Tarzan The Vault Collection (1918-1935) {The Film Detective Blu-ray Review}

Edgar Rice Burroughs first penned the adventures of his iconic character Tarzan of the Apes in a  serialization in the pulp magazine in 1912. Than this serialized story was released in novel form in June 1914.

It was just a few short years after this initial debut that the iconic character would make it to the silver screen. Now the great folks at The Film Detective have released the early films of The Tarzan mythos on Blu-ray. Let's take a look at what is included.


Our Rating System:
****=Don’t Miss it!
***=Worth a look.
**=An OK way to spend an evening.
*=You haven’t missed anything.

Tarzan of the Apes (1918) Tarzan (Elmo Lincoln) the orphaned heir of the Greystokes is raised by a childless ape to becomes one of them. When Dr. Porter organizes a rescue expedition, his beautiful daughter Jane catches Tarzan's attention. **

The Adventures of Tarzan (1921) When Jane is kidnapped by slave traders, Tarzan (Elmo Lincoln) swings into action to rescue her. Than she is kidnapped yet again by Queen La of Opar. **

The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935) Tarzan (Herman Brix aka Bruce Bennet, The Alligator People), who has returned to Africa after living in England. Now he sets off to Guatemala to rescue an old friend who's plane has crashed. On the way he helps Major Martling search Mayan ruins for hidden jewels and an idol containing the formula for a powerful explosive. **

Elmo Lincoln starred in the first two silent films. And while he looks good as are jungle here,  honestly I think Tarzan was made for sound cinema. There is something special about hearing that Tarzan yell. Just to see him yell without actually hearing it. 

All three of these Tarzan features are spread across a 3-disc region-free Blu-ray set. The first two silent films are on the first disc and the New Adventures of Tarzan 12 part serials is spread across disc two and three.

These features are sourced from original 35mm archival elements. They are presented in 1080p HD in the original 1.37:1 full screen aspect ratio. The audio is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Now the first two films being silent you only have to worry about the orchestral soundtrack. The third film serial being a "talkie" is the one to talk about. There is also optional English subtitles. 

Now these new transfers look pretty nice for films that are over 100 years old. It is hard to believe two of these films are a century old. There are obviously some wear and tear on these films. But they look and sound better than I expected.

Now The Film Detective always goes above and beyond with their Blu-ray releases. This Tarzan Blu-ray is no different. Take a look at the bonus features in this deluxe Blu-ray set.

* Full-color 26-page booklet insert includes three original essays by authors Don Stradley (The Many battles of Elmo Lincoln and The New Adventures of Tarzan: Cursed from the Start?) and Jennifer Churchill (Silent Tarzan The complicated legacy of Hollywood's first King of the Jungle)

* Original featurette, Drawn to the Jungle: The Early History of Tarzan in Comics, by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures (11 min)

* Full-length commentary track for The Adventures of Tarzan and The New Adventures of Tarzan by award-winning journalist/historian, Ed Hulse

* Original feature production, Swinging into Action: The Early Adventures of Tarzan on Film by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures (20 min) 

* Law of the Jungle: The Cinematic Adventures of Herman Brix, a preserved interview with the film star, aka Bruce Bennett (28 min) 

From the extremely interesting essays by Jenifer Churchill and Don Stradley to the always great Ballyhoo featurettes. The insightful audio commentaries by Ed Hulse to the Law of the Jungle feature, there is a lot of love put into this Blu-ray set. You can really tell that to the contributors Tarzan holds a special place in their hearts. 

Now admittedly this Blu-ray set is not going to be for everyone. The silent films can be hard to watch for people in this generation. But The New Adventures of Tarzan is an serial classic adventure film fans are going to get a lot of entertainment from. But the bonus features are where this set truly shines.

If you are a cinephile or a fan of Tarzan This new Blu-ray set from The Film Detective will be a welcomed addition to your film library. Head over to Amazon and order your copy today.

Out of 4 film reels (4 being the best) The Film Detective Blu-ray release of Tarzan The Vault Collection receives...