Tarzan, the Ape Man | | Cast : | Bo Derek, Richard Harris, Miles O'Keeffe | | Director : | John Derek | | Studio : | Warner Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | January 01, 1981 | | DVD Released Date : | February 08, 2005 | | Language : | English (Original Language), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 13, 2005 | | Summary | Bo Derek is all wet | Content
 | Directed by John Derek, now I wonder how Bo got the part. Does not matter how she got there it is fun to watch her get wet every time you turn around. She was wet in "10" (1979) but here she is all wet.
This is a simple adaptation of the Tarzan story where Jane joins her father (Richard Harris) in an expedition. He tells here of the Tarzan legend. She wanders off. During her wet period Tarzan (Miles O'Keeffe) appears on the scene and plucks her. Bo sort of monkeys around. And Tarzan gets snaked. Daddy gets stuck and we all live happily ever after? Or do we?
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| Rating | | | Date | December 28, 2004 | | Summary | BO-ring!!!! | Content
| Possibly one of the worst movies ever made, Bo and John Derek managed to massacre the Tarzan legend while wreaking cinematic havoc with this unbelievably bad waste of celluloid. Where to begin....the lousy script, the poopy cinematography, the atrocious acting....I can't think of enough adjectives to describe how putrid this actually is. As for erotic - forget it. Jane should have boffed the ape instead. Jane and papa head through the jungle, delayed by her repeated falls into the river. Despite the time period, when women were supposed to be modest, Jane doesn't seem to know what underwear is. Yeesh. I can't believe people actually paid to see this tripe. If you must watch it, rent it and save some $. You'll be glad you did |
| Rating | | | Date | November 01, 2004 | | Summary | The Story of Jane | Content
| The title character does not get much screen time in this film. He doesn't even get any lines (most of his yells are done so that you can't see his mouth). This is really the story of Jane.
Jane has decided to go to Africa to search for her father who left her and her mother many years before. On the way she must defend her virtue, kill the crew of the boat she hired, and pilot the boat to her father. There she finds a man who seems to have had his brains baked in the sun a little too long.
Eventually they all go off to search an escarpment to find the elephant's graveyard. Once on top they find the giant inland sea and a bizarre tribe living near the graveyard (we only see one dead elephant so at the time I did not know the "graveyard" had been found). They also run into Tarzan who has the habit of not speaking and passing out whenever he exerts himself.
I really got the feeling that the only thing any of the film's creators knew about Tarzan was what they had learned from Johnny Weissmuller films. The escarpment seems to be about half the continent. It is nearly impossible to climb so I don't know how dying elephants manage to get up it. Jane's experiences with the bizarre tribe (where she gets painted white) seem to have been lifted from Ursula Andress's film Slave Of The Cannibal God.
There is very little that is right with this film (other than that it does finally end). Jane goes from super-able to a frightened schoolgirl but eventually falls for Tarzan and reconciles with her father. But in the end it is not really worth watching. For viewers who are hoping to see Bo Derek nude, almost all of that is found during the closing credits so you might as well just skip right to them.
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| Rating | | | Date | October 22, 2004 | | Summary | Bo Derek grabs that big vine! | Content
| Beautiful Bo Derek (as Jane Parker) embarks on an erotic jungle adventure to West Africa to find her estranged explorer father (Richard Harris). Along the way she meets up with the handsome and extremely buff title character (Miles O'Keefe). The locations (Sri Lanka) are almost as gorgeous as Bo, and the photography (courtesy of John Derek) is equally breathtaking. I enjoyed this film, despite the campy script and preposterous story. It is a silly adventure that shows all the interactions between this sexy jungle duo that usually happened behind the palm trees. I liked the fact that Jane Parker was portrayed as a liberated and independent woman (even though it's supposed to be 1910). I think that Bo's performance (despite the critical backlash) was spirited and appealing. The late Richard Harris seems to overact a bit in his role as the demanding expedition leader, and his constant bellowing gets old after a while. Also, the incestuous overtones make some scenes uncomfortable to watch. Miles O'Keefe is a wonderful Tarzan (how did that tiny loincloth stay on anyway?). This DVD adds the previously edited "controversial" scenes that were missing from the cinematic and video release! (And yes, a chimpazee really does kiss Bo's nipple in one innocent moment) The only "extra" in this DVD is the original theatrical trailer. For those who admired that famous leather bikini that Bo wears in the promotional posters and DVD cover, you'll be dissappointed - as she never wears it on camera. When this movie was first broadcast on network T.V., she wore it during the closing credits during a beautiful walk on the beach with Tarzan and C.J. the famous movie orangutan. I prefered this ending to the semi-nude wrestling romp that accompanies the closing credits on the DVD. This is a great film, and the picture/sound/music quality transfer to DVD is great. Bo's star may have faded in the following decades, but I still remember waiting in a very long line at the theater to see the perfect "10" swing with Tarzan... |
| Rating | | | Date | March 31, 2004 | | Summary | The most Sensuous Tarzan | Content
| As a longtime Tarzan aficionado (I've read all the books),I just had to write a review for this Tarzan film, because I love it! Yes, Richard Harris is embarrassingly over-the-top. Yes, Bo's acting is sophomoric. Yes, the plot plods, and, yes the slo-mo snake scene is overlong. BUT! First, the music is exquisite. I have searched for years for the soundtrack to this movie! Second, the on-location filming was first rate. The lagoon and tree house were exactly as you would expect Tarzan's world to look. Third, the nudity was for the most part, appropriate to turn-of-the century Africa. Fourth, and most importantly, Miles O'Keeffe was an incredibly sexy Tarzan! Tarzan is a savage, sensuous literary character, and this Tarzan personifies that image. As a gay man, I enjoyed watching Tarzan as much as I suppose the Derek's were hoping straight men were enjoying Bo! Now if they had only shown HIM naked! Now, about that soundtrack... |
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