Where the runny sh*ts is the DVD of possibly the greatest Tarzan movie ever made (most certainly the best color Tarzan of all time)?
Sorry to be crude, folks, but I'm positively enraged whenever I think about it.
I don't know what the perception of Tarzan movies is today, really. At one time, Tarzan movies were as popular as James Bond flicks, and produced on a fairly regular basis. Unlike Bond, Tarzan movies didn't require a huge budget for pyrotechnics. In TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE, the sweaty conflict between the white hunter (the great Anthony Quayle) and Gordon Scott's Tarzan is enough to fully stimulate all the senses. Strange coincidence, Sean Connery (007 himself) has his first major role (as a thuggy bad guy) in this movie. A few years later, Connery is the biggest rising star on the planet.
In a way, Tarzan passed the baton for action movies over to the James Bond franchise, as Tarzan couldn't keep up with the ever-increasing cool factor and budgets of Bond. That's not to say there wasn't some great Tarzan movies in the 1960s (notably, starring Jock Mahoney and Ron Ely as the Ape Lord).
Sorry to be crude, folks, but I'm positively enraged whenever I think about it.
I don't know what the perception of Tarzan movies is today, really. At one time, Tarzan movies were as popular as James Bond flicks, and produced on a fairly regular basis. Unlike Bond, Tarzan movies didn't require a huge budget for pyrotechnics. In TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE, the sweaty conflict between the white hunter (the great Anthony Quayle) and Gordon Scott's Tarzan is enough to fully stimulate all the senses. Strange coincidence, Sean Connery (007 himself) has his first major role (as a thuggy bad guy) in this movie. A few years later, Connery is the biggest rising star on the planet.
In a way, Tarzan passed the baton for action movies over to the James Bond franchise, as Tarzan couldn't keep up with the ever-increasing cool factor and budgets of Bond. That's not to say there wasn't some great Tarzan movies in the 1960s (notably, starring Jock Mahoney and Ron Ely as the Ape Lord).
Tarzan movies faded by 1970, the last released Tarzan flick in this here country for a decade.
I was born in 1970. It could be argued that Tarzan had been done onscreen as well as he ever could be. My generation grew up on Tarzan movies shown on Sunday mornings on the television. I was educated by Tarzan, who reflected everything I wanted to be.
I was born in 1970. It could be argued that Tarzan had been done onscreen as well as he ever could be. My generation grew up on Tarzan movies shown on Sunday mornings on the television. I was educated by Tarzan, who reflected everything I wanted to be.
Nevertheless, you'd be hard-pressed to find any of the Tarzan movies of Scott, Mahoney, or Ely on DVD. This isn't just a call-out to the copyright owners/studios, it's a demand: don't let these great movies languish in non-DVD hell. And get some features on the actors and people! That's why Turner Classic Movies exists. Roddy McDowell's estate probably has original scripts. Do some research. Don't just release bare bones DVD (though I'd be glad to get'em any way I can!)
It's hard for any Tarzan movie (or practically any adventure movie ever made) to stand up to TARZAN AND HIS MATE (1934) with Johnny Weissmuller, but I nominate TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE as right here with it.
Here's http://www.tarzan.cc/int-gordonscott.html an interview with Gordon Scott. Seemed like a man and a half, for sure.
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