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Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938)
So . . . did the ship sink? Did Tarzan call for a whale to save them?
OK, I knew going into this viewing that "Tarzan and the Green Goddess" was another compilation of the series that was also used for the earlier film, "The New Adventures of Tarzan." I expected—and, sure enough noticed—that this film might be a bit choppy; after all, serials are known to end each chapter with a cliffhanger that is somewhat different in the opening of the subsequent episode where the hero/heroine escapes the certain calamity. I have no problem understanding that would make the conversion into a full movie a bit out of sync. But . . . I do not like it when the "escape" part is totally missing!
An earlier reviewer noted that the movie version she viewed began with Tarzan at a garden party reminiscing about this trip to Guatemala with its accompanying adventure. That "party" opening was not in the copy I viewed; although the ending did contain that garden party scene (where the characters were dressed in gypsy costumes?). The version I watched began with a voice-over reading of an on-screen card where the narrator was saying: "Guatemala, a strange and beautiful country many thousands of miles away, a country with lofty, snow-crested mountains, mighty rivers and deep lakes, quaint little villages and picturesque natives. This is Guatemala on the surface, what a tourist might see if a tourist could ever get there...."
So now that I am aware of the different versions that exist of this film, I am certain my copy—which came from TCM—is missing at least two segments. But . . . as I was telling my wife when we watched this, it looked like Tarzan and his companions would all drown with the ship that appeared would sink in a massive storm. Then, suddenly, they are all at the garden party, smiling and wrapping up the story (in those gypsy costumes?), apparently back in England! What happened with the ship?
Oh, well . . . what can I say? It IS a Tarzan movie, after all. And we still have 22 more to view since we decided to revisit all the old Tarzan films in chronological order by their release dates. (Some folks just have strange ways to spend their advanced years. We figure these would make the time drag on—thereby making us feel as if we're living that much longer.)
Onward to "Tarzan Escapes," 1938!
Van Gogh: Darkness Into Light (1956)
Much more than the traditional "making of" short
I viewed this 20 minute short on TCM following a movie when I was too lazy to stop the DVR copy I was viewing. How glad I am for that day's laziness.
This was much more than the traditional "making of" that usually accompanies a DVD copy of a film. It provided the expected narration concerning the trials and tribulations involved in the film's shooting. But, it also presented much of the history surrounding the locations and populations where Van Gogh lived, worked, and died.
It combined the filming techniques of "Lust For Life," with the actual events Van Gogh was experiencing; and it did so in a manner where we could feel his presence on the scene, and that of the locals who lived their common lives so colorfully that Vincent was propelled to paint them as one would desire to grab a photo of majestic views which might be thrust into our sights as we strolled through a forest glen and suddenly encountered an opening exposing a flowering valley scene with flowing waters and mountains framing the entire expanse.
Of course, I now have this as a permanent accompaniment to my DVD copy of "Lust For Life," and I have already viewed this short three times and expect that I will do so many more.