Every so often, a bizarre anomaly of a movie comes around. Something that simply floors you with its strangeness. If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably already heard about Roar, the 1981 box-office bomb that has recently been making a comeback as a cult flick. You’ve likely read that the movie is insane, surrounding its cast of Hollywood stars and crew members with dozens of real life lions and other wild animals (resulting in over 70 on set accidents).
Well, absolutely everything you’ve heard about this film is true. Make no mistake, Roar is a “family adventure” film promoting the humane treatment of wild animals. But in its execution, it’s simultaneously the most terrifying thing you’ll ever witness. In fact, it is impossible not to watch it in complete fear for the safety of the real-life actors and filmmakers on and off screen. As a result, Roar truly is one of the weirdest and most unique cinematic experience ever. And in some respects, it’s like a window looking into utter madness.
To be fair, the project barely qualifies as a feature. The plot is threadbare. In Africa, Hank (Noel Marshall) studies lions and shares his home with an entire pride. After passionately arguing with locals for more animal conservation, he realizes that he forgotten to pick up his visiting wife Madelaine (Tippi Hedren) and their kids (played by Melanie Griffith, John Marshall and Jerry Marshall) from the airport. Hank gets into misadventures attempting to get to the landing strip, while the family make their own way to the house, only to be pawed at my lions, cougars and other species. They’re (very understandably) scared at first, but as events progress they come to understand the wonder and beauty of wildlife.
And that’s about it. But what keeps you glued to the screen are the shocking interactions between the cast and lions. The movie was produced by Marshall and real-life spouse Hedren (who were both animal conservationists) and features their kids, all of whom essentially play versions of themselves. So there isn’t acting so much as fearful reactions to being inches away from the jaws of several intimidating lions. It all looks ridiculously dangerous – safety protocols were clearly ignored. Noel Marshall fearlessly (and crazily) interjects himself into groups of snarling lions, acting as if it’s completely normal. He gets bitten and cut numerous times in the process… and it’s all real.
The rest of the cast are jumped on, played with and knocked around considerably in just as harrowing a manner. The characters lock themselves in room and find the pride entering and destroying the furniture around them – sometimes while the actors hide in cabinets and lockers. The music suggests that it’s all in good fun, but as viewer, it’s anxiety provoking. In fact, there’s one incident involving young Melanie Griffith that is particularly difficult to watch (especially after learning that the scene resulted in a serious injury).
Granted, the cause of animal welfare is a noble and admirable. Yet there are all kinds of things that just seem wrongheaded about the endeavor. Namely, seeing all of these people willingly put themselves in mortal danger with numerous lions inside very crowded and enclosed spaces. Alas, it was a different and presumably more permissive time. The end result puts the over-the-top stunts of early Jackie Chan flicks to shame.
Roar has never been an easy film to come by (many years ago there was a non-anamorphic DVD sold directly by the Marshall family). The new Blu-ray from Olive Films features image quality that looks remarkably sharp and crisp. While there is some grain and color-timing difference between some of the shots, that’s likely how the original film appeared. Frankly, it looks incredible overall.
There are also some great bonuses. They include an enlightening commentary track and documentary on the production from John Marshall. It goes into great detail, answering many of the questions viewers will have and chronicling the bizarre 10 year period spanning from the initial concept to final product. In case you’re wondering, the family rescued many of the African lions featured and had the specimens live with them in their mansion north of Los Angeles (in order to build familial relations). The doc also explains most of the production trials and horrible injuries suffered. Additionally, there’s a Q&A, photos from the set and a new theatrical trailer created for its 2015 re-release.
If you enjoy cult movies, Roar is simply and succinctly a “must own”. Period. I can’t say that it’s a good movie, but it is utterly captivating for every second of its running time. There is no other film like this and there never will be again… frankly, because it probably should never have existed in the first place. But somehow it actually came into being and thanks to a new Blu-ray, everyone can now witness one of the craziest features ever made.