Tarzan, the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Tarzan, the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Ebony and ivory.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III January 10, 2024

A unique pre-Code production that's a lot more violent than first-time viewers might expect, W.S. Van Dyke's Tarzan the Ape Man was the first sound-era showing for Edgar Rice Burroughs' most famous character. (Two silent films made in 1918, only six years after the source material was written, have since been lost.) Released to rousing commercial success and helping to pave the way for future classics such as King Kong, Tarzan would spawn more than two dozen sequels produced by MGM and RKO during the next three decades, not to mention later remakes and reboots such as Disney's 1999 version. Keeping all that history and lore in mind, this "original" Tarzan is actually a fairly simple affair that hasn't aged very well in some respects but remains an important slice of Golden Age cinema.

Warner Archive's Blu-ray begins with a non-skippable 30-second disclaimer regarding ethnic, racial, gender, and other stereotypes depicted in this pre-Code film. Though I can't for the life of me figure out where the "gender" one ties in, the other two are immediately apparent when we're dropped into deepest Africa for a perilous expedition by seasoned British explorer James Parker (C. Aubrey Smith) and the much younger Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton), who are seeking a fortune in ivory reportedly buried in an elephant graveyard. They disregard the continent and its people as almost sub-human while happily exploiting its resources... which doesn't exactly make them easy heroes to root for, but a slightly more sympathetic perspective is introduced with the sudden arrival of Jane Parker (Maureen O'Sullivan), James' lovely daughter who surprises him after months of being apart. The trio recruits a group of servants led by dutiful native Riano (Ivory Williams) and promptly set out for the jungle, where untold dangers and riches surely await.

Big cats, dangerous rivers, and steep cliffs are one thing, but perhaps their biggest surprise comes in the form of a mysterious, unidentified cry from perhaps miles away, one that's vaguely human but unlike anything they've heard before. They finally pair it with the warlike cry of a man living with apes, an expert tree-climber and vine-swinger who they'll come to know as "Tarzan" (Johnny Weissmuller, his first of 12 on-screen portrayals of the character). Impossibly athletic and somehow clean-shaven with perfectly coiffed hair -- at least for someone with no access to a razor, comb, or conditioner -- Tarzan's possibly dangerous existence puts the two lead explorers in "shoot first, ask questions later" mode, exacerbated when the ape-man just up and grabs Jane before swinging away. Though understandably shaken, she eventually attempts a conversation with her ruggedly handsome captor and soon finds him to be an untamed but entirely innocent man whose knowledge of the jungle outweighs his lack of recognizable language.

After its relatively efficient setup, the bulk of Tarzan alternates between the exploratory team (dwindling in numbers as most of their servants are picked off) and Jane's growing relationship with the ape-man. It's admittedly a bit slow-going and repetitive at times but decorated with a few fierce showdowns, some involving violent man-versus-beast combat that still holds up decently well despite this transfer's clarity revealing now-obvious seams in the fabric. The show picks up dramatically during Tarzan's final stretch, however, when both sides are reluctantly united against a shared enemy: aggressive native dwarfs who capture our newly-combined heroes and are happy to pelt them with stones and spears while "feeding" them to a bloodthirsty, oversized ape at the bottom of a seemingly inescapable pit.

On the whole, Tarzan remains a very entertaining production supported nicely by its construction, cinematography, atmosphere, and of course the crowd-pleasing performance by Johnny Weissmuller, a former Olympic swimmer and record-holder whose athletic prowess makes the film's action and vine-swinging scenes decently believable. If nothing else, it's a solid enough foundation to build a franchise on, ridiculous as some of its sequels would end up being, but stands on its own just fine. Well deserving of the care and attention Warner Archive typically gives to catalog films, their new Blu-ray is once again a no-brainer for established fans and a solid blind buy for newcomers too.

