Reviews of silent film releases on home video. Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett and the Silent Era Company. All Rights Reserved.

The Adventures of Tarzan (1921)

The early Tarzan serial, directed by Robert F. Hill, stars Elmo Lincoln and Louise Lorraine, with support from Scott Pembroke, Frank Whitson, Zip Monberg, Lillian Worth, Charles Gay and Charles Inslee.

The serial has only survived in abridged prints that were reedited to create a feature film version from the extensive footage.

This Blu-ray Disc collection has been mastered at high-resolution from a very-good 16mm reduction print from 2009. The natural-speed scan is pretty good but the print itself is historically incomplete, surviving only in an abridged rerelease version. This version is not as lengthy as the edition released by The Serial Squadron noted below and therefore is structurally somewhat disjointed and abrupt at times. The greyscale range of the source material is reasonably broad with a few plugged-up shadows but with controlled highlight detail throughout. The frame jitters are there but are not distracting; still, digital picture stabilization could be have been done. It does appear that digital clean-up has been performed as there is nearly no dust, speckling or other print flaws left in the image.

The film is accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting music sources. As in most cases where this is done, the music rarely fits the mood and action of the story. The varying quality of the recordings, some mildly distorted, and the Frankenstinian editing make enjoyment of the film difficult if not impossible.

Supplementary material includes audio commentary for The Adventures of Tarzan and The New Adventures of Tarzan by Ed Hulse; a featurette on the career of Herman Brix (Bruce Bennett) including a vintage video interview (28 minutes); a featurette on early Tarzan films with C. Courtney Joyner, Richard Heft and Bruce Scivally by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures (20 minutes); a featurette on Tarzan comic books with Donald Glut by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures (11 minutes); and an insert booklet with essays. it is of note that some Tarzan fans are dissatisfied with some of the misinformation in the audio commentaries. The commentary is not synched to the film’s action, with a shot appearing on-screen and a verbal reference to it appearing later.

Not a great presentation but this is the best home video edition of the films that we are aware of. It must be said that this film has not looked this clear on home video before. This edition is recommended but the soundtrack is a major detriment.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

The films are accompanied by soundtracks compiled from preexisting music sources.

Supplementary material includes audio commentary for The Adventures of Tarzan and The New Adventures of Tarzan by Ed Hulse; a featurette on the career of Herman Brix (Bruce Bennett) including a vintage video interview (28 minutes); a featurette on early Tarzan films with C. Courtney Joyner, Richard Heft and Bruce Scivally by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures (20 minutes); a featurette on Tarzan comic books with Donald Glut by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures (11 minutes); and an insert booklet with essays. it is of note that some Tarzan fans are dissatisfied with some of the misinformation in the audio commentaries.

Not a great presentation but this is the best-looking DVD home video edition of the films that we are aware of.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

This well-produced DVD-R edition, which has been mastered from a good surviving 16mm reduction print, features a very-good full-frame video transfer at a natural-speed pace, with new video-based intertitles.

The Squadron producers have edited a 20-minute prologue for the serial from a good 16mm reduction print of the earlier feature film Tarzan of the Apes (1918) for this home video presentation.

The presentation is accompanied by a stereo music score of African instruments and flute by Roderick Jackson, with well-synchronized sound effects.

The disc also features scenes deleted from the 1928 10-episode rerelease of the serial, and a photo gallery (24 images, with details) which runs under a radio interview with Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs (5 minutes).

Despite its DVD-R manufacture, these discs have been produced at a professional, commercial-grade level. Silent film enthusiasts will make these discs a welcome addition to their collections.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .

The film is accompanied by a music score performed by David Knudtson.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .

The disc had no navigation menu, chapter stops or package artwork and was sold in a clear clamshell case.

NOSTALGIA FAMILY VIDEO has discontinued business and this DVD-R edition is . . .

Other SERIAL FILMS of the silent era available on home video.