Tarzan Revisited

Released by: Umbrella Entertainment
Release date: March 1, 2018
Directed by: Robert De Young
Cast: Christopher Lambert, Casper Van Dien, Ron Ely, Lydie Denier, Scott Tracy Griffin, Hugh Hudson, Wolf Larson, David Yates
Year: 2017
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The Movie:

Born in Chicago in September of 1875, Edgar Rice Burroughs drifted through a number of schools and occupations in his youth, including joining the military. His many and varied experiences throughout the United States of the late 19th and early 20th centuries served him well when he finally turned to writing. In 1912, his first story, “Under the Moons of Mars,” became serialized in the magazine The All-Story. It became the first in the Barsoom series and was later published in book form, along with other parts of the serial, as A Princess of Mars, though not before Burroughs published his first Tarzan novel.

Burroughs' first dive into the forbidden jungles of Africa, Tarzan of the Apes, was published in October of 1912, a mere three months after “Under the Moons of Mars” had concluded its initial run. Little did anyone realize what a hit Tarzan of the Apes would be with the reading public. The book involved one John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke, who, as a baby, was marooned along the western coast of “darkest Africa” with his parents. His mother died shortly after his birth, while his father was killed by a Great Ape of the Mangani Tribe. Adopted into the tribe, Tarzan is raised as an ape, though he teaches himself to read from the children's books in his late parents' encampment. The name Tarzan, then, is Clayton's ape name (meaning “white skin”) given him by his tribe.

Tarzan makes the jungle his own, but as he grows into adulthood, his world is rocked by a chance meeting with the beautiful Jane Porter, who, along with her family, have become stranded in Africa. When she returns to America, Tarzan follows her, and eventually the two marry and have a son, Korak. They also eventually become tired of human ways and return to the jungle. (Note: These incidents happen over multiple novels.)

Tarzan of the Apes was an instant success, and Burroughs followed it up with innumerable books centered on its titular character. As the series went on, it became more outlandish and was given more of a science fiction bent. Burroughs even found ways to work his most famous creation into stories built around other characters he had created, including John Carter of Mars and David Innes of Pellucidar. More importantly, Burroughs understood the increasing popularity of film and radio. The first film adaptation of Tarzan of the Apes came four years after the book's original publication and starred Elmo Lincoln as Tarzan. Like the book, it proved a resounding success, and the character carried over into the sound era. But it wasn't until MGM purchased the rights to the character that Tarzan cinema as we know it today was born.

Tarzan Revisited is the story not only of Tarzan's literary birth and ascendancy, but also of his transition to the big screen. It traces his centuries-long career path, as a lion-fighting muscleman of the silent era to the lean, defined, and refined romantic English lord of The Legend of Tarzan (1916). Along the way, documentarian Robert De Young offers up plenty of film clips, movie posters, and interview snippets to provide an all-too-brief and cursory look at one of literature's most enduring creations. It's unlikely that there will be anything new here for Tarzan fans to find, but for novices in the ways of the jungle, its an entertaining journey that hits all the expected highs.

Among the interviews are many of the actors who played Tarzan, each assigned a number based on which Tarzan in cinematic history he played: Johnny Weissmuller (6), Denny Miller (12), Ron Ely (15), Christopher Lambert (18), Casper Van Dien (20), and Wolf Larson (22). (Weismuller's snippets come from archival interviews.) Janes Maureen O'Sullivan (archival) and Lydie Denier are also interviewed, as are directors David Yates and Hugh Hudson, comic artist Thomas Yeates, publisher Mike Richardson (Dark Horse Comics), and Burroughs' estate representative, Jim Sullos. The rest of the subjects are an assortment of historians, listed as follows: cultural critic Marianna Torgovnick, literary historian Alex Vernon, Tarzan historian Scott Tracy Griffin, film historian Gabe Essoe, historian Virginie Rey, and academic Barbara Creed. These interviews comprise the backbone of the documentary, and without them it would have been much drier. Regardless, the whole affair comes across as something that should have been included as an extra on a larger release, either as part of a Tarzan DVD box set or as part of a Blu-ray release of The Legend of Tarzan.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Umbrella Entertainment brings Tarzan Revisited to standard-definition DVD in the NTSC format in anamorphic widescreen. Because many Tarzan films were shot full frame, Umbrella has replaced the black sidebars that would normally accompany a full-frame feature with an artist's rendition of black-and-white jungle foliage. Given the number of Tarzan films and the disparities in prints, transfers, and owners, one would expect there to be major inconsistencies in the video quality. That does not prove to be the case, however. Most of the films were released by MGM or Warner, and these companies have taken care to preserve and restore them over the years. The only films to suffer a sub-DVD look are the silent features and a couple of early sound features that are in the public domain today. Some of the footage from the various MGM and RKO releases is a little soft, but overall the program looks surprisingly sharp. In addition, while most of the interviews were shot recently and in high definition, there are a couple of archival interviews—Johnny Weismuller, Maureen O'Sullivan—that were shot on low-grade video many years ago. These archival interviews are of varying quality, but the newly shot interviews look fantastic. Colors are rich and stable, and there's a nice level of detail despite the standard-definition format.

Umbrella has opted for an English Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Again, there's a large number of films from which snippets have been culled, and these make up about two-thirds of the film. Yet, despite that, voices are clear and discernible. Older films are slightly more muffled than newer ones, but the mix is appropriate, and conversations take precedence over music and sound effects.

Unfortunately, there are no extras. (A Tarzan trailer reel would have been perfect.)

The Final Word:

Tarzan Revisited is a pleasant time-filler for people who know little about the basic history of Tarzan and his many cinematic appearances. Interviews are educational and often entertaining, and film clips help speed along an already short running time. The image looks good and the sound is sans problems. Unfortunately, the documentary is far from definitive, and the lack of extras is a detriment.

Christopher Workman is a freelance writer, film critic, and co-author (with Troy Howarth) of the Tome of Terror horror film review series. Horror Films of the Silent Era and Horror Films of the 1930s are currently available, with Horror Films of the 1940s due out in 2018.