Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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The Adventures
of Tarzan
(1921)
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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.
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 The Film Detective
2022 Blu-ray Disc edition
The Tarzan Vault Collection (1918-1935), black & white, 388 minutes total, not rated,
including The Adventures of Tarzan (1921), black & white, 67 minutes, not rated.
The Film Detective, FB1023, UPC 7-60137-10512-1.
Three single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 Blu-ray Discs; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) 24 fps progressive scan image encoded in SDR AVC format at 32.2 Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound encoded at 1.5 Mbps audio bit rate and Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 256 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, optional English and Spanish language subtitles; closed-captioning; 7 chapter stops; 28-page insert booklet; double-wide three-disc BD keepcase; $39.95.
Release date: 23 August 2022.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 3 / additional content: 5 / overall: 6.
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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.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 The Film Detective
2022 DVD edition
The Tarzan Vault Collection (1918-1935), black & white, 388 minutes total, not rated,
including The Adventures of Tarzan (1921), black & white, 67 minutes, not rated.
The Film Detective,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
[?] Two or Three? single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD discs; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, optional English and Spanish language subtitles; chapter stops; standard two-disc DVD keepcase; $24.95.
Release date: 23 August 2022.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD collection has been mastered at high-resolution from very-good 16mm reduction prints.
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.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 The Serial Squadron
2004 DVD edition
The Adventures of Tarzan (1921), black & white and color-toned black & white, 181 minutes, not rated.
The Serial Squadron, no catalog number, no UPC number.
Two single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R discs; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 6.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; 27 chapter stops; standard two-disc DVD keepcase; $19.95.
Release date: 1 January 2004.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 5 / audio: 7 / additional content: 5 / overall: 5.
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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.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .
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 Grapevine Video
2013 DVD edition
The Adventures of Tarzan (1921) [1928 feature version], black & white, 60 minutes, not rated,
with Trolley Troubles (1921), black & white, 10 minutes, not rated.
Grapevine Video, no catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $14.95.
Release date: 23 May 2013.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print of the 1928 feature version of the film.
The film is accompanied by a music score performed by David Knudtson.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .
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 Nostalgia Family Video
2010 DVD edition
The Adventures of Tarzan (1921), black & white, 46 minutes, not rated.
Nostalgia Family Video, 2323D, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops; clamshell CD case; $14.99.
Release date: 2010.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition was likely mastered from a 16mm reduction print of the feature film version of The Adventures of Tarzan.
The disc had no navigation menu, chapter stops or package artwork and was sold in a clear clamshell case.
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NOSTALGIA FAMILY VIDEO has discontinued business
and this DVD-R edition is . . .
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Other TARZAN FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
Other SERIAL FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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