The Tarzan Collection Starring Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan the Ape Man / Escapes / and His Mate / Finds a Son / Secret Treasure / New York Adventure)
List Price:
Our Price: $38.99
You Save: $20.93 (35%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $29.40 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Johnny WeissmullerBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Box set, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 527 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-08
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 65995
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- TARZAN THE APE MAN TARZAN AND HIS MATE TARZAN ESCAPES TARZAN FINDS A SON! TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE-Johnny Weissmuler. Maureen O'Sullivan. He Tarzan, she Jane - the most memorable pair ever to portray Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle hero and heroine. All 6 of the stars' vine-swinging teamings are in this 3-disc set. The Lord of the Apes swoops Jane Parker into his life in t
Movie Reviews of The Tarzan Collection Starring Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan the Ape Man / Escapes / and His Mate / Finds a Son / Secret Treasure / New York Adventure)
Movie Review: Even Girls Can Like Tarzan!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Tarzan series is iconic, and Johnny Weissmuller's characterization is perfect. His films alongside the beautiful and delicate Maureen O'Sullivan are the best of his career and comprise some of the most entertaining jungle movies ever made. Here they are in clear, clean prints with an excellent documentary to accompany the series.
Tarzan the Ape Man is the first film of the series. The story is quite familiar now, so although everyone knows what will happen in the film, it is quite entertaining. Girl goes along with her father on a trek to find the famed elephant graveyard and stumbles upon a man who lives in the wild like an ape. The two are oddly attracted to each other. Weissmuller is not an incredibly attractive man although he is Olympically trained and very fit. He has incredible chemistry with the baby-faced O'Sullivan; all of their scenes are sexually charged which makes this film really good. The story is primally sexual but incredibly romantic at the same time. This film was shot with soft lighting which only accentuates the beauty of the wild. Some footage of real natives was used and real animals were filmed for many of the scenes. This film looks realistic which only draws its audience in more.
Tarzan and His Mate is a typical installment, but perhaps the best. Jane's former beau travels to the jungle with a new entourage in hopes of rediscovering the elephant graveyard and perhaps the lovely Jane. He finds her indeed as well as her new "husband" Tarzan. He also finds plenty of action; trouble with natives, animals, and later, with Tarzan. This film shocked the censors of later years with its sexual content. Although it is bluntly stated that Jane and Tarzan consider themselves to be married, the scene where he whisks a glamoured-up Jane into the trees for a night of passion still raises eyebrows. On top of the provocative dialogue, there are scantily clad and topless natives, a scene where a man undresses completely, and an underwater nude scene. O'Sullivan did not do this scene; a body double did, but we still get an eye-full of the beautiful star due to her loose loincloth. She is coy, smart, and helpless as Jane. Weissmuller is heroic, simple, and strong; he leaps through the trees with the ease of silent movie star Douglas Fairbanks. His character is a bit wooden, but he shows range even with scarce lines at the end of the film when he is reunited with Jane. The action scenes are frequent but the use of blue screens and mannequins make them less thrilling. The disregard for the lives of the natives is somewhat disturbing, but a common theme in these films.
Tarzan Escapes begins with two of Jane's cousins entering the jungle to bring Jane back to civilization so they can inherit money left to her. When they find her, they see that life in the jungle is not as savage and horrible as they expected; the treehouse is very advanced in this film. There is hot and cold running water, a fireplace for cooking meat, and other luxuries. However, Jane agrees to help her family by returning despite how upset Tarzan becomes when he hears this news. He also begins to hate the tour guide with just reason; he plans to trap Tarzan and turn him into a freak for a circus show. This film is much more structured and commercialized than the previous two Tarzan films. The scenery is breath-takingly photographed although the studio took the easy way out in using stock film from the other Tarzan pictures for this one. O'Sullivan's costume is much more censored than in previous films. Weismuller is more developed in this film than in the first two; he has more screen time and more ability to show emotion which he does very well. For the first time, we really get a sense of Tarzan's personality and his love for Jane.
Because of the rules governing film-making, and since Tarzan and Jane weren't legally married, Tarzan had to find a son; he couldn't have one of his own. Thus begins the fourth film. A father, mother, and their baby son are flying to Cape Town when the air becomes choppy and the plane crashes. The baby is the only one to survive. He finds his way to Tarzan who adopts him as his own. As he grows up, Tarzan teaches him how to survive in the jungle. The family becomes very close until five years later when a safari expedition comes looking for the wreckage and to confirm that there were no survivors. When they find that "Boy" (John Sheffield) is alive, they hope to bring him back to claim his inheritance. Tarzan is against it, but Jane believes it might be best for him. This film never really picks up speed. The relationship between parents and son is never really developed enough to draw emotion when he is threatened to be taken away. Also, the effort put into the film is mediocre. The quality of photography had increased since the making of the first two Tarzan films, but this film utilizes some of that stock footage. It is glaringly obvious. Also, many of the scenes were done with doubles and with rear projection. Even a simple scene like the underwater swimming scene is obviously filmed in a tank inside the studio with rear projection. One of the bright spots of the first Tarzan movie was that most of the footage was authentic and displayed how gorgeous the jungles of Africa could be. The lack of similar quality in this film makes it less notable and exciting to watch.
Another fun romp with Tarzan, Jane, and Boy, Tarzan's Secret Treasure repeats many of the same things from previous films. While out swimming one day, Boy finds some gold nuggets at the bottom of the lake. Jane points out to him that they would be worth a lot to the outside world, and that the family has many riches easily available to them that would be the envy of civilization. Boy is fascinated, and although he is warned he would not like it, he runs away in hopes of finding civilization and buying an airplane with his gold nuggets. On the way, he stumbles upon a sick tribe and some scientists. Through them, he gets into a lot of trouble as the scientists ruthlessly attempt to find the gold. There are many things about this film which seem a bit tired if one watches all of the Tarzan films in a row. Once again, the studio uses stock footage from a previous film, especially in the action scenes. It is quite noticable because of the advancements in film technology and in the change in appearance of the actors. Still, the interactions between the characters make these lapses in quality bearable.
The gang is living peacefully in the jungle when one day, an airplane lands nearby. Several hunters emerge in hopes of trapping wild animals, especially lions. Tarzan knows the danger of these men, so he warns them to leave, but Boy is curious about their airplane, and tries to befriend them. Seeing that they can use his repore with animals to their advantage, the hunters kidnap him and take him to New York to perform in a traveling circus. Tarzan will have none of their nonsense, regardless of the barriers between the jungle and the city. He and Jane venture to New York to find their son. One would think that Tarzan in the city would make for a great film, but we have more camp than classic here. This is not unusual for a film in the series at this period in time; ever since Boy was introduced, the series took on a more entertainment for entertainment's sake kind of a feel. It is relieving though that Tarzan and Jane did not choose to stay in the city. The couple does not quite gel in the new setting; there is a same discomfort in the book series when Tarzan enters civilization. There is one racially sensitive scene where Cheetah dials the telephone and reaches a black janitor at a nightclub. The janitor calls Cheetah "colored boy" and becomes offended by his "double talk," suggesting that black people are the same as chimps. The scene is supposed to be funny, but it is a product of its time and does not age well at all.
Finally, this collection features several bonus features that are quite entertaining. One is a newsreel short about the filming of one of the films. We see the directors setting up a shot with an elephant, we see Weissmuller waiting around, and we see the rubber crocodiles that were used in the movies. There is a film short with Weissmuller in a short cameo role. Also included are the trailers for the films in the collection. The most exciting special feature is the documentary about the series. It focuses not only on the films, but on the book series as well. Instead of quickly glancing at the movie making process, it delves deeply into the problems with making a series and the previous attempts. It features interviews with cast members and families of the cast and of author Burroughs. Its length and detail could make it tedious to a casual fan, but those with deep interest will adore it.
More The Tarzan Collection Starring Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan the Ape Man / Escapes / and His Mate / Finds a Son / Secret Treasure / New York Adventure) reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Summary of The Tarzan Collection Starring Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan the Ape Man / Escapes / and His Mate / Finds a Son / Secret Treasure / New York Adventure)
TARZAN COLLECTION STARRING JONNY WEIS - DVD MovieSimilar DVD Movies
Tarzan And The Valley Of Gold (1965)Warner; Release date: 2010-07-07; DVD
Best price: $14.66
Price in other shops:
The Tarzan Collection Starring Gordon Scott (Tarzan's Hidden Jungle / Tarzan and the Lost Safari / Tarzan and the Trappers / Tarzan's Fight for Life / Tarzan's Greatest Adventure / Tarzan the Magnificent)DVD
Best price: $44.31
Price in other shops:
Tarzan V.1Echo; Release date: 2003-02-12; DVD
Best price: $0.87
Price in other shops:
The Black SwanFox; Release date: 2006-07-11; DVD
Best price: $7.16
Price in other shops:
The Tarzan Collection Starring Lex Barker (Tarzan's Magic Fountain / Tarzan and the Slave Girl / Tarzan's Peril / Tarzan's Savage Fury / Tarzan and the She-Devil)DVD
Best price: $36.75
Price in other shops:
Greystoke - The Legend of TarzanWarner Brothers; Release date: 2004-06-08; Published: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $6.75
Price in other shops:
Tarzan (Tarzan and the Trappers / Tarzan the Fearless / Tarzan of the Apes / Tarzan and the Green Goddess / Tarzan's Revenge)Echo; Release date: 2004-02-24; DVD
Best price: $3.82
Price in other shops:
The Tarzan Collection Starring Johnny Weissmuller: Volume Two (Tarzan Triumphs / Tarzan's Desert Mystery / Tarzan and the Amazons / and the Leopard Woman / and the Huntress / and the Mermaids)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-10-31; DVD
Best price: $28.57
Price in other shops:
TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Tarzan, Vol. 2 (Tarzan's Secret Treasure / Tarzan and the Amazons / Tarzan's New York Adventure / Tarzan and the Leopard Woman)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2011-04-05; DVD
Best price: $16.03
Price in other shops:
TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Tarzan - Volume One (Tarzan the Ape Man / Tarzan Escapes / Tarzan Finds a Son! / Tarzan and His Mate)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2011-04-05; DVD
Best price: $11.09
Price in other shops: