Customer Reviews

Adventures of Tarzan - Serial

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a Tarzan fan for 0ver 50 years. The books gripped me & when I was able to start buying the films I grabbed every opportunity. To actually lay hands on copies of the filmas made before I was conceived let alone born is a great feeling.

The film itself although by todays standards is old & hackneyed in fact hold up well. OK Elmo Lincoln is a bit too beefy as Tarzan & Louise Lorraine,very pretty, doesn't do a lot but she is the heroine of the times. The villains ARE villains & our hero we know will triumph. He's TARZAN of course he'll triumph!! The chapter endings even by serial standards were obvious & the 'escapes' even more so but this takes nothing away from the entertainment value. In fact in some cases it really enhances. Some cynics would say this is Hokum, well I've got news for them, So what! It's great to go back in time & see a real HERO. Long may Tarzan continue even in the 21st Century, to rule his jungle & save the damsels, beat the living daylights out of the bad guys. He's great no matter who plays him (except maybe Travis Fimmel. What were they thinking of???... Come back Denny Miller. Even he wasn't that lousy!!
Now if only the Gene Pollar & Dempsey Tabler/Kamuel Seearles Tarzans would surface then my cup would more than runneth over.

For many years this was a much sought after Tarzan cinematic treasure. Then gradually, grainy 4th and 5th generation video copies started to surface. Gradually, condensed versions gave way to actual serial versions but the picture quality remained pretty pathetic. Finally, this vintage serial has arrived on DVD with music and sound effects for good measure. As for the picture quality - amazingly, it by far surpasses the woeful video versions I used to own many years ago. For Tarzan fans and vintage serial fans this is actually enormously entertaining and well worth adding to one's collection. Many of the wild animal scenes still induce awe in young viewers. My only gripe was that this has been released on DVD-r and not actual DVD. Given that various reports have lamented the lack of durability of DVD-r as a collectable medium, it can only be hoped that the distributors will accept that they are charging quite a high price for this title and eventually do the right thing by consumers and make it available on actual DVD instead of the inferior DVD-r format.

Previously seen only in a fuzzy VHS tape with canned background music, this restoration of most of the 15-episode Adventures of Tarzan is an outstanding production. Even the background music (tailored to the action) and sound effects fit in perfectly. The video restoration is as good as available materials permit, rough in spots but clearly using the best available materials for each scene.
Missing original material cuts this restoration to ten chapters, but great care has been taken to use intertitles which bridge the missing plot points. A thoroughly enjoyable experience - and although Lincoln doesn't look like a stereotypical Tarzan, he pulls off some amazing stunts.
This release shows great care and respect for the materials, an obvious labor of love, and is well worth adopting.

Perhaps the highlight of the 10 chapter series is the prequel. The program begins with an eight minute summery of the original 1918 film, "Tarzan of the Apes." It's the best quality image I've ever seen and wish they could have included the entire film.
Elmo Lincoln returned for this final serial and you can see that he had gained some weight since 1918. Still, he's as strong as ever as you watch him pull himself up the rope arm over arm while Jane's holding on.

Lots of real wild animals and cliffhangers, with sound effects that sometimes are helpful, but not always.

I have long complained that the Hollywood movies just haven't captured the spirit of the author's books, but I was amazed at how this silent version does justice to Burroughs in adapting the 2nd of the Tarzan books.

This is the best Tarzan movie that Elmo Lincoln made because it tell of Tarzan beginning.