…………………………………………………

From the Page to the Screen – Tarzan of the Apes

Tarzan of the Apes is a 1912 adventure novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It’s such a good book  that remains spirited in adventure to this day, very engaging and also actually rather sophisticated in terms of dialogue and themes. It’s no wonder that it inspired so many movies over the years as its story is timeless in quality.

 

THE 1918 VERSION

The 1918 version was the first cinematic adaptation of this story, coming six years after the book itself. The movie was a major hit of its year and even though some parts are missing, most still survive to this day and those that watch it genuinely like it. For a first adaptation, it’s pretty good despite some dated antiquities in it.

 

PLOT

The movie is said to be the most faithful adaptation of the original novel that we got so far and that just might be true having in mind how most adaptations change drastically the initial story. Here the story is excellent in the beginning and ending, but the middle parts aren’t as great. The film needed a bit more adventure and memorable sequences in it.

WINNER – BOOK

 

CHARACTERIZATION

Elmo Lincoln is a solid Tarzan, but Enid Markey entirely stole the show as she’s such a lovely, charming Jane. The two are great together, but other characters are lacking unfortunately and most important humans from the book aren’t really here which was unfortunate.

WINNER – BOOK

…………………………………………………

…………………………………………………

EMOTION

The book itself has its moving passages, but the movie is unfortunately not as emotional as we do not get enough time to develop the characters and their plight. Judging by its truncated form of course, the book is better in thus department as well.

WINNER – BOOK

 

THEMES

As is going to be the case for every movie on this list, this category is easily won by the novel which is sophisticated in its politics and especially in capturing its time period and race relations whereas the movie itself is quite thin in that regard.

WINNER – BOOK

 

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

The movie is actually very well filmed and well shot, but those ridiculous looking apes are awfully dated as they’re obviously actors in giant costumes. The book itself is stupendously written by Edgar Rice Burroughs with superb dialogue and some solid descriptions.

WINNER – BOOK

 

BOOK 5: FILM 0

Although the score may indicate that I hated the original silent adaptation, that’s not the case at all. The flick is actually quite competent in its own right, charming and overall quite sweet. It’s just that the book is so better crafted on every level.

 

THE 1932 VERSION

Directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan, Tarzan the Ape Man was released in 1932 and it’s probably the most famous Tarzan adaptation of all time. It killed at the box office and was praised by critics, but it’s also genuinely loved by today’s audiences and praised as an exceedingly charming movie that it really is.

 

PLOT

There is almost no plot here unfortunately. Yes, this movie is such a drastic change from the source material in its blockbuster action-adventure approach that strayed away from stronger characterization and themes and focused on great visuals and romance. It worked, but in this category it obviously led to an inferior storyline.

WINNER – BOOK

 

CHARACTERIZATION

The two leads are wonderful together and the romance between the two is so sweet, yet also primal and animalistic in a way. I loved how the movie gives an emphasis on Jane and that led to a very authentic experience. It’s a shame that the other characters are almost not present at all including the animals too.

WINNER – BOOK

…………………………………………………

…………………………………………………

EMOTION

This flick is genuinely charming and romantic, but certainly lacking in the bigger emotional scope as it relied just on the two protagonists and thus the immediacy was lost.

WINNER – BOOK

 

THEMES

As was the case with the first category, it’s also the case here. Yes, the movie is fun and charming, but by focusing on adventure and action, it sacrificed its thematic exploration and it ended up being overly simplified.

WINNER – BOOK

 

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

The book is so well written and an involving read to this day, but the movie itself is a terrific cinematic adaptation that focused on some great, realistic action for its time, amazing photography and quite a lot of gorgeous shots here and there.

WINNER – TIE

 

BOOK 4: FILM 1

The 1932 movie ended up losing by a mile here even though it got that much needed point for its technicalities. It remains a very strong movie when viewed separately and individually as a terrific experiment, but when comparing it to the book, it’s so much weaker.

 

THE 1984 VERSION

Greystoke – The Legend of Tarzan: Lord of the Apes was released in 1984 to favorable, albeit not great reviews. And that sentiment is shared by today’s viewers and critics as well. It’s a respectable, solid adaptation, but it genuinely lacked a sense of fun.

 

PLOT

This movie actually focused a lot on Tarzan’s stay with the humans and I really liked some of those scenes that retained a lot of realism. The film failed as a jungle adventure, but it ended up being a solid historical piece that is still inferior to the novel though.

WINNER – BOOK

 

CHARACTERIZATION

Jane isn’t as memorable here and Tarzan is somewhat forgettable, but Ian Holm thankfully portrayed one of the most likable characters from the book with a terrific performance. His scenes are great and I wish that the rest of the movie was as charming.

WINNER – BOOK

…………………………………………………

…………………………………………………

EMOTION

It’s a rather cold adaptation in the emotional department. It has its sweetly heartwarming moments, but for the most part it’s overly serious and dark.

WINNER – BOOK

 

THEMES

Yes, we get to see a lot of humanity in this adaptation, but still there weren’t all that many genuinely emphasized themes here and the dialogue also wasn’t that great.

WINNER – BOOK

 

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

Yes, the jungle scenes are underutilized, but this historical picture is still beautifully brought to life thanks to a meticulous attention to detail and terrific cinematography leading to a genuinely well done cinematic adaptation.

WINNER – TIE

 

BOOK 4: FILM 1

The 1984 flick got the same score as the 1932 one. It looks great and is quite a fine achievement in the epic genre, but otherwise it’s just solid and never as good as the book or even the previous two film adaptations.

 

THE 1999 VERSION

The 1999 Tarzan film is Disney’s 37th official animated feature and actually one of their best entries. It’s an underrated film which earned solid money and good critics, but it’s in my opinion a great movie that deserves its place among the studio’s top ten finest achievements. And it’s simply the best adaptation so far of this story, animated or not.

 

PLOT

The story in the book is excellent, but it’s just as good in this Disney film even though it’s changed so much. That’s because those changes are quite welcome and I loved the romantic scenes, I adored the greater emphasis on jungle adventure stuff and it’s simply a hugely entertaining movie that still retains its sophisticated, genuinely memorable scenes.

WINNER – TIE

 

CHARACTERIZATION

I really liked all of the characters in the book, but I honestly found Disney’s versions to be major improvements. The addition of a villain is questionable, but Clayton still ended up being a terrific bad guy. Jane is infinitely improved and more action-oriented while still being quite lovable. And of course her dad is greatly endearing and the animals are here actually well developed and utilized.

WINNER – FILM

…………………………………………………

…………………………………………………

EMOTION

The novel has its moving parts, but this film trumps it obviously as Tarzan’s relationship with Kala is heartwarming, the death of Kerchak is heartbreaking and the scenes with Jane are extremely romantic and charming.

WINNER – FILM

 

THEMES

This remains the category where the book rules once again. The animated version is smarter than you would think as evidenced by a couple of genuinely well thought out scenes, but it pales in comparison to the thematically much richer source material.

WINNER – BOOK

 

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

This is another tie as the novel is phenomenally written, but the movie is gorgeously animated with groundbreaking effects, great scenery and it’s also fueled by a terrific soundtrack.

WINNER – TIE

 

BOOK 3: FILM 4

This was such an exciting, close race! Disney ended up taking it, but it was genuinely close. Yes, I do believe that this movie is even better than the book as the characterization is so much better and the emotion is earned. It’s a proof that this story could be told wonderfully even with all those changes.