The Tarzan Vault Collection (1918 - 1935) (The Film Detective Special Edition)

[MifuneFan]

The Film Detective will be releasing a Vault Collection set featuring Tarzan in August. It will include three film adaptations from 1918 to 1935.

The Tarzan Vault Collection Blu-ray

The famous jungle hero appears in three epic dramas: Tarzan of the Apes (1918), Adventures of Tarzan (1921), and The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935).

Edgar Rice Burroughs' hero has thrilled movie audiences since the days of the silent screen. Tarzan of the Apes (1918), with the brawny Elmo Lincoln in the title role, introduced the character to movie audiences and told the traditional tale of how the orphaned heir to the Greystoke fortune became lord of the jungle. Lincoln was so impressive that he returned in Adventures of Tarzan (1921), this time to rescue his beloved Jane from the clutches of the evil Queen La. By 1935, the public was still fascinated by the nobleman who had been raised by apes, now played by Herman Brix (AKA Bruce Bennet) in The New Adventures of Tarzan. Brix, a star shot-putter at the 1928 Olympics, needed all of his muscle to portray Tarzan in this tale of missing jewels, and explosives powerful enough to destroy the world. Here is your chance to sit back and enjoy a Tarzan trilogy guaranteed to leave you spellbound!

Bonus Materials

• Original Essays for each feature
• Original Featurette on Tarzan Comics by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures
• New Commentary Tracks for 'Adventures of Tarzan' feature and 'The New Adventures of Tarzan' serial
• New Feature Length Documentary by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures
• Original Preserved Interview with star, Herman Brix, aka Bruce Bennett

[Dragon78]

How did I miss this....anyway 3 Tarzan movies, I am sure there are more then that made back in the day. A 1918 one, that has to be a silent film.

[redxrebellion]

I’m in. I love me some Tarzan.

[4Dblu]

Wow, 1918I might hav to check these out....

[albabe]

This is awesome if just for "The New Adventures of Tarzan" with Herman Brix!
I wrote a Tarzan Graphic Novel (The Once and Future Tarzan) for Dark Horse a couple years back and the Brix film was a serious inspiration! My Story first appeared in Dark Horse's Anthology title so the first some-odd Chapters had to written as 8-Page Segments/Episodes/Installments, so I modeled the construction after "New Adventures..."

I hope this is unedited!

[iamnoone]

Originally Posted by albabe

This is awesome if just for "The New Adventures of Tarzan" with Herman Brix!
I wrote a Tarzan Graphic Novel (The Once and Future Tarzan) for Dark Horse a couple years back and the Brix film was a serious inspiration! My Story first appeared in Dark Horse's Anthology title so the first some-odd Chapters had to written as 8-Page Segments/Episodes, so I modeled the construction after "New Adventures..."

I hope this is unedited!

It's most likely the edited down feature-film version. It was originally a 12-chapter serial running over 4 hours.

[DavidRoylance]

I would have thought if The New Adventures of Tarzan were the unedited serial, that they would have made a virtue of it in the marketing.

[albabe]

Originally Posted by iamnoone

It's most likely the edited down feature-film version. It was originally a 12-chapter serial running over 4 hours.

I assume you're correct... but I have hope... sigh...

[albabe]

Amazon says the BR Release is 6 hours and 28 minutes.

According to IMDB (Not always a reliable source):

Tarzan of the Apes (1918) is 1:13
Adventures of Tarzan (1921) is 1:13
New Adventures of Tarzan (1935) is 1:10 for the Film and/or 4:17 for the Serial.

So, without the Film Version of "New Adventures..." the total time is 6:43

So... Maybe we got the Serial?

[milojthatch]

I wish this was the MGM films coming to Blu-ray, but I'm still excited for this!

[albabe]

I just noticed this on BR's Announcement page. I musta missed it before:

"NEW Commentary Tracks for 'Adventures of Tarzan' feature and 'The New Adventures of Tarzan' serial."

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by albabe

I just noticed this on BR's Announcement page. I musta missed it before:

"NEW Commentary Tracks for 'Adventures of Tarzan' feature and 'The New Adventures of Tarzan' serial."

Yeah, I just added it yesterday ..All signs, like the runtime, and the list of extras point to it being the serial version.

[albabe]

A bunch more info from a Friend of Artist Extraordinaire, Thomas Yeates (Thomas Painted the first part of the Tarzan Graphic Novel I wrote).

********

Actually, I know quite a bit about the Film Detective's upcoming Tarzan collection, because I worked on it.

It includes:

1. The familiar five-reel version of TARZAN OF THE APES marketed on 8mm and 16mm to non-theatrical audiences beginning in the '30s.

2. The so-called "feature version" of ADVENTURES OF TARZAN marketed on 8mm and 16mm to non-theatrical audiences by Blackhawk Films beginning in the late '60s or early '70s. It runs about an hour and actually is just a hodge-podge of odd footage that happens to include most of the last chapter. As you would expect, there are huge plot gaps, which Blackhawk's David Shepard bridged with newly written intertitles.

