Blu-ray Review Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

Movies don’t come much more classic than this great jungle adventure, Tarzan the Ape Man.



Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)



Released: 02 Apr 1932
Rated: Passed
Runtime: 100 min




Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance



Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith
Writer(s): Edgar Rice Burroughs, Cyril Hume, Ivor Novello



Plot: A trader and his daughter set off in search of the fabled graveyard of the elephants in deepest Africa, only to encounter a wild man raised by apes.



IMDB rating: 7.0
MetaScore: N/A





Disc Information



Studio: MGM
Distributed By: Warner Archive
Video Resolution: 1080P/AVC



Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA...

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[Peter Keller]

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Always appreciate reading your reviews, Matt. Question - Is the documentary Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle subtitled? Thanks in advance.

 

[Garysb]

Weren't outtakes or stock footage from "Trader Horn" used in "Tarzan, The Ape Man"? I am guessing since it is not mentioned in the review that this footage doesn't standout as being less than other footage shot for the film.

 

[Matt Hough]

Weren't outtakes or stock footage from "Trader Horn" used in "Tarzan, The Ape Man"? I am guessing since it is not mentioned in the review that this footage doesn't standout as being less than other footage shot for the film.

Footage from Trader Horn is HEAVILY used throughout all of MGM's Tarzan films. To my knowledge, the studio did not send a second unit back to Africa for more footage for Tarzan. They had shot an enormous amount of stuff in 1930, and that's what they used throughout.

Here's what I wrote in the review: "Yes, all of that raw jungle footage from Trader Horn is generously spliced into this tale, sometimes matching nicely with MGM’s backlot jungle set and sometimes betraying its artificiality with the use of rear projection to place the actors into locales where they actually aren’t."

 

[Matt Hough]

Always appreciate reading your reviews, Matt. Question - Is the documentary Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle subtitled? Thanks in advance.

It is not subtitled.

 

[Jeff Fearnside]

Thanks for the great review, Matt. Now I'm looking forward to this more than before! My copy has already arrived but will have to wait until after my wife and I finish watching Christmas films. And I heartily second your desire that all the other Johnny Weissmuller/Maureen O’Sullivan Tarzans to come to Blu-ray, so I hope this first one sells well.

 

[Capt D McMars]

I just watched my copy, and kudos to WAC, very nice...on this and Gentelman Jim BD both were very well restored but seemed to be missing a commetary for the tidbits of history and context, that kicks up the films behind the scenes bump. I know, in a perfect world, LOL!! Man I miss Robert Osborne !!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

It is not subtitled.

To the best of my memory, Warner Archive extras are never subtitled.

Probably some exceptions but none that come to mind.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

If the extra was a holdover from a prior Warner DVD edition and has been included without an upgrade (for example, a subtitled short cartoon that was in standard definition on the DVD and is still standard definition on the Blu-ray), it’ll carry over. If it’s a newly created extra, or something newly retransferred from film elements to HD, it’s less likely that they’ll create new subtitles.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

If the extra was a holdover from a prior Warner DVD edition and has been included without an upgrade (for example, a subtitled short cartoon that was in standard definition on the DVD and is still standard definition on the Blu-ray), it’ll carry over. If it’s a newly created extra, or something newly retransferred from film elements to HD, it’s less likely that they’ll create new subtitles.

I assume the documentary carried over since it's clearly old and SD.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I assume the documentary carried over since it's clearly old and SD.

The big “if” in that case is if the DVD version had been subtitled; if not, they would not be likely to have newly created them when porting the content to BD.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

The big “if” in that case is if the DVD version had been subtitled; if not, they would not be likely to have newly created them when porting the content to BD.

That's a big "dunno" from me. I never saw the DVD so the BD was my first screening of the film!

 

[BobO'Link]

The documentary on Warner's original 6 film set has no subtitles. Mine just happens to be handy so I got it out and checked for both SDH and CC.

 

[Capt D McMars]

I also have the 6 movie box set, the BD is a nice uprgade from the dvd and I look forward to the others if possible, but I'm not selling my box set until all the movies are released...

 

[jayembee]

I still have the first two as individual laserdiscs, with the next four in an LD boxed set.

 

[ahollis]

I still have the first two as individual laserdiscs, with the next four in an LD boxed set.

Same here.

 

[Matt Hough]

I also have the 6 movie box set, the BD is a nice uprgade from the dvd and I look forward to the others if possible, but I'm not selling my box set until all the movies are released...

Just like with The Thin Man, the Tarzan DVD box set will stay on the shelf until all six of the films are released on Blu-ray (if ever).

 

[Broomy]

Hopefully 2024 will be there year of Tarzan and the Marx Brothers from WAC, getting the rest of the movies from both boxsets.

 

[Capt D McMars]

Hopefully 2024 will be there year of Tarzan and the Marx Brothers from WAC, getting the rest of the movies from both boxsets.

 

[Jeff Fearnside]

Hopefully 2024 will be there year of Tarzan and the Marx Brothers from WAC, getting the rest of the movies from both boxsets.

For sure! And the rest of the films from the Greta Garbo box set... and the Astaire and Rogers set... and the two Esther Williams sets... and--okay, enough for now!