Film

Tarzan the Ape Man

Other titles called Tarzan the Ape Man: the 1932 film.

Bo Derek's Jane Porter discovers Tarzan in the African jungle in this 1981 reimagining that foregrounds her sexuality and agency over the typical adventure beats. It's a curious artifact of early-80s eroticism, glossy and self-aware, caught between serious romance and knowing camp. For viewers curious about forgotten blockbusters or the era's soft-focus sensuality.

TMDb rating2.1

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The Blue Lagoon1980

A similarly sensual desert-island romance with lush cinematography and attractive leads discovering each other in paradise. Brooke Shields became an icon; the chemistry and visual beauty carry it despite thin plot.

But Aggressively slow-paced with barely a story to speak of. The softcore gratuitousness that defined the era hasn't aged with particular grace.

The Blue Lagoon poster

Sheena1984

Another female adventure star in a jungle setting, with Tanya Roberts in peak 80s glamour mode. Action, romance, and a heroine who refuses to be a damsel—trashy, unpretentious fun.

But The action is creaky and the plot paper-thin. It swings between unintended camp and unironic earnestness in ways that don't always land.

Sheena poster

Venom1981

Klaus Kinski, Sterling Hayden, and a Black Mamba in a townhouse under siege. Pulsing dread and character actors doing their absolute best with a genuinely tense setup.

But It's more thriller than adventure, and the snake itself doesn't appear as much as you'd hope. Some scenes drag badly.

Venom poster

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The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders1970

Both foreground female sexuality as the engine of the story rather than a reward; both are fascinated by the body waking up to desire in lush, visually sumptuous settings.

A Czech New Wave fever dream about a girl who discovers sexuality and bodily autonomy in a landscape that shifts between fairy tale and nightmare. Gorgeous, strange, genuinely erotic in ways that feel alive—nothing like the glossy softcore of 1981 America, but speaking to the same discovery.

But The logic is dreamlike and non-narrative. It requires patience and tolerance for ambiguity. Some will find it oblique to the point of tedium.

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders poster
More like this (8)

King Kong1976

John Guillermin's glossy, romantic take on the legend, with Jessica Lange in the Jane role and that astonishing stop-motion creature. Pure spectacle and heart.

But At 134 minutes it meanders. The effects, while stunning, are occasionally ropey even by 1976 standards.

King Kong poster

Anaconda1997

Jungle adventure with a giant snake, a charismatic Jon Voight stealing scenes, and enough practical effects to feel genuinely tactile. B-movie energy executed with craft.

But The CGI hasn't held up and the film knows exactly how silly it is, which some find charming and others find exhausting.

Anaconda poster

The Emerald Forest1985

John Boorman's fever-dream meditation on colonialism and the jungle, with a search-and-rescue plot that becomes something stranger and more beautiful. Haunting and visually extraordinary.

But It's extremely slow and mystical in ways that can feel pretentious. The narrative is deliberately fractured and meandering.

The Emerald Forest poster

Fitzcarraldo1982

Werner Herzog's actual madness: Klaus Kinski dragging a steamship over a mountain in the Amazon while obsessing over opera. Documentary-adjacent lunacy that transcends adventure into art.

But Nearly four hours, deliberately paced like a dream, and Herzog's vision is so singular it can feel impenetrable. Not a story; an endurance test and a vision.

Fitzcarraldo poster

Romancing the Stone1984

Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas in a jungle romp that's genuinely charming, funny, and romantic without pretending to be anything but wish-fulfillment. Adventure that doesn't take itself seriously.

But It's comfort food, not art. Some of the humor lands harder than others depending on your tolerance for 80s rom-com beats.

Romancing the Stone poster

Creature from the Black Lagoon1954

The template for every jungle-expedition-meets-strange-creature story. Julie Adams as the lead gives as good as she gets; Gill-Man is an icon. Moody, efficient, and genuinely atmospheric.

But Black-and-white, paced for 1954, and the creature effects, though charming, are decidedly rubber-suited. Some patience required.

Creature from the Black Lagoon poster

Embrace of the Serpent2015

Jungle expedition as the frame for an impossible romance across culture and power; both fascinated by the erotics of discovery and domination, but this one interrogates rather than celebrates them.

A Colombian film about a young indigenous guide and an aging Western scientist searching for a rare plant in the Amazon, told in black-and-white that feels like a recovered artifact. Hypnotic, philosophical, and completely unsentimental about the clash of worlds and desire.

But It's glacially paced, philosophically abstract, and makes no concession to plot momentum. The monochrome aesthetic demands patience.

Embrace of the Serpent poster

The Story of O1975

Both films centered on women's sexuality as active rather than passive; both erotically frank for their era; both willing to spend time on the sensual and the carnal without apology.

An adaption of the notorious novel, shot in Parisian locations of austere luxury. A woman surrenders to desire and transforms; it's genuinely about agency in submission, visual in a way that transcends the (extreme) subject matter. A curiosity that works as cinema.

But It's explicit and unapologetic about sexuality and power dynamics. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of erotica as serious art, this will alienate you completely.

The Story of O poster

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