3. The complete serial NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN with the seldom-seen seven-reel first chapter (as opposed to the more commonly available five-reel opener). FD's Phil Hopkins was able to secure a 35mm print of roughly 80-85 percent of the footage and have it mastered in 2K. (He filled in the rest with original 16mm footage, also mastered in 2K.) This is the same transfer that played on Turner Classic Movies earlier this year. Neither of the two feature versions is included.

There's also the Brix interview and some other extras I wasn't privy to.

Actually, Phil's obtaining of NAT in 35mm was the impetus for releasing this collection. He knows it's the best version that survives. Both APES and ADVENTURES come from readily available 16mm prints, but Phil gave them high-res transfers and did some digital cleanup, so they look better here than in DVD versions available from public-domain suppliers such as Alpha Video and Grapevine Video.

The Herman Brix interview was done in 2002 at my instigation. A friend of mine had connected with Brix's son Mike and arranged for a sit-down to take place while I was in L.A. for the 2002 Lone Pine Film Festival. It was scheduled for the day after the Festival, the last day I'd be in town. Unfortunately, Brix got food poisoning the day before and Mike reluctantly postponed the interview by a couple days. I had to fly home but left a list of questions with my friend, who'd agreed to videotape the session. He conducted the interview and I used quotes from it in my article on NAT for BLOOD 'N' THUNDER #5 (subsequently reprinted several times, including in an issue of THE BURROUGHS BULLETIN).

As I've spent a quarter century —off and on — researching the making of NAT, Phil asked me to do a commentary to accompany the serial. I wasn't sure I could come up with four-plus hours of material, but I did. Phil also had me record a commentary for the so-called feature version of ADVENTURES OF TARZAN, which I've also researched and written about at length.

He's got other extras in the box, but I don't know what they are or who contributed them. At one point I offered him my articles on both serials for possible reprinting in a booklet, but since I include all that material in my commentaries he elected not to use them.

That's as much as I can tell you about the collection. Since I did the commentaries (the week after returning from the Windy City pulp show) Phil has sold The Film Detective to a larger company called Cinedigm, which I understand is a major player in the streaming-video arena. But the Tarzan Blu-ray is still scheduled for August release.

Feel free to share this information with anybody who cares. I realize that NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN is not highly regarded by many serial fans, but it's always been a huge favorite of mine and I was delighted to contribute to the venture. With the serial's original 35mm nitrate negatives and fine-grain protection masters long gone, Phil's NAT is almost certainly going to be the best version we'll ever see.

[RandCanuck]

Wow, thanks for passing that on!

[albabe]

Originally Posted by RandCanuck

Wow, thanks for passing that on!

One of the guys I worked with on the "Once and Future Tarzan" Graphic Novel that I wrote, Thomas Yeates, is seriously plugged-in to all things Tarzan. He's a Member in Good Standing of the Burroughs Club, is tight with the Burroughs' Estate, and knew a great many folks involved with Tarzan. I met and became friends with Denny Miller through Thomas. Denny played Tarzan in one film and was the Scout on Wagon Train. He and his lovely wife are really nice nice folks.

Thomas really "gets around." He's even friends with Jimi Hendrix's Half Sister, who controls the Hendrix estate. Some years ago, I got to hang with her and Jimi's dad for an afternoon.

Thomas has worked on a lot of prestigious Comic titles, like Swamp Thing.... and he now Illustrates the Sunday Strip, Prince Valiant.

You can google him to see his paintings and stuff.

[captainsolo]

I was terribly excited for this before because I hoped it would have a better version of the serial. Now I truly can’t wait!! Thanks for all the additional information!!!

[albabe]

I love Brix as Tarzan (Jock Mahoney too). Probably one of only a few Films where Tarzan is so much more like his Literary counterpart. Likely because Burroughs was involved.

I'm curious if anyone knows anything about this release?

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-N...lu-ray/378606/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DT7QG6SQ/

Is it the same as the version in "The Tarzan Vault Collection?"

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-T...lu-ray/315162/

[albabe]

So... no one knows if this is the same disc?

[jasonwhiton]

Originally Posted by albabe

I love Brix as Tarzan (Jock Mahoney too). Probably one of only a few Films where Tarzan is so much more like his Literary counterpart. Likely because Burroughs was involved.

I'm curious if anyone knows anything about this release?

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-N...lu-ray/378606/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DT7QG6SQ/

Is it the same as the version in "The Tarzan Vault Collection?"

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-T...lu-ray/315162/

I want to know, too! Is the 2025 Blu-ray of the serial the same as in the Vault? What would be missing if one just bought the 2025 serial edition?

[albabe]

Originally Posted by jasonwhiton

I want to know, too! Is the 2025 Blu-ray of the serial the same as in the Vault? What would be missing if one just bought the 2025 serial edition?

I've looked around and not seen anything that's at all clear about all that. I am surprised, that with all the knowledge I'm exposed to here, that no one knows.