Tarzan and his Mate, 1934 at DVinfo.net

Michael Gibbons · January 6th, 2005, 01:25 AM

I got the boxed set of Wiesmuller's first 6 (mgm) Tarzan movies.
The second movie Tarzan and his mate is phenomenal for a variety of reasons- if you can get past the racism/sexism which haunts the perephery of the narritive- that is.

The way stock footage is used is very smooth and fairly convincing. Some of the affects are pretty impressive, and there is some fine cinematography as well- especially in the scenes where Tarzan is convelscing with his monkey tribe after being shot. Sure they're all in bad monkey suits, but B&W is so much kinder to lame costumes/effects/sets that it isn't really jarring and some of the shots/compositions are just fantastic. The mass battle scenes are also really well done.

The story is actually pretty good too. And as for the aforementioned racism/sexism thre are some mitigating factors. For instance, while the white hunters obviously consider themselves superior, the portrayal of such is hardly flattering. And although Tarzan's treatment of Jane is less than PC in a couple of scenes she is still a very strong character. She is loyal, intelligent, willing to follow her own lead and make sacrifices to get what she wants.
*spoilers*
My second favorite part of the movie is when, after fleeing cannables, and climbing a seemingly endless cliff one of the hunters turns to the other and says "I should think we're through the worst of it now." In the very same shot a boulder knocks a screaming bearer off the cliff. this followed by the appearence of a tribe stone dropping of apes at the cliff's top. The next two minutes are pure meyhem; one of the most (unintentionally?) funny things I have eveer seen.

My favorite scene is, of course, the morning wake up/swim scene- shot before the Hayes code!

Anyone else seen this?
What did you think?

Thom Seaman · January 7th, 2005, 05:58 AM

Check out the extensive Tarzan DVD coverage in the current issue of the great Video Watchdog magazine:

http://www.videowatchdog.com/home/home.html

Peace,
Thom

January 6th, 2005, 01:25 AM	#1
Michael Gibbons Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Loveland, Colorado, USA Posts: 292	Tarzan and his Mate, 1934 I got the boxed set of Wiesmuller's first 6 (mgm) Tarzan movies. The second movie Tarzan and his mate is phenomenal for a variety of reasons- if you can get past the racism/sexism which haunts the perephery of the narritive- that is. The way stock footage is used is very smooth and fairly convincing. Some of the affects are pretty impressive, and there is some fine cinematography as well- especially in the scenes where Tarzan is convelscing with his monkey tribe after being shot. Sure they're all in bad monkey suits, but B&W is so much kinder to lame costumes/effects/sets that it isn't really jarring and some of the shots/compositions are just fantastic. The mass battle scenes are also really well done. The story is actually pretty good too. And as for the aforementioned racism/sexism thre are some mitigating factors. For instance, while the white hunters obviously consider themselves superior, the portrayal of such is hardly flattering. And although Tarzan's treatment of Jane is less than PC in a couple of scenes she is still a very strong character. She is loyal, intelligent, willing to follow her own lead and make sacrifices to get what she wants. spoilers My second favorite part of the movie is when, after fleeing cannables, and climbing a seemingly endless cliff one of the hunters turns to the other and says "I should think we're through the worst of it now." In the very same shot a boulder knocks a screaming bearer off the cliff. this followed by the appearence of a tribe stone dropping of apes at the cliff's top. The next two minutes are pure meyhem; one of the most (unintentionally?) funny things I have eveer seen. My favorite scene is, of course, the morning wake up/swim scene- shot before the Hayes code! Anyone else seen this? What did you think? __________________ " When some wild-eyed, eight foot tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head against a bar room wall, and looks you crooked in the eye, and he asks you if you've payed your dues, well, you just stare that big suker right back in the eye, and you remember what old Jack Burton always says at a time like that, 'Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yes sir, the check is in the mail."

January 7th, 2005, 05:58 AM	#2
Thom Seaman New Boot Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: London, UK Posts: 21	Check out the extensive Tarzan DVD coverage in the current issue of the great Video Watchdog magazine: http://www.videowatchdog.com/home/home.html Peace, Thom