Tarzan, the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like many films from this era, it's tough to judge Tarzan, the Ape Man due to forgivable but occasionally distracting variances in its source material. Warner Archive's recent restoration was advertised in their press release as a new 4K scan of "preservation elements"; according to a reliable source, this more specifically translates to a fine-grain master positive made by MGM in the 1960s. (Going a bit deeper, the master positive's source was in fact the original nitrate negative, although select portions had to be replaced by a dupe negative due to damage.). Not surprisingly given these specifics, image clarity and fine detail can vary quite a bit, with some moments sporting crisp textures and an overall pleasing appearance while others veer wildly into much softer territory. I've selected what seems to be a fairly accurate cross-section of what this transfer looks like in its most and least impressive moments, but one thing's for sure: even its lesser sections are at least cleanly encoded and a visible amount of film grain is present from start to finish, albeit to varying degrees, and the dual-layered disc's supportive bit rate ensures a relatively smooth viewing experience free from glaring compression-related issues. This may not objectively be Warner Archive's finest-looking presentation of a film from the early sound era, but it's clearly a best-case scenario under the circumstances.

Tarzan, the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix preserves Tarzan's modest one-channel source via a lossless split-channel presentation that gets the job done. Dialogue is clear and intelligible, though the wild and untamed African wilderness (real or simulated) overshadows recognizable human speech during several long stretches. Stray action scenes, such as the man-vs.-beat confrontations and the final leg where our heroes are imprisoned, threaten to strain the high end but Tarzan's limited dynamic range is kept intact thanks to Warner Archive's careful restorative touch.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature, not the extras listed below. Unlike other recent Warner Archive Blu-rays, however, they're somewhat garishly formatted like Closed Captions with black bars behind the white text -- it's not too obtrusive, but still annoying. Either this was a one-time mix-up, a new trend (hopefully not), or perhaps just done for clarity's sake due to Tarzan's frequently busy jungle backdrops.

Tarzan, the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with kinda hilarious poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts. The bonus features are a bit beefier than most Warner Archive Blu-rays, and all of 'em are worth watching.

• Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle (79:59) - This full-length 2004 documentary, written and directed by John Rust, was produced for Turner Classic movies and originally appeared on WB's six-disc DVD collection of the MGM-era Tarzan films (including this one, of course). Not surprisingly it's more concerned with the franchise as a whole than just the main feature, full of supportive film clips and vintage photos as well as plenty of talking-head interviews featuring film historian Rudy Behlmer, long-time TCM host Robert Osborne, Johnny Weissmuller's son, "Tarzan: The Centennial Celebration" author Scott Tracy Griffin, and many more. It's lighter in scope and depth than expected given the running time, but well worth a look for fans of the film and character.

• Merrie Melodies Shorts - Two classic black-and-white, era-specific WB shorts recently restored in HD.

• I Wish I Had Wings (7:03) - This charming 1932 cartoon, directed by Rudolf Ising, concerns a "runt of the litter" chick who tries a bit of do-it-yourself ingenuity to fly for his next meal. It's a great little short and this marks its Blu-ray debut, which is always nice... but like many Warner Bros. cartoons recently restored for Max, there's obviously been a certain amount of noise reduction applied.
• Moonlight for Two (6:54) - Another 1932 Ising short, this one stars early recurring character "Goopy Geer" (a piano- playing dog who debuted in a self-titled short only two months earlier) and his nameless sweetheart, who end up going to a barn dance that ends up getting pretty rowdy once a shotgun-wielding villain shows up. There's even a dancing stove, which you certainly don't see every day.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:43) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

Tarzan, the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The earliest surviving big-screen showcase for Edgar Rice Burroughs' most famous character, W.S. Van Dyke's Tarzan the Ape Man is a classic adventure that still delivers plenty of thrills thanks to its mixture of time-capsule travelogue footage, admittedly shocking pre-Code violence, and a very capable performance by former record-breaking Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller tying it all together. Sure, it's more than a little culturally dated and stagy in spots, but this "original" Tarzan outing entertains in its own unique way. Warner Archive's new Blu-ray does what it can with the limited source material, and its serviceable A/V presentation is flanked by a surprisingly nice mixture of appropriate bonus features. Overall, this one's a solid disc heartily recommended to fans and newcomers alike.