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''The Phantom'' is a 1996 American superhero film directed by Simon Wincer. Based on Lee Falk's comic strip ''The Phantom'', the film stars Billy Zane as a seemingly immortal crimefighter and his battle against all forms of evil. ''The Phantom'' also stars Treat Williams, Kristy Swanson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, James Remar and Patrick McGoohan. The film's plot is loosely inspired by three of ''The Phantom'' stories, "The Singh Brotherhood", "The Sky Band" and "The Belt"; but adds supernatural elements and several new characters. Principal photography began in October 1995 and concluded on February 13, 1996. The film was shot in California, Thailand and Australia. ''The Phantom'' was released on June 7, 1996, and received mixed reviews from film critics. Despite financial disappointment in its theatrical release, the film has since enjoyed success on VHS and DVD. ==Plot== In the early 16th century, a young boy witnesses his father's death at the hands of Kabai Sengh during an attack on their ship by the ruthless Sengh Brotherhood. He is washed ashore on an island called Bengalla and found on the beach by tribesman who take him to their village. There he is given the Skull Ring and swears to devote his life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty and injustice. In adulthood, he adopts the identity of "The Phantom", a masked avenger. The role of The Phantom is passed on from father to son through centuries, leading people to believe in a single, immortal figure and accordingly to nickname him "The Ghost Who Walks" and "The Man Who Never Dies". In 1938, Kit Walker (Billy Zane), the 21st Phantom, finds a mercenary named Quill (James Remar) searching for one of the Skulls of Touganda, possession of which grants the owner a tremendous destructive power. The Phantom saves the native boy they had kidnapped as their guide and captures Quill's men, turning them over to the Jungle Patrol. However, Quill—revealed as a member of the Sengh Brotherhood, and the man who killed Kit's father (Patrick McGoohan) -- flees with the Skull and returns to the United States. In New York City, Kit's ex-girlfriend from college, Diana Palmer (Kristy Swanson), is sent by her Uncle Dave (Bill Smitrovich), the owner of "The Tribune" newspaper, to Bengalla in order to investigate claims that power-hungry New York businessman, Xander Drax (Treat Williams), Quill's boss, is resorting to piracy. En route, the Pan Am Clipper Diana travels on is forced down over the ocean by female air pirates employed by Drax and led by the femme fatale, Sala (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Diana is kidnapped and taken to the pirates base in Bengalla. Having been told of Diana's kidnapping by the Jungle Patrol's captain Phillip Horton (Robert Coleby), The Phantom rescues Diana and escapes from Quill and his men to his headquarters, the Skull Cave (with the help of his white horse Hero, his pet wolf Devil, and his jungle friends the Rope People). There, Diana meets with Horton where she is informed by The Phantom and Horton that she is mixed up with the Sengh Brotherhood. The Phantom tells Horton to use the Jungle Patrol to take care of Diana and return her to New York while he goes after the Brotherhood. Diana starts to argue about being sent home, but The Phantom disappears deep into the Skull Cave, with Horton telling Diana that "No one argues with The Phantom and wins.". Back in New York, Kit meets with Dave Palmer and reunites with Diana. With the help of information given to them by Diana's would-be suitor Jimmy Wells, they locate the second Skull in the Museum of Natural History. They're captured by Drax and his men, who steal the second Skull and unite it with the first, revealing the location of the third Skull on an uncharted island known as the Devil's Vortex on the Yellow Sea. Kit manages to escape from Quill and his henchmen and, as The Phantom, evades the police (Drax was allies in crime with New York's corrupt police commissioner, as well as the mayor). Meanwhile, Sala flies Drax, Quill and Diana (Drax's "Phantom insurance" after it is revealed she is his girlfriend) to the Devil's Vortex, not knowing that The Phantom has managed to hitch a ride on one of the plane's landing pontoons. On the island, Drax meets with the pirate Kabai Sengh (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), a descendant of the Brotherhood's original leader, who possesses the third Skull. Sengh warns Drax of the existence of a "Fourth Skull", which controls the power of the others. The Phantom appears and battles both men, with Kabai Sengh killed by his own pool of sharks, as Diana and Sala cooperate to defeat the other villains. Drax unites the three Skulls and turns them against the Phantom (inadvertently killing Quill in the process), only to be destroyed when the Phantom uses the Fourth Skull—his own ring—to overcome the others. As the island is destroyed, The Phantom narrowly escapes with Diana and Sala. In parting from Diana thereafter, The Phantom reveals his secret and his double-identity to her, telling her that he is only allowed to reveal all of his secrets to one person, the woman he intends to marry, but she leaves again for New York. Kit's father laments his son's failure to pursue Diana, but states that she will return to The Phantom's jungle, and to Kit, one day. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Phantom (1996 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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