Customer Reviews

The Tarzan Collection Starring Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan the Ape Man / Escapes / and His Mate / Finds a Son / Secret Treasure / New York Adventure)

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I can only hope at least a million people buy this Tarzan DVD set. I pre-ordered it a couple months ago when I first saw it was available to order. As a child I watched these on Sunday afternoons. They were a mainstay for any kids TV diet in the 1950s and 1960s. I have to say that after dining on the majority of Tarzan movies my taste became partial to Johnny Weismueller. The fact that he was an Olympian swimmer, had the best Tarzan yodel, and his acting seemed to fit a kid raised in the jungle. It was a blast watching him wrestle crocodiles and lions and call elephants to tramble the bad guys. We can only hope that interest in this set may prompt them to release the rest of his Tarzan movies. I for one loved them all, even if the special effects were a little hokey sometimes. By todays standards the F/X will seem comical, but still fun to watch. This set has the best production values and casting of all the Tarzan movies.

I've been waiting for these films to be released on DVD ever since I got my DVD player in January, 2001. I was born in 1954 and grew up watching them on TV. Tarzan was without a doubt my favorite hero and Johnny Weissmuller was Tarzan. One of the biggest thrills of my youth was meeting Johnny when he came to my hometown in 1967. He gave me two photos of himself which I still have. The packaging of this set is excellent, first class all the way. The documentary is very interesting. I only wish that Johnny Sheffield could have been interviewed. It was great to see Cheeta still going strong at 72 years old. The theatrical trailers were fun to watch, and the other "special features" were great, also. I especially enjoyed the short documentary shot during the filming of "Tarzan Finds A Son" at Silver Springs, Florida. Before I purchased the set, I was concerned about the picture quality of the six feature films.But, when I watched them, I was very pleased. After years of seeing them on TV, it was good to view them via the high resolution of the DVD format. When and if the six RKO Tarzan/Weissmuller films are released on DVD, I pray that Warner Video will do the honors.

Finally and about time, the release of Johnny Weissmuller on DVD in the role that he was born to play TARZAN! ~ loaded with many "special features" entitled "Tarzan:Silver Screen King of the Jungle"[introduction/studio interest in Tarzan/developing the story/casting Tarzan/casting Jane/production begins/Tarzan and His Mate/the Tarzan yell/Cheeta/backlot zoo/Tarzan escapes/Tarzan Finds a Son!/Tarzan's Secret Treasure/Tarzan's New York Adventure/final thoughts/End Credits ~ plus vintage vault treasures featuring Jimmy Durante as "Schnarzan the Conqueror"!!(from Hollywood Party) and a real treasure with MGM on location featuring Johnny Weissmuller, Tom Mix, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper featured in "Rodeo Dough" with Kokomo the Bull ~ all 6 Weissmuller/O'Sullivan Tarzan theatrical trailers.

After years of taping these off the local television stations and then when AMC ran the segments a few years ago with fairly good prints, I'd given up of ever seeing the Tarzan films on DVD ~ but here they are in a beautifully packaged box set on four discs ~
"TARZAN THE APE MAN" (1932) featuring Weissmuller, O'Sullivan, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith and directed by W.S. Van Dyke.
"TARZAN AND HIS MATE" (1934) with Weissmuller, O'Sullivan, Neil Hamilton, Paul Cavanaugh and directed by Bernard H. Hyman (this is my favorite Tarzan film - story and action sequences were way ahead of their time)
"TARZAN ESCAPES" (1936) with Weissmuller, O'Sullivan, John Buckler, Benita Hume, William Henry and directed by Richard Thorpe.
"TARZAN FINDS A SON" (1939) with Weissmuller, O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, Ian Hunter, Henry Stephenson, Henry Wilcoxon, Laraine Day and directed by Richard Thorpe (one of the best in the early series)
"TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE" (1941) with Weissmuller, O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, Reginald Owen, Tom Conway, Philip Dorn, Barry Fitzgerald (one of my favorite Irish Actors - with Bing Crosby and later with John Wayne) and directed by Richard Thorpe.
"TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE" (1942) with Weissmuller, O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, Charles Bickford, Chill Wills (Francis the Talking Mule fame), Paul Kelly, Virginia Grey and directed by Richard Thorpe(which Tarzan and the rest of the cast are completely clothed in a civilized world of crooks, trying to take Boy away from Jane and Tarzan) all under the watchful eye of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Hopefully Warner Brothers will release the next group of Weissmuller films he did for RKO Studios ~ the same quality and special features for those six films would be a welcome addition ~ just think a new generation of fans are on the brink of discovering the true Lord of the Jungle ~ TARZAN(in the guise of Johnny Weissmuller)...gotta love it!

Total Time: 4-DVD-Set ~ Warner Home Video 65995 ~ (6/08/2004)

Who can forget Johnny Weissmuller's immortal yodel as the vine swinging he-man gleaned from the pages of Edgar Rice Boroughs? All six of the original Tarzan films are included in this collection. Each represents a variation on Boroughs' intriguing novel about a human baby that is raised by animals in the deep dark jungles after its parents have been killed. The baby grows up to be a man, but the man is void of all human instinct and intellect. Thus, when Tarzan reaches adulthood and stumbles across the shapely figure of Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) he is moved to visceral prowess by his own curiosity. It's really quite an erotic concept that takes the old premise of love with a stranger to even `stranger' heights. Jane is at first attracted to Tarzan as a fascinating specimen of study - to learn from and teach in the ways of human history. But as the series progresses she grows from genuine infatuation to romantic love for her bo-hunk of the boondocks and develops an affinity for the "really" simple life of loin cloths, wooden tree huts and chimpanzees. The first four films (Tarzan the Ape Man, Tarzan and his Mate, Tarzan Escapes and Tarzan Finds A Son) are of a cinematic perfection in exploring the exotic romance and adventure between these two characters. But the final two installments ("Tarzan's Secret Treasure" and "Tarzan's New York Adventure") are idiotic derivatives of the formula in which the series not only shows its age but glaringly misrepresents the original vision of Boroughs' novel.

THE TRANSFER: There's little to celebrate in this DVD collector's edition. Most of the films in the series suffer from a barrage of age related artifacts that create a very grainy, harsh visual presentation. The diminished picture quality improves moderately between each subsequent installment in the series. The gray scale seems poorly rendered and balanced on "Tarzan and his Mate" - much more so than on any of the other films in the series. The image suffers from lower contrast levels and a decided loss of fine detail in many of the scenes. There's also considerable shimmering in the background information, as though everything were shot on a matte process screen. Edge enhancement and way too much pixelization are present throughout most of these films as well as a hideous example of misregistration on Tarzan Finds A Son. For the rest of the batch - the balance and contrast is considerably better off. Ditto for the age related artifacts. In all cases the audio is mono and nicely balanced, though the critical ear will detect hiss and popping present in "Tarzan the Ape Man" and "Tarzan and his Mate". The movies are spread across four discs.

EXTRAS: There's a fantastic feature length documentary on the Tarzan phenomenon that is both comprehensive and compelling as well as some vintage short subjects. It is indeed a pity that no one thought to have an audio commentary track included for at least the first film in the series.

BOTTOM LINE: Though the MGM films take certain artistic liberties with Borough's original text, they remain the benchmark of cinematic Tarzan. The transfers, however, are below par.

Umgawa! This DVD boxed set is great! Love these classic old movies. Tarzan was to the 1930s what James Bond was to the 1960s -- a cultural phenomenon. Sure these movies are preposterous and even silly -- an African Never-Never Land, but they're still splendid entertainment. 1934's "Tarzan and His Mate" is one of the greatest fantasy/adventure films of all time. Johnny Weissmuller is still an icon. I've owned all six of these movies before on VHS and laserdisc, and they look best here on DVD. The early '30s pictures aren't in as pristine a shape as the later ones from 1939 to 1942, but they still look damn good for their age. The documentary on disc six is an excellent one as well, and the packaging is some of the best ever done for a classic film series on DVD. A nice big banana to Warner Home Video for this one!

