Roar (1981)
November 12, 1981Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Cast & Crew.
Tippi Hedren
Madeleine / Producer
Melanie Griffith
Melanie
John Marshall
John / Production Manager / Camera Operator
Jerry Marshall
Jerry / Supervising Editor
Kyalo Mativo
Mativo
Frank Tom
Frank
Steve Miller
Prentiss
Rick Glassey
Rick
Lenord Bokwa
Airport Personnel
Shamasi Sarumi
Airport Personnel
Will Hutchins
Committee
Eve Rattner
Committee
Peter Thiongo
Committee
Zakes Mokae
Committee
MIchael Franz
Committee
Alexandra Newman
Committee
Pat Barbeau
Committee
Michael J. Jones
Committee
Noel Marshall
Hank / Director / Producer / Writer
Jan de Bont
Director of Photography / Camera Operator / Supervising Editor
Vincent Prentice
Makeup Artist
Ted Nicolaou
Editor / Additional Editing
Joel Marshall
Art Direction / Production Manager / Production Design
James Allen
Assistant Art Director
William Leavitt
Assistant Art Director
Sandy Berman
Sound Editor
George Fitzgerald
Sound Editor
John Hayward
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Jay Ignaszewski
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Nicolas Le Messurier
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Paul Leimbach
Sound Editor
Kees Linthorst
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Gordon K. McCallum
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Bob Minkler
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Bill Mumford
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Gregory Sanders
Sound Editor
Gary Alexander
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Graham V. Hartstone
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Rita Riggs
Wardrobe Master
Robert Gottschalk
Producer
Jack Rattner
Co-Producer
Charles Sloan
Co-Producer
Banjiro Uemura
Executive Producer
Terrence P. Minogue
Original Music Composer
Ted Cassidy
Additional Writing
Matthew W. Mungle
Makeup Artist
Ken Diaz
Makeup Artist
Karen Kalberer
Makeup Artist
Doran Kauper
Production Manager
Shunil Borpujari
Assistant Director
Kenneth J. Jones
Assistant Director
Alan Caso
Camera Operator
Tar Webster
Camera Operator
Larry Carroll
Additional Editing
Courtney Goodin
Sound Mixer
Jean-Paul Ouellette
Script Supervisor
Jan Shaw
Script Supervisor
Maureen Nolan
Script Supervisor
Media.
Details.
Release DateNovember 12, 1981
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 42m
Budget$17,000,000
Box Office$2,000,000
Filming LocationsCalifornia, United States
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Roar is a 1981 American adventure comedy film written and directed by Noel Marshall. Its plot follows Hank, a naturalist who lives on a nature preserve in Africa with lions, tigers, and other big cats. When his family visits him, they are instead confronted by the group of animals. The film stars Marshall as Hank, his real-life wife Tippi Hedren as his wife Madeleine, with Hedren's daughter Melanie Griffith and Marshall's sons John and Jerry Marshall in supporting roles.
In 1969, while Hedren was filming Satan's Harvest in Mozambique, she and Marshall had occasion to observe a pride of lions move into a recently vacated house, driven by increased poaching. They decided to make a film centered around that theme, with production starting when the first script was completed in 1970. They began bringing rescued big cats into their homes in California and living with them. Filming began in 1976; it was finished after five years. The film was fully completed after 11 years in production.
Roar was not initially released in North America. Instead, in 1981, Noel and John Marshall released it internationally. It was also acquired by Filmways Pictures and Alpha Films. Despite performing well in Germany and Japan, Roar was a box office failure, grossing $2 million worldwide against a $17 million budget. In 2015, 34 years after the film's original release, it was released in theaters in the United States by Drafthouse Films. Roar's message of protection for African wildlife as well as its animal interactions were praised by critics, but its plot, story, inconsistent tone, dialogue, and editing were criticized.
During production, the cast and crew members faced dangerous situations; seventy people, including the film's stars, were injured in attacks from the untrained animals on set. Flooding from a dam destroyed much of the set and equipment, dramatically increasing the film's budget. In 1983, Hedren founded the Roar Foundation and established the Shambala Preserve sanctuary, to house the animals appearing in the film. She also wrote a book, The Cats of Shambala (1985), about the events that took place during its production. The film has been described as "the most dangerous film ever made" and "the most expensive home movie ever made", and has gained a cult following.