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AN EPIC OF REALISM With its great scenes of Argentine-its intimate views of Parisian life-its titanic battle scenes-its massive settings-its tremendous realