p; 33: 19) is a good retrospective hosted by tippi hedren, who recounts the traumas and triumphs of the shoot .
originally intended as big cat advocacy, roar is closer to werner herzog' s documentary grizzly man, a cautionary tale about not getting too close to nature .
“roar” will be re - released this year in us cinemas, and will be available on blu - ray, dvd and on demand platforms later this winter .
[ 1 ] most of the information about the making of
roar
comes from an
scv newsmaker of the week
interview taped march 1, 2005 .
but money and injured cast and crew members weren’t the only things marshall had to contend with. two floods, a wildfire, and sick cats plagued the production, and the entire debacle ended up costing $ 17 million dollars. that was in 1981, the contemporary equivalent would be much higher .
tim league: the ultimate message they wanted to put forth was to stop the decimation of african wildlife by hunting and trading in furs and ivory. i can certainly stand behind that message. the narrative of the film doesn’t always directly drive that home, though. the overwhelming emotion i get from the film is fear rather than a passion to preserve. when did you first see roar? what was your initial impression? :
roar ,
directed by noel marshall, screens on may 5 at 7: 15 p. m. at parkway 1 and will be presented by john waters .
we knew that young suraj sharma was never near a real uncaged tiger while shooting life of pi, which is why drafthouse films, the austin - based upstart theatre chain and distributor of hard - to - categorised movies, is pushing the behind - the - scenes elements of their unearthed gem roar as much as the film itself. it’s a smart move. there’s really not much going on with roar storywise. but then you take a step back and think about what it is that you’re watching. my viewing of roar was set to a soundtrack of “oh my god! ” and “holy crap! ”, all of my own making .
roar, finished in 1981, was the pet project of noel marshall. he was a producer on the exorcist and used his own, demon - bred money to finance this film that nearly killed him and his whole family. that family consisted of his wife tippi hedren, his two sons and hedren’s daughter melanie griffith. the basic plot is that marshall is working in as a zoologist in africa. (and maybe he’s a doctor, too? there’s a shot of him in a white coat among masai villagers. for a movie that took over 10 years to make, it is a tad incoherent. )
but, league says, “the passage of time affords us the perspective to view ‘roar’ for what it truly is: the most epic and amazing animal thriller ever made. ”
thus was the genesis of roar, a film that would follow a fictional scientist’s work with lion, tiger and jaguar cubs, and dramatize the issue of how wild animals were being rapidly decimated by hunters, settlers and poachers—and how they don’t exactly make great housepets either, especially when you’ve got a whole mob of them hanging around. more than anything else, perhaps, it was the first film to capture the true personalities of these creatures .
like so many terrible pictures ,
roar
was a passion project—in this case, for animal conservationists marshall and hedren. but what separates it from the bad movie herd is that the excruciating, obviously painful experience of making the film is evident in every single frame. ultimately, the movie we get from
roar
isn' t the crappy safari adventure it promises—it' s the inadvertent documentary about a guy who tortures his family as they try to make a high budget home movie .
the film billed, as the most dangerous ever made is making a return to the big screen nearly 35 years after its original release .
as perhaps the most disaster - plagued film ever made. but it was recently picked up by drafthouse films, as an entry in the
would make for an interesting family film festival and women in hollywood and i can' t believe i' m not planning this already .
' s michael gingold delve into the film' s deeply troubled history. this is an all - region release, by the way .
a normal movie ends with the american humane association' s assurance that
no animals were harmed .
but tippi hedren' s doomed 1981 obsession roar isn' t normal. the aha' s seal is the first thing on screen — yet, if the authorities had a safety code for humans, roar would fail. this odd, slight and near - deadly tribute to nature wound up as a mad masterpiece of mankind' s folly. and this re­release feels kind of like stumbling across the giant heads of easter island. you' re fascinated more by the how, what and why than the actual artistic result. so much sweat and pain, for this ?
drafthouse films, the distribution arm of the hip, austin - based alamo drafthouse cinemas, uses press quotes like
snuff version of swiss family robinson
in its promos for roar .
according to indiewire, roar is much more nerve - racking and the cast deliver lines with palpable fear. scenes that show the cast playing with lions turn into them being preyed upon .
filmed at africa usa, a hollywood animal compound outside of acton that later became the shambala big - cat preserve ,
roar
was a family affair and a series of disasters. the film took 11 years to make at a cost of $ 17 million and grossed just $ 2 million worldwide, mostly on foreign screens .
the $ 17 million film only made $ 2 million internationally. it was also the death knell for hedren' s marriage to noel marshall .
the film revolves around a wildlife preservationist who lives with his wife and children alongside a number of wild lions, tigers, cheetahs and elephants .
the danger — in reality and on film, which in roar are essentially the same — is that it' s hard to tell when a lion is just playing. even the lion doesn' t know for sure. like house cats, sometimes they want you to rub their tummy. then the claws come out. roar was crafted to prove that big cats are lovable, yet the cast spend the whole film holding their breath, rushing through lines so they can get the scene over with. marshall can' t even finish the sentence ,
the cats get a little excited, that' s all !
before being trampled by five lionesses .
drafthouse decided to expose “roar” as the thrilling memento mori it truly is. “in the ’80s, the marketing campaign was, ‘here’s a family film that’s not appropriate for family viewing,' ” said shapiro. drafthouse, meanwhile, harnessed the power of hyperbole to promote the film’s deranged, rip - roaring spirit front and center. amid the barrage of hyperbolic advertisements in our modern world, “roar” is a rare occasion of veritable mind - boggle. “it actually is the most dangerous movie ever made, ” said shapiro. “this movie just lends itself to hyperbole, because it’s impossible to sit down and watch it and not have your mouth open in complete astonishment. ”
the most catastrophic delay in filming roar occurred in 1978, when a tremendous flood almost demolished the compound and killed three lions. the whole production and property took an entire year to recover .
remarkable photos of the their day - to - day eating, sleeping and frolicking with the big cats were uncovered as drafthouse films prepared to re - release roar in the us this year .
as the production of roar involved lions, tigers, and other dangerous animals, it is unsurprising to learn that people were injured during the production. but 70 sounds like an exaggeration. in fact, one of the film’s stars, john marshall, confirms the math is inaccurate. “actually i think it was 72, ” he says .
marshall bit off more than he could chew. roar stands as a testament to his folly, but it’s certainly a filmic experience like no other. marshall’s opus is brazen, the story of the production more interesting than the film itself, and there are few films that have such scope, and such stupidity, inherent in their makeup .
it' s not a good sign when your film opens with a title card proudly informing the audience that it is
with great pride that we display the seal of the american humane association. although some scenes appear to show animals being injured, they were never actually hurt .
over the course of the film' s agonizing 102 minutes ,
roar
subjects the viewer to scene after scene of animal attacks that seem so shockingly realistic because most of them really did happen .
the film does not work without this knowledge, however, which is its fatal flaw. it’s no wonder audiences in 1981 greeted the film with a collective shrug, because without that knowledge, it’s just a poorly constructed film with a lead actor who shouts all of his dialogue and monologues—at length—about the harmony between animals and people literal feet from bloody confrontations between the big cats. the original songs by robert hawk recall dan fogelberg at his schmaltziest, and terence p. minogue’s score is comprised almost exclusively of an unrelenting drum beat meant, i presume, to mimic the terror - induced racing pulses of the cast and crew. in its best moments, it looks like a low rent nature documentary, and at its worst, looks like a half - assed experiment gone horribly awry .
critics savaged the film. the big cats retired. hedren and marshall divorced. turns out those shots of lions tearing apart a house were metaphorical .
the film’s cinematographer, jan de bont – who later went on to direct die hard – required 220 stitches after he was scalped by a lion .
' gilbert taylor, the critical reception to the film, and that there were indeed talks of a potential sequel that obviously never came to pass .
in 2007 a dvd of the animals film was released with a new director' s cut (running time 120 minutes), via beyond the frame. in 2008 the british film institute released a remastered dvd in the uk, incorporating both the original uncensored cinema version and the director' s cut .
is more intriguing than the film itself: kinski and reed repeatedly almost coming to blows, with the latter barking for weeks on end about his co - star being a nazi bastard... tobe hooper abandoning the film after a week or so in the director' s chair, with piers haggard
since its april 15 re - release, “roar” has played in 100 theaters nationwide (on 19 screens at its widest) and screened to mostly late - night audiences. at a box office total of $ 102, 445, it is now the number one repertory film of 2015. shapiro referred to the recent success of “jurassic world, ” this year’s top - grossing blockbuster. “it’s no wonder audiences flock to see dinosaurs eating people in 3 - d, ” he said. “it’s kind of like what ‘roar’ is, just for real. ”
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. what a space it opens…
is the movie it' s not. i wasn' t terribly familiar with the film beforehand and stormed in expecting more of a killer snake flick .
has been lightly letterboxed on this single - layer blu - ray disc to preserve the film' s theatrical aspect ratio of 1. 85: 1 .
the film was allegedly the most expensive comedy made up to its time. it received one razzie nomination: worst original song (
you' re crazy but i like you
). its financial backers at emi ltd. , impresarios lew (lord) grade and bernard (lord) delfont, had already recently financed a number of flops: raise the titanic (1980), the jazz singer (1980), the village people musical can' t stop the music (1980), and the legend of the lone ranger (1981). their investment of $ 11 million in this american film was a nail in their movie - making coffin .
if you are a lover of all things bizarre in cinema, this is absolutely essential viewing. i would implore you to first read alamo drafthouse ceo tim league’s essay about the film’s production, and lay eyes on the photo of cinematographer jan debont ‘s massive head wound. this is not a film for casual bad film fans as it’s pretty next level stuff, and though no one was killed, you will see how precipitously close a film can become to being a snuff film without actually crossing that line. it makes a brilliant companion piece to werner herzog’s “grizzly man”, which is essentially the worst case scenario version of this film. if you are a lover of bad films, and want to see something that is unlike anything else that’s ever been made, this is essential viewing. bear in mind that my final score is reflective of the fact that i do consider myself to be a bad movie connoisseur, and feel free to subtract at least two stars if you’re not. for those of who crave that thrill of a car crash’s aftermath, however, you can’t get much closer to the real thing than with roar .
the animals film was distributed in cinemas in britain, australia, germany, austria, canada and the united states, and was broadcast on numerous television networks. the british network, channel four, transmitted the film during the channel' s third night on air in november 1982. it generated front page news in britain at the time because channel 4 broadcast a two - hour version of the film shorn of seven minutes of its concluding sequence. the original 136 minute film released in cinemas had been approved with no cuts by the british board of film censors, but the independent broadcasting authority instructed channel 4 that certain scenes in the film could' incite crime or lead to civil disorder.' jonathan porritt and david winner write that, with over one million viewers, the screening is regarded as
an important moment in the growth of public awareness of animal exploitation .
channel four screened it again during its banned series in 1991 .
league tried to contact hedren before announcing drafthouse' s plans to re - release the film but didn' t hear back until after the announcement was made .
also worth noting that he was partially scalped while making this movie. i image this must have been one of the craziest film sets to ever work on .
while the mass group of lions on the set of roar had a tendency to lash out at humans, it appears that neil was a rather chill house mate. even the kids enjoyed playing with him .
the high desert animal preserve is home to the felines and pachyderms and was first established as an african - type set for the motion picture, roar, which tippi co - produced and starred in with her daughter, film actress melanie griffith. after the five year filming was completed, it became the current, non - profit center for big cat care and research .
the advert says the movie roar on dvd is ntsc / region 1. that is not true. it' s region 0 and that means this dvd will play in any dvd machine anywhere in the world .
the idea for the film came about when noel marshall and hedren discovered an abandoned plantation house overrun by a large pride of lions while touring wildlife preserves in africa .
the countess from hong kong with marlon brando and sophia loren, directed by chaplin, in what was to be the
little tramp' s
final film .
hedren and marshall split in 1982. hedren kept rescuing big cats; in 1983 she renamed africa u. s. a .
shambala
and formed the 501c3 nonprofit roar foundation for big cat care and research .
directed and starring noel marshall (you might know him from “the exorcist”), “roar” is being re - released in theaters and on dvd, 34 years after flopping at the box office and derailing marshall’s directorial career .
' s backstory is probably a good deal more compelling than the actual finished film. (this review didn' t even get into tidbits like ted cassidy—yep, lurch from
that’s hard to put into words. in many ways the film is a testament to the dangers of unchecked ambition, of the follies of man, and his relationship with animals. marshall (and his character in the film) attempted to wrest some kind of narrative and control from the snapping jaws of chaos, and it didn’t work .
freelance writer and editor with an ma in professional writing. follow for handmade articles on film and tv, pop culture, and brand storytelling. view all posts by andymckendry
tim league: i don’t know the answer for sure, but my sense is that an extremely small amount of the $ 17 million dollar budget was spent on make - up. for sure, the initial scenes with noel’s bloody hand were “practical effects. ” i understand marshall and hedren were passionate about wildlife preservation, and that the film was, in a sense, propaganda, but there are several moments in roar when the animals are seen creating terror. what do you think marshall was ultimately attempting to convey with the film? what was his message? :
hoping to raise awareness for the inhumane treatment experienced by big cats in captivity, they approached a number of animal trainers for help make the concept for the film a reality .
using provocative language to flog a product is hardly new or novel but the repackaging of roar is nevertheless a curious achievement. the film’s new branding as ‘the most dangerous movie ever made, which nobody saw’ arrives at a time when audiences are particularly acclimatised to a culture of content creators casting fresh spins on old things, in their everlasting attempt to draw as many eyeballs to the screen or page as possible .
roar foundation board members have included such hollywood luminaries as loni anderson, antonio banderas, ed begley, jr. , linda blair, bo derek, melanie griffith, ken howard and linda howard, loretta swit, and betty white .
“roar feels more like watching a snuff film. ” please spare me from this juvenile wanking. i do desperately hope that you don’t actually make a habit of watching snuff films but you might like to reflect on the fact that snuff films are not any sort of joke and involve the psycho - sexual ritualised torture and murder of unwilling participants – not highly paid actors doing it willingly. find a different metaphor .
noel marshall is featured on a motorbike at the start of a film trailer, riding through a pack of lions as one of them strikes out at him as he passes by .
my best friend and i had our second viewing tonight of alex cox’s best film since revengers tragedy (2002). despite having now seen both the color and the ...
in 1978, a flood from a dam break killed many lions in the film, washed away the set and destroyed nearly all of the movie, including sets, completed film footage and three key lions including robbie, the movie' s lion king. the picture was set back several years and the damaged done amounted to approximately us $ 4 million .
however, during the whole process tippi hedren found her calling. after the film was completed, it was unthinkable to dispose of all of the unfortunate animals. zoos could not possibly take that many big cats. hedren thus became the protector to homeless lions and tigers that were born in captivity (or were captured at a very early age) and couldn’t be returned to the wild. the roar experience led directly to the 1983 establishment of the non - profit roar foundation which accepted donations and which became the financial support arm of hendren’s animal rescue efforts and her work to educate the public about wildlife. in 1985 hedren’s 72 acres officially became the shambala preserve .
drafthouse films has provided dangerous minds with an exclusive clip from roar. here we see john and jerry marshall doing their best to avoid the animals that seem to be lurking around every corner. the scene is a great example of the amazing shots noel marshall managed to get amidst the chaos, as well as jan de bont’s top - notch cinematography. it also highlights the film’s claustrophobic vibe and precarious on - set atmosphere .
drafthouse films partnered with olive films to re - release the film, which will be available on numerous platforms later in the summer, and be released on blu - ray this summer .
chris hemsworth kicks off filming for the star - studded men in black spin - off as he cuts a sharp figure in london... 21 years after the first film hit screens
in 2010 the bbc world service broadcast one planet: animals & us, a radio documentary series in which victor schonfeld investigates why little has changed since the making of the animals film .
i think she' s just lately come to not really be so proud of the film anymore ,
said alamo drafthouse founder and ceo tim league, who was tipped off to its existence (and harrowing production) by indie director greg marcks. he immediately went in search of the rights holder and reached a deal with olive films to co - release the film .
that’s just the bodily damage. two years of production and a dozen horror stories later, financiers pulled out completely, leaving marshall and hedren to their own devices. the couple sold virtually everything they owned to put their heads in the lion’s mouth once again, using the remainder of marshall’s dividends from “the exorcist, ” which he executive produced, to revive production. naturally, the second half of the production was visited by several of the 10 plagues — two floods, a wildfire and a devastating feline illness ravaged the set. in the end, the film cost $ 17 million dollars (in 1981 dollars) .
after shooting a film in africa, american actress tippi hedren and her manager husband, marshall, were inspired by the idea of a movie that highlighted the plight of big cats in captivity .
marshall’s documentary - esque focus on the carnage that ensues when a small number of humans are up close with an incredible number of wild animals reflects something of the gritty vibe of director sam peckinpah’s home invasion classic straw dogs (1971) but, with all its real - life associations, roar feels more like watching a snuff film. john recently told the new york post that “dad was a fucking arsehole to do that to his family” .
unfortunately, roar left more than one person on set injured, including actress daughter melanie, who had to get 50 stitches after a close call with a lion on set. that was nothing compared to what happened to cinematographer jan de bont. one of the cats on set lifted his scalp so that he had to have it sewed back on. before the movie called wrap, 70 people working on set were injured by one of the 150 large cats that participated in the creation of roar .
“however misguided, it’s clearly one from the heart, a movie that should never have happened, and one that’s hard to believe actually exists. roar is one of a kind. with any luck, it always will be. ” – the dissolve
perhaps tippi hedren' s most unique endeavor is being
den mother
and close friend to sixty - odd big cats — lion, tiger, leopard, cougar, and serval at the roar foundation' s shambala preserve near acton, california .
aided by what shapiro describes as a “holy grail” of marketing materials — the team uncovered items, such as negatives and production photos, from a remote dumpster that hadn’t been touched since 1981— drafthouse went out to the press. buzzworthy claims poured in by the second. “it’s like watching a live - action ‘lion king’ as mufasa holds a switchblade to your throat, ” wrote matt barone of complex. the critical response owed much to the film’s sheer improbability. “we’re living in a time now, 30 years later, where you just can’t do this, ” said shapiro. “you only see this in youtube videos from eastern europe. ”
now, 34 years later, drafthouse films is giving roar its big - screen due, re - releasing it in six theaters nationwide on friday, then expanding it to about 50 cities through may. a dvd release is planned for later this summer .
the making of roar spanned a period of more than 10 years, including 5 years of photography. it involved the remarkable talents of a crew of more than 100 dedicated men and women as well as the participation of more than 150 untrained lions, tigers, leopards and cheetahs. add to that two elephants, twelve flamingos and eight ostriches... and the end product is nothing less than amazing. needless to say, a production of this sort places special demands on both cast and crew. use the links on this page to learn about this incredible film and about the amazing people who made roar possible. learn about the extraordinary talents of actress tippi hedren, melanie griffith and about award - winning cinematographer jan de bont, whose career in the united states began right here, on the set of roar. no animals were hurt during the filming, but over 70 people were injured, including all cast members except mativo. not the animals fault, but the fault of the project. we’ve now learned that these are wild animals. if you do what the family did in the film, it’s not “if” you’ll get bitten, it’s “when” !
roar was the brainchild of john’s father, an agent - turned - film producer named noel marshall, and his stepmother tippi hedren, star of alfred hitchcock’s the birds. in 1969, the couple traveled to zimbabwe, where hedren was shooting the thriller satan’s harvest. at one point, the pair visited a game preserve in mozambique and saw an old building which a pride of lions had made its home. they came up with an idea for a film about a scientist living in harmony with big cats, his attempts to protect them from hunters, and the hijinks which ensue when his family arrives at his lion - filled house when he’s away .
