Yes, Tarzan of the Apes is pretty faithful adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' first Tarzan story, but it isn't the best Tarzan movie, or silent adventure movie for that matter. Just compare it to The Mark of Zorro which came out only two years later.
Imagine if they got someone like Fairbanks to do the stunts. Elmo Lincoln looks good enough as Tarzan (I don't know what people are talking about), but there are no impressive vine swinging scenes to be found here.
The best thing about Tarzan of the Apes is the exciting fight scene at the end, where Tarzan kicks the big tribe member's buttocks. It's fun to see how fight scenes have developed over the years, from realistic punching and wrestling to overly choreographed dancing.
The worst thing about Tarzan of the Apes is the part where the lion is killed. It's supposedly real (but looks very fake). If that's the case, shame of the filmmakers. I hate PETA as much as everyone else, but It's just wrong to kill animals for entertainment. One of the few good things about the CGI we have today is that filmmakers can fake a lot of action scenes featuring animals.
I can't remember any racist content in the movie. Some people may complain about Esmeralda (white woman in blackface? Not sure), but she's not as bad as in the book. It's nothing compared to the racism in the first Weissmuller movies anyway.
There's some mild (and non-sexual) nudity in some parts the movie that should have been left out. It's not offensive, but it doesn't add anything to the story either. All in all, there's nothing truly offensive about this movie except for the killing of the lion...and I'm not even sure if that part is real.
While it could have been a much better movie, there's never a boring moment in it. And Tarzan is a character that has been on the big screen for almost a hundred years now, so it's very interesting to see where it all began...
Imagine if they got someone like Fairbanks to do the stunts. Elmo Lincoln looks good enough as Tarzan (I don't know what people are talking about), but there are no impressive vine swinging scenes to be found here.
The best thing about Tarzan of the Apes is the exciting fight scene at the end, where Tarzan kicks the big tribe member's buttocks. It's fun to see how fight scenes have developed over the years, from realistic punching and wrestling to overly choreographed dancing.
The worst thing about Tarzan of the Apes is the part where the lion is killed. It's supposedly real (but looks very fake). If that's the case, shame of the filmmakers. I hate PETA as much as everyone else, but It's just wrong to kill animals for entertainment. One of the few good things about the CGI we have today is that filmmakers can fake a lot of action scenes featuring animals.
I can't remember any racist content in the movie. Some people may complain about Esmeralda (white woman in blackface? Not sure), but she's not as bad as in the book. It's nothing compared to the racism in the first Weissmuller movies anyway.
There's some mild (and non-sexual) nudity in some parts the movie that should have been left out. It's not offensive, but it doesn't add anything to the story either. All in all, there's nothing truly offensive about this movie except for the killing of the lion...and I'm not even sure if that part is real.
While it could have been a much better movie, there's never a boring moment in it. And Tarzan is a character that has been on the big screen for almost a hundred years now, so it's very interesting to see where it all began...