Tarzan of the Apes

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Audience Member The first Tarzan film ever made and was a slightly below average film. The costume designs were cheap and cheesy. Overall, I didn't really enjoy Tarzan of the Apes. Maybe if you're into the Tarzan franchise as a whole but this motion picture was just not impressive. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review jordan m I think this was the shortest silent film that I've seen, but the problem was I knew that it was short going into it and expected a breezy experience. What I got instead was a lot of exposition scenes where it felt almost like the movie's purpose was more to ponder how neat the artistic medium of film is and how weird it'd be if a human were raised by apes. Knowing there's an entire back half to the origin story that was also shot explains why the pace was languid in a 60-minute movie as they had another hour to get to more action. To my knowledge this is also the only movie that has shown the definite harming of animals in the making of it out of any that I saw, which sucks but is a sign of the times I guess - one of the actors in the movie even died of the Spanish flu the same year. It's appreciable that they left in the black savages for historical context as most later movies take them out completely, as they should, but having this relic not do so is a good thing I think. Some of the animal costumes are surprisingly good and in fact take a bit of shine off of the revolutionary 1933 Kong movie. The version we watched had a decent film score added. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Arguably the first ever Tarzan on the silver screen...and besides over acting & putting up with the horrible print I was watching it was enjoyable. This followed the early years of Tarzan & then really quickly transitions into his adult life. Filled with dangerous animals & situations no surprise it was popular for audiences in cities & suburbs who had never experienced these locales. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I've always enjoyed Tarzan and his infinite incarnations, but this silent work has made me an official Tarzan fan. It's current running time doesn't really allow for the whole story to be told and it leaves you wanting more. Some have complained about Elmo Lincoln not having the physical appearance of Tarzan, but I COMPLETELY disagree. It's nice to see a great, expressive actor like Elmo looking like an unkempt linebacker instead of the endless thin, clean looking Tarzans we would see in the years to come. Although the entire cast is made up of excellent actors, the real shining star of this film is Gordon Griffith as young Tarzan. The stunts are great and the film is action packed. The sets and location filming in Louisiana make an excellent substitute for the jungles of Africa and the mixture of real animals with costumed ones is used well, even if one or two of the ape costumes look a bit ridiculous. My biggest, if only complaint, is the soundtrack. Although the sound effects were nice touches, the actual "music" sounds closer to the background music of a Commodore 64 game as opposed to a score written for a 1918 feature film. If you have any interest in Tarzan, Burroughs or silent film then this needs to be in your collection. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Tarzan of the Apes

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