roar now has a cult reputation for the number of cast and crew injured during filming. the tagline for the us re - release was :
no animals were harmed in the making of this movie. 70 members of the cast and crew were .
how in the hell did marshall think this was a good idea? well, he and hedren had actually turned their home into a shelter for big cats – and living with them – for years. (the preserve still exists, and hedren still runs it. marshall passed away in 2010, but he and hedren divorced one year after roar was finally completed. neither she nor griffith is doing any promotion for this re - release of the film. )
during production, director / star noel marshall was attacked and severely injured by one of the lions in the film. he was hospitalized and it took him several years to completely recover from his injuries .
audio commentary with john marshall and tim league. marshall has a lot of interesting anecdotes about the shoot, and league keeps the conversation focused on various aspects of the film' s troubled production history .
though mostly known today for its production injuries (as many as 70 members, including hedren and griffith, were harmed while making the film) ,
roar
starred marshall (who also directed) as a wildlife preservationist living in africa. when his family (hedren and griffith) pays him a surprise visit, they discover it' s the worst possible timing as two male lions start to fight over dominance, whipping up a ferocious frenzy among the animal life .
in other words the terrified cast were acting with a little more method than they were used to. when roar was eventually released it was marketed as a “ferocious comedy” but watching it today it’s pretty clear marshall was aspiring for more than that. sitting through it is an uncomfortable experience and the presence of the cats gives the film an unpredictable menace. you’re never sure when or if the animals are going to turn and the actors feels less like characters than human scratching posts.
roar is a 1981 american adventure exploitation film written and directed by noel marshall , produced by and starring marshall and his then wife tippi hedren , and co-starring hedren 's real-life daughter melanie griffith and marshall 's real-life sons john and jerry . . the film follows a family who are attacked by a range of ravening jungle animals at the secluded home of their keeper . roar became notorious for its troubled 11-year production , which resulted in 70 members of its cast and crew being injured by the many predatory animals used in the film , including its main stars sustaining life-threatening injuries ranging from bone fractures to scalpings and gangrene . much of the footage capturing the injuries was included in the final cut of the film , resulting in real blood on screen . it has been considered the most dangerous film shoot in history . the film was released theatrically in europe in 1981 , but was a financial failure . it was released theatrically in the united states for the first time on april 17 , 2015 . hedren co-wrote the 1985 book cats of shambala about her experience of filming roar . 
roar is a 1981 american adventure exploitation film written and directed by noel marshall, produced by and starring marshall and his then wife tippi hedren, and co-starring hedren's real-life daughter melanie griffith and marshall's real-life sons john and jerry.. the film follows a family who are attacked by a range of ravening jungle animals at the secluded home of their keeper. roar became notorious for its troubled 11-year production, which resulted in 70 members of its cast and crew being injured by the many predatory animals used in the film, including its main stars sustaining life-threatening injuries ranging from bone fractures to scalpings and gangrene. much of the footage capturing the injuries was included in the final cut of the film, resulting in real blood on screen. it has been considered the most dangerous film shoot in history. the film was released theatrically in europe in 1981, but was a financial failure. it was released theatrically in the united states for the first time on april 17, 2015. hedren co-wrote the 1985 book cats of shambala about her experience of filming roar.
roar is a 1981 american adventure exploitation film written and directed by noel marshall, produced by and starring marshall and his then wife tippi hedren, and co-starring hedren's real-life daughter melanie griffith and marshall's real-life sons john and jerry.. the film follows a family who are attacked by a range of ravening jungle animals at the secluded home of their keeper. roar became notorious for its troubled 11-year production, which resulted in 70 members of its cast and crew being injured by the many predatory animals used in the film, including its main stars sustaining life-threatening injuries ranging from bone fractures to scalpings and gangrene. much of the footage capturing the injuries was included in the final cut of the film, resulting in real blood on screen. it has been considered the most dangerous film shoot in history. the film was released theatrically in europe in 1981, but was a financial failure. it was released theatrically in the united states for the first time on april 17, 2015. hedren co-wrote the 1985 book cats of shambala about her experience of filming roar.