Roar (1981)

There's really no story, just a whacked-out man and his family tussling with lions over and over. People do get hurt making it. It was a vanity project that no one would fund, so they had to scrimp and save for 5 years to raise funds. Most of the cast cannot act. It's like a bad home movie, but with lions and other wild animals. The only interest is to see many of the pets of Tippi Hedren and family, including Melanie Griffith. Also of interest are the many appearances of Togare, the lion once owned as a pet by Satanist Anton LaVey.

Definitely one of those movies you have to see to believe. "Roar" doesn't have much to offer in the plot department (aside from the conservationist message), but it has plenty in the way of unparalleled filmmaking negligence. Just look at that tagline:"No animals were harmed in the making of this film. 70 cast and crew members were."It's hard to watch what happens onscreen because there are no stuntmen. Tippi Hedren really fractured a leg after being thrown from an elephant; Melanie Griffith really needed medical attention after being mauled; Jan de Bont (that guy who made "Die Hard" and "Speed" look so good) really needed extensive stitches after being scalped(!) by a lion. The reactions from the cast are as real as the blood, and you're constantly shaking your head that they'd use wild animals with no training or supervision. They're apex predators, not pets! The whole thing is incredibly irresponsible, and it lives (warts and all) on film. It's amusing that they try to lighten things up with a playful score and a happy ending. But this is not family film; it's downright chilling.7/10

Roar (1981) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Hank (Noel Marshall) is living in Africa where everyone thinks he's crazy because he allows lions, tigers, leopards and other wild animals to roam through his house. Soon his wife (Tippi Hedren), daughter (Melanie Griffith) and two sons come to visit but he's not home so the family must try to survive these animals.ROAR was released in 1981 without too much media attention but when it came time to re-release the movie in 2015 it seems everyone wanted to know more about the most dangerous movie ever filmed. You can Google various articles about all the destruction that happened behind-the-scenes during the making of this movie. Countless cast and crew members were severely injured. Several animals were killed in a flood. The film took years to complete, went way over budget and of course didn't make any of its money back.It's really hard to judge this film for many reasons. For starters, if you didn't know anything about the history of this movie and just watched it then you'd probably see it for all the warts. In all honesty there's really no plot to be found and the performances certainly aren't anything great. The direction, well there really isn't any because how to you get a lion to do what you want? It seems like the camera was just set up and they would hope to capture something. Obviously there's just nothing here that scream "great" or "good" movie.With that said, if you do know the history of the movie then there's no question that you'll be biting your nails because you're just waiting for something bad to happen. There are several times throughout the movie where you can tell that the actors are in sheer terror of not knowing what the wild animals are going to do. These scenes do contain some real suspense but it's not from great filmmaking but instead from knowing that these actors are really in danger. Plus you can't help but watch this film and wonder what in the world the filmmakers were thinking by putting their family in harm's way.ROAR is certainly a film that needs to be viewed. There's no doubt that being able to see so many wild animals is quite great. Is the film good? Not really but it's certainly entertaining.

This rambling home movie, makes Clyde Beatty's life-style look like a walk in the park! A plague of big cats greets a woman with kinder,when they come to "reunite" with manic dad in a corner of darkest Africa. Reminds me of that dreadful rendition of "Phil the fluter's ball..."-you know "cats on the roof tops,cats on the tiles,etc!" Any-rate,a wonderful menagerie of savage beasts keeps the viewer so entertained that a plot isn't really necessary. 10 out of 10 to the camera crew who MUST have been involved in some hair-raising moments with the animals. Many many close-ups of slavering jaws will keep me and mine, awake for weeks!