Tarzan Collection Vol. 2

[htdm]

Herb Kane over at Home Theater Forum just posted this announcement from Warners:

THE TARZAN COLLECTION VOLUME 2

Tarzan Triumphs ~ Tarzan's Desert Mystery
Tarzan and the Amazons ~ Tarzan and the Leopard Woman
Tarzan and the Huntress ~ Tarzan and the Mermaids

All New to DVD and Available Exclusively as a Collection October 31
Burbank, Calif. July 31, 2006 - Johnny Weissmuller swings back into action with Warner Home Video's The Tarzan Collection Volume 2 debuting on October 31. Following the huge success of WHV's first Weissmuller Tarzan set in 2004, this new DVD collection includes the home video debut of Weissmuller's last six Tarzan films, presented on three double-feature discs. Originally made at RKO, these films feature actress Brenda Joyce, assuming the role of Tarzan's beloved Jane. Although other actors would later play the role, these films exemplify why Weissmuller, the five-time Olympic champion, was the definitive Tarzan, and the one to pave the way for future interpretations of Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle hero. During his acting career, Weissmuller starred in 12 Tarzan features for both MGM and RKO. This collection features Tarzan Triumphs/Tarzan's Desert Mystery, Tarzan and the Amazons/Tarzan and the Leopard Woman and Tarzan and the Huntress/Tarzan and the Mermaids. These six films which were never available on videocassette, are all new to DVD, and will sell as a collection only, for $39.92 SRP.

Tarzan Triumphs (1943)/Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943)

World War II? That's the way of civilized people, not Tarzan. He refuses to be involved until the Nazis make the mistake of striking at the Ape-Man's family. Johnny Weissmuller returns as the jungle hero and Johnny Sheffield again plays Boy in Tarzan Triumphs. Tarzan's help with the war effort continues in Tarzan's Desert Mystery, as Tarzan crosses the Sahara to find medicinal plants needed by the Allies.

Tarzan and the Amazons (1945)/Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946)

Jane, absent from the series' two prior films, returns in these adventures starring Johnny Weissmuller and Johnny Sheffield with Brenda Joyce as Jane. When the jungle lord refuses to lead anthropologists to a mysterious female tribe, Boy does, setting in motion the plot twists and turns of Tarzan and the Amazons. Are brutal maulings the results of leopard attacks? The Ape-Man doesn't think so, and his instincts prove right as he faces murderous leopard men and their exotic priestess in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman. But its Cheetah to the rescue after the sect captures Tarzan, Boy and Jane and readies them for sacrifice.

Tarzan and the Huntress (1947)/Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948)

Expeditioners aim to harvest animals for profit, capturing them for zoos without regard for the balance of jungle life. There's one person the hunters didn't count on: Tarzan. He'll protect the habitat - and call in an army of elephants to assist when the going gets tough in Tarzan and the Huntress. The film features the last of Johnny Sheffield's eight appearances as Boy. In Tarzan and the Mermaids, Weissmuller bids his twelfth and final farewell to the role of the Ape-Man, but not before rescuing a lovely maiden from a forced marriage, tangling with a giant octopus and restoring harmony to a community of pure-hearted pearl divers

The Tarzan Collection Volume 2

$39.92 SRP
Street Date: October 31, 2006
All Films are B&W and Not Rated

Tarzan Triumphs
Run Time: 76 minutes

Tarzan's Desert Mystery
Run Time: 70 minutes

Tarzan and the Amazons
Run Time: 76 minutes

Tarzan and the Leopard Woman
Run Time: 72 minutes

Tarzan and the Huntress
Run Time: 72 minutes

Tarzan and the Mermaids
Run Time: 68 minutes

[Matt]

Seriously, I was watching a little of Tarzan, the Ape Man on TCM just last night and wondering when they'd release the RKO/Sol Lesser Tarzan films.

[Ashirg]

Artwork and announcement

[Paul Moran]

I picked up Volume 1 in the recent DVD Pacific sale for $19.51 (plus shipping to UK). Brought back fond memories - not of the original theatrical releases, but of slightly more recent TV screenings!

I'll probably go for Volume 2 as well, but no rush - I'll stick it on my wish list and hope for similar reductions to Vol 1.

[Gigi M.]

Amazon's 30% off pre-order

[Lino]

DVDSavant review.

[Lino]

Been making my way through Volume 1 of the Weissmuller Tarzan series (only one to go) and although the movies are pretty much formulaic (some african outdoor scenes are even repeated in 3 of them!), there's an undeniable charm to the way the story is presented and truth be told, the action scenes are riveting stuff for the 30's. Tarzan and his Mate in particular is so savagely violent and brazen, I could hardly believe my eyes!

That said, where is Trader Horn? I've never heard of this one before I started watching the feature-length documentary on Tarzan on the bonus disc and was immediately curious about it. After some googling I quickly found out the reason: it's totally un-PC for our times but I really wish that Warner would have the balls to release it completely contextualized, a la The Jazz Singer, which is the only proper way to release these sort of skeletons in the studios closets.

Anyone here watched it?

[Gregory]

Tarzan and his Mate in particular is so savagely violent and brazen, I could hardly believe my eyes!

I think it's among the raciest pre-code films ever made. It's also my favorite of all the Weissmuller Tarzans, although the whole cycle really is interesting in terms of what changed over the years and what stayed the same. This is one of the things Edward Said addresses in his essay on these films, which is a great read.

I haven't seen Trader Horn yet.

[tryavna]

That said, where is Trader Horn? I've never heard of this one before I started watching the feature-length documentary on Tarzan on the bonus disc and was immediately curious about it. After some googling I quickly found out the reason: it's totally un-PC for our times but I really wish that Warner would have the balls to release it completely contextualized, a la The Jazz Singer, which is the only proper way to release these sort of skeletons in the studios closets.

Anyone here watched it?

Trader Horn shows up on TCM pretty regularly (at least two or three times a year), and I really doubt that its un-PC content is going to keep it off of DVD forever. It's probably less offensive than, say, Sanders of the River. I can imagine it showing up in a boxset of Woody Van Dyke's on-location films, since he made several in the late-1920s and early-1930s. That said, it's not a particularly good movie. The location photography was obviously the big draw at the time, though it wears thin pretty quickly nowadays. Probably the biggest surprise -- and problem -- of the film is that Harry Carey, one of the most charismatic actors of his generation, is extremely stiff and cold in this, his first talkie. It's the kind of movie that deserves to be seen once, but once is probably enough for most viewers.

[Gregory]

Speaking personally, what has kept me from seeing it is not the film's racism -- on the contrary that's one of the things about it that would interest me, which is not to say I enjoy this kind of thing, of course. One of the main things that has kept me from being interested enough to watch this on VHS is that it includes so much infamous footage of all kinds of animals getting killed, squirming in pain, and so on. I'm sure some of this footage ended up in the Tarzan films, but I've read that it's particularly intense in Trader Horn. If the film is as shitty as, the effect of having to watch this would be worsened by the knowledge that so much suffering -- human and animal -- went to create this, adding insult to injury.
The other thing that has kept my interest level low is that Trader Horn seems to have recycled so many tropes and clichés from other films and works of literature in this vein that it seems unlikely to offer anything really new. Maybe I'll watch it someday and see for myself.