The bonus disc includes....Silver Screen: King of the Jungle, an all-new feature length documentary about Tarzan on screen, featuring interviews with Maureen O'Sullivan and Johnny Weissmuller, Jr., as well as several noted film historians and "Tarzan experts."Vintage vault treasure: Jimmy Durante as Schnarzan the Conqueror (from Hollywood Party)Two shorts featuring Johnny Weissmuller 1. (The filming of "Tarzan Finds a Son!") 2. Rough DoughTheatrical trailers of all six Weissmuller/O'Sullivan films

This product is exactly what it states it is. The movies are the original classics, from start to finish. The film picture and sound quality is at least, if not better, than when the movies played on TV. The movies are very watchable. I found them very entertaining. These movies were made between 1932 and 1942 and are still timeless. The bonus features are very informative and add to the value of the package. I am very pleased with this collection. I guess because of size differences, the 2nd movie is on the 2nd dvd. I suggest watching the movies in the original order. First is Tarzan the Ape Man. Then skip Tarzan Escapes and put in the 2nd dvd. Watch Tarzan and His Mate. Then go back to the 1st dvd and watch Tarzan Escapes. The others are in proper order. Enjoy, I know I sure did!

It's a delight to have these great flicks on dvd.
I watched Tarzan as a kid and can wait to see it again.
Cheeta in Tarzan's New York Adventure gives an oscar worth performance. Maureen O'Sullivan is just a darling.
And Weissmuller gives a mix of power and inocence to the part ,that makes him the best Tarzan ever by far.
By the way, the guy who gave an star to this great package in his review, is the same guy who hates The Simpsons and thinks that The Matrix Revolutions is the best movie ever made... nuff said.

What a great year it is for collecting box sets of your favorite
vintage movies Abbott & Costello,The Marx bros,The Airport series
and now it's Tarzan's turn. Edgar Rice Burroughs brainchild and mgm
favorite jungle swinger are finally on disc. Johnny Weissmuller is
the fan favorite for wearing the loin cloth and good enough to play
in twelve Tarzan films, this box features the first six in order.
and that's Tarzan the apeman, Tarzan and his mate, Tarzan escapes
Tarzan finds a son,Tarzan's secret treasure and Tarzan's New York adventure.

To start off with the box features the original art from the movie
poster which is always a plus with collectors and by theory if the
set contains four disc then that's two films per disc leaving the 4th
for extra suppliments like trailers and such. I know I'm speaking
ahead of time and out of place but I love it when stuff like this
comes out.

Without a doubt, Johnny Weissmuller's interpretation of Tarzan is the best of all! An excellent swimmer, Johnny Weissmuller makes the swimming scenes seem effortless and believable. Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane provides elegance, as a gentle yet brave and courageous woman, who falls in love with a man, king of the jungle, and yet completely unaware of civilization. The house Tarzan builds for her is a marvel of progress, with the latest technological advancements... in a rudimentary... simple... basic construction. When Edgar Rice Burroughs created Tarzan he played on our survival instincts, and surfaced the innate fears of confronting savage beasts, and yet, the fantasy that we can become friends with all jungle creatures.

Tarzan and His Mate
- Simply best in class. It explores how life should have been for Adam & Eve... in love, living in paradise, respecting nature, and living in complete harmony with the environment. Not spoiling and accepting the simple things offered by our planet Earth.


Tarzan Escapes
- From civilization, Jane's cousins visit the Mutia Escarpment, only to realize that she has found true love, family, and home in Africa. The marvel of the home created by Tarzan is highlighted, with the elephant-powered elevator becoming a fascinating process to watch.

Tarzan Finds a Son!
- Here we meet a new addition to the family, played by Johnny Sheffield as Boy. Both Tarzan and Jane now have a play pal, and he does a magnificent job at allowing the audience to see how we can grow up in this environment and learn survival skills that keep him active, healthy, and self-assured. Great for a younger audience, adding fun and adventure to this wonderful set.

Tarzan's New York Adventure
One of the best scenes ever filmed is when Johnny Weissmuller dives off the Washington bridge, and makes it all look possible, doable... and easy. What precision! This movie is fun and Cheetah provides many a laugh. The struggle between good and evil are played to perfection in this series, where those in search for profit and wealth, are always trying to take advantage of the many natural treasures that surround Tarzan's simple life, and it is rewarding to see how the hero never gives in to avarice, defending and maintaining his world in its natural state.

We loved the set... and when we visit the zoo... or go to the Circus... we find ourselves looking at elephants and monkeys and saying... "Simba... ungawa!" "Simba... ungawa!" Would highly recommend acquiring this set.