The Roan Group Serial Box
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: C- Serials B-
The Roan Group goes out of their way to put out
interesting titles, and that includes Serials.
They even have a couple that have gone out of print, but The Roan
Group Serial Box has four name chapter-plays still available, though they
are not the only company putting them out there. Where we have previously reviewed the titles, we will not recap,
but give comparison information.
Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe (1940)
sets a record for us on this site by being covered in a third DVD version. I covered the copies included in Passport’s
decent box on this third and last Gordon serial, while Ron Von Burg covered the
VCI special edition set. It is the best
of the four in this set and the picture and sound are on par with the other
releases, including a few from other companies. Ming The Merciless is back and Buster Crabbe as Flash is out to
stop him.
The New Adventures Of Tarzan (1935)
was also issued in a Passport box for Tarzan with other materials reviewed
elsewhere on the site. This version is
a tad better than that one, but not by much, because the material is so
old. Who knows where the negative to
this one is. Further explanation is on
the Passport box review, but this is the Herman Brix version where his “Tarzan
Yell” ends up sounding more like a yodel.
Radar Men From The Moon (1951) has also been
issued before, including in a no longer available copy from the former
Whirlwind DVD label. This is a bit
softer than expected and is the first of two Commander Cody serials before the
character when to TV. You have no doubt
seen the footage surface as stock footage and/or a video clip somewhere. Consider if you have ever seen an earlier
version of The Rocketeer. Though the
era of the Serial was eclipsing, this is one of the last that was made and
remembered. Clayton Moore of Lone
Ranger fame also stars as robots and bad guys abound.
Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1937) was also issued
by VCI as part of their Cliffhanger Collection reviewed elsewhere on
this site. This is the first and best
of the three Republic made on the character, though there was a female Zorro by
the third chapterplay. As compared to
the recent Zorro sequel with Antonio Banderas, this is still more
entertaining.
The 1.33 X 1 image in all four cases is average at best,
even though the source material is usually not bad for its age. Quality can vary from chapter to chapter
within one of them, and all but Radar Men are 2004-issue DVDs. Radar Men is from 2000. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is not bad,
especially considering than Roan used to do lesser 1.0 Dolby Mono before Troma
took over the company. That is an
improvement, but the sound is still average, but yet in both performance
aspects, competing versions from other DVD companies are not any better. Therefore, you could get this set and expect
mix performance throughout. Extras
include text on all four titles, with Tarzan also offering a Vincent
Sherman interview and some text on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ evergreen character.
The shell it comes in is also fun, aspiring to spoof
breakfast cereal boxes. Troma has a
good sense of humor and this is a good set for fans and those who have never
seen these characters in action early on.
- Nicholas Sheffo
