Les Nouvelles Aventures de Tarzan

Herman Brix is Tarzan, aka Lord Greystoke, splitting his time between England and Africa. While in Africa he is asked to go to Guatemala to help look for an idol. As close to Edgar Rice Burroughs idea of the character as we are likely to see, Burroughs produced, this a bit different then the Tarzan of the movies we are used to, Tarzan is intelligent and speaks in full sentences. He is still a man of action. To be certain the independent nature of the serial and its budgetary limitations make this a little rough at times, but at the same time the story and its dangers are as real as they come. I know that some people have complained that how Tarzan gets out of things isn't always spectacular (he expands his chest to help get ropes off of himself), but its probably closer to reality then most serials would dare. Worth a look to how Tarzan of the pages really should look on screen.

I am here watching this movie for the first time with my good friend Roly. The date is 14 July 2008. I have to say that for 1935, when the likes of Joe Louis were boxing their way to stardom, the photography is excellent. Unfortunately the photography is mostly taken up with vistas of the great African Planes (In Puerto Rico). I was particularly made nervous by the scene in which Bruce Bennett appeared to kiss Cheetah on the lips. Of course I can forgive this because I am looking at it in a 2008 frame of mind and I am naturally homophobic.

Look, its like this, the movie is mostly just camera shots of wild "Africa" with no acting whatsoever. The director should be dug up and shot. It's a disaster. Gordon Scott will be turning in his grave, not to mention Johnnny Weismuller and Cheetah! If you don't allow this onto IMDb, then you are stifling free speech and you believe in a Brigadoon-like civilisation where nobody says anything bad. 1935 it is. Good cinematography it has. Storyline it definitely hasn't.

YES you should buy it. Just so you can go through what I went through.

Bbye Bye.

I bought this Tarzan serial 16 years ago, it was time for me to discover Herman Brix, quite handsome, expressive in the efforts with sharp glances when observing danger. He's the real Greystoke, speaking English, it's not surprising as it was produced by Burroughs Tarzan Enterprises Inc., the original author. The print I saw was absolutely not restored, it didn't matter, I was hypnotised by charismatic Herman Brix, fighting wildly against dozens of natives and lions and panthers. Shot in Guatemala, in jungle and seaside, there are strong violent scenes like this awsome shooting with machine gun against natives (did you see it, Sam?). Maybe a better director than cinematographer Edward Kull would have improved direction. The only bad surprise is Tarzan's scream, it seems in the middle he's been hit with a hammer, finally finishing singing a yodel, but it's the yell used in a previous Tarzan radio serial from 1932. Last bad surprise on the DVD extras, I didn't find the Vincent Sherman interview.

Exceptionally dumb, even for a movie serial. They went to Guatemala to "film" this. Much ado about nothing.

I bought this on DVD and became an instant Herman Brix fan. Though his acting is somewhat stiff (to be generous), I can see why Edgar Rice Burroughs--Tarzan's creator--found Brix to be the "perfect" Tarzan. His build is spot-on, and he excels in the action scenes. If only he made more Tarzan films. Though this entry appeared in both serial form and as an edited feature, I recommend the serial version. The feature version is simply too choppy to have any story thru-line. However, the editing is slow with story pacing to match, in the serial. If you're a Tarzan fan (of the books, especially)--you'll find that this Tarzan is not the mono-syllabic dunce Hollywood liked to dish up--a welcome take on the character.

I watched the serial over several days--it's simply too long to take in one sitting--and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It takes some patience to keep your finger off the fast-forward button, but each chapter featured an action sequence that was usually worth watching. It's not for general consumption--most would find the quality too low to be very entertaining, but if you're a Tarzan fan, this is one worth checking out. Brix is quite an acrobat--he performed some moves that simply astonished me.

The sound is pretty scratchy in parts and some of the dialog is unintelligible...so keep your remote handy to pump up the volume from time to time.

If the other Tarzan Serials are almost as good, I want them in my DVD collection, too.