Here's to Sheena

1984's Sheena, based on the Sheena, Queen of the Jungle comics, is widely considered a bad film. I guess it is. The dialogue is hokey, as is much of the premise. It's also really charming, though.

Maybe it's because they just don't make 'em like this anymore. I love to bring up the fact that Disney was too cheap to shoot the Black Panther movies in Africa. The notorious Sheena was shot entirely in Kenya and it pays off with plenty of gorgeous location shots, embellished further with the gorgeous Tanya Roberts in nearly every frame.

Sometimes it's a stunt double, and it's pretty obvious when it is, but that also means it's easy to see how much Roberts herself did. And that's surprisingly a lot. People who complained about her acting ability should consider how remarkable it is she could swing from a vine, gracefully land barefoot on the ground, and smoothly initiate dialogue. She has the simple-minded earnestness of the type of fantasy girl she's playing, quite convincingly enough. She delivers what the role calls for. According to the Wikipedia entry, Paeline Kael was the only critic who appreciated Roberts' work at all.

Let's not forget how comfortable Roberts was doing quite a lot of nude scenes. It's remarkable to think this was a PG movie. I mean, when you consider PG means "Parental Guidance", it makes sense. It goes to show how ratings have migrated.

The score by Richard Hartley recalls Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire", which gives an oddly tranquil tone to the action scenes. But it also reminded me of the general Lucas/Spielberg influence on film in the '80s, when filmmakers strove to make adventure stories that inspired a sense of awe and wonder. Watching Roberts riding a horse bareback, painted to look like a zebra, the score, location, and cinematography invite us to savour how wonderful it is to witness a world in which a beautiful jungle girl exists.