Customer Reviews

Tarzan of Apes [VHS]

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

 

 

The fact that this film was made in 1918 and is silent doesn't matter a bit. It's actually more faithful to Edgar Rice Burroughs' fictional jungle hero than the Tarzans that followed. Elmo Lincoln strikes an impressive figure, looking very much like the way Frank Frazetta's later illustrations depict the character. Lincoln, who did all of his own stunts in this film, was the only actor to play Tarzan who actually killed a lion when the animal unexpectedly attacked him while filming a scene. The actor stayed in character by putting one foot on the lion's carcass and letting out a triumphant cry, and this amazing scene remains in the film.

Alpha's DVD is the most complete version available and the quality, which can be hit or miss with Alpha, is consistently very good throughout - definitely the best you're apt to see on this title. If you're a Tarzan and silent movie buff this is a must-have disc, plain and simple.

I have this on DVD and it's a cracker. I can't understand the criticism of Elmo Lincoln. Some of the comments made border on the ludicrous. Him one big feller and looks like the very sort of guy to survive in the jungle! Perhaps viewers are getting too used to the current fad for 'Tarzan - Male Model'! (Did y'see the last 'TV' one? - aaargh!) My copy has an incredible soundtrack which uses extracts from old 78 records, which has been put together with such care an effectiveness that there should have been an award. A joy from beginning to end, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

1918's "Tarzan of the Apes" is certainly a novelty, the first full-length feature appearance of Edgar Rice Burroughs' legendary creation, and it's easy to laugh at the far-fetched ape costumes, exaggerated acting style of the era, and melodramatic plotline...but if you give the film a chance, you will discover a treasure, a production remarkably faithful to it's literary source, and quite well-made!

The film follows the book's early concepts fairly closely, as Lord and Lady Greystoke, unwilling castaways on the African coast (with Louisiana bayou country substituting for jungle), die, tragically, with their orphaned baby son raised by a female ape who had lost her own infant. The child actor portraying the young Tarzan, Gordon Griffith, is astonishing, nude for most of his performance, but very relaxed and believable. While barrel-chested, lantern-jawed Elmo Lincoln, 29, portraying the adult Tarzan, lacks Griffith's grace (the actor originally cast as the adult Tarzan, Stellan Windrow, was more slim and athletic, but was called into WWI military service, after filming some vine-swinging scenes, which were used in the film), he had a magnetism that was unmistakable, and commands the screen. His 'Jane', 24-year old film veteran Enid Markey, doesn't 'work' nearly as well, mimicking the eye-rolling innocence of the era's premier actresses, the Gish sisters. Traveling through the jungle with her scientist father (Thomas Jefferson...yes, that IS the actor's name!), she and Tarzan connect, and she gradually falls in love, despite her father's fears, an erstwhile suitor's evil manipulations, the pair's different lifestyles, dangerous jungle beasts (including a lion killed during filming), and unfriendly tribes.

While much of this may sound familiar (especially to fans of the first Johnny Weissmuller film), there is a freshness and simplicity to the 1918 production that later 'Tarzan' films couldn't recapture, despite bigger budgets and slicker production values. The film is a joy, and certainly worth owning!

This version of Tarzan was filmed in and around my hometown of Morgan City, LA and that is how I initially became interested in it. I have to admit that using the swamps of South Louisiana is NOT an accurate representation of a jungle, but it suits the film. Actually there are a lot of elements to this version of the film that may seem "odd" or "unusual," but that is one of its main beauties. Instead, there is an awesome story-line that follows the book quite well (better than any other version I am told.) Indeed, the movie is crude (it was made almost 70 years before I was even born!) but the strong story-line appears more fluid and noticeable because of this. If you are a purist or an afficianado, you would do well to see this classic! For the rest of us, however, there are other versions that offer more "Hollywood sheen." But, of course for the purists, you cannot pass up the chance to see the book "come to life!"

I've always enjoyed Tarzan and his infinite incarnations, but this silent work has made me an official Tarzan fan. It's current running time doesn't really allow for the whole story to be told and it leaves you wanting more. Some have complained about Elmo Lincoln not having the physical appearance of Tarzan, but I COMPLETELY disagree. It's nice to see a great, expressive actor like Elmo looking like an unkempt linebacker instead of the endless thin, clean looking Tarzans we would see in the years to come. Although the entire cast is made up of excellent actors, the real shining star of this film is Gordon Griffith as young Tarzan. The stunts are great and the film is action packed. The sets and location filming in Louisiana make an excellent substitute for the jungles of Africa and the mixture of real animals with costumed ones is used well, even if one or two of the ape costumes look a bit ridiculous. If you're not sure about whether Tarzan films are for you, then this is a great place to start because of 'Tarzan Of The Apes' being the first film adaptation, it's short running time and the fact that you can get it for $5-10. I do agree with some reviewers that a few parts of the film are badly transferred, but to me that adds to the charm of this movie and definitely doesn't distract from the film or it's story. My biggest, if only complaint, is the soundtrack. Although the sound effects were nice touches, the actual "music" sounds closer to the background music of a Commodore 64 game as opposed to a score written for a 1918 feature film. If you have any interest in Tarzan, Burroughs or silent film then this needs to be in your collection.

Being an Edgar Rice Burroughs fan, I've always wanted to see the first film version of Tarzan. Who knows when it will come out on DVD (although 20 minutes of this are included as a sort of prologue in the DVD Adventures of Tarzan - Serial). So I bought this tape.

Bad points - a typical Madacy video - blurry picture with a totally inappropriate soundtrack. Since it's a silent picture anyway, I just turned the sound off. Although it's listed here as 73 minutes, the box itself says 63 minutes, and The End actually came up at 60 minutes. The scene(s) in England with a barmaid played by Bessie Toner are missing, for example. The American Film Institute Catalog says that after its Jan 27, 1918 premiere, the film was cut from 10 reels to 8 reels, so maybe 63 minutes is all we have now.

Good points - faithful to many points of Burroughs' novel. Rather than Tarzan implausibly teaching himself reading and writing, the film introduces a sailor who teaches young Tarzan those skills, and then makes his way to England. Unlike the book, the party with Professor and Jane Porter, and the presumed Greystoke heir, is actually looking for the wild Greystoke son.

It was interesting seeing the wildlife in the beginning, clearly filmed on location in Africa, although maybe it was footage taken from some early documentary. I like Gordon Griffith's performance as the boy Tarzan. Elmo Lincoln wasn't bad, even though he's not the type of filmic Tarzan we've become used to. Enid Markey wasn't particularly appealing to me. The film still has the exaggerated pantomines of ealier silent films. The acting in silent films in general got a lot better in the 1920's.

Overall, I thought it was OK for a Tarzan film. Later films had better acting (some of them), and more appealing Jane's, and in recent years gorgeous jungle scenery. But I appreciate that this was the first, and that it stayed so close to Burroughs' story.

About eight years ago I bought a DVD collection from a publc domain company called
Buyer's Gallery out of Canada. They sold their silent Tarzan films in three separate sets each .

The quality of the original sets I bought were quite good but I was hoping that with this one, seeing the packaging was so well produced, that the product inside might be better as well. After the watching the set it did not take long to realize frame per frame "IT'S THE SAME FILMS". It's obvious where it was ripped from.
The same can be said for The Son of Tarzan Series and their Tarzan The Tiger which I also bought and feel cheated on. Identical to my original Buyer's Gallery versions, right down to the flaws and edits.

Needless to say I'm beyond disappointed. But being puiblic domain footage I guess that there's nothing stopping them from taking another company's work.

Maybe someone will come along one day and really do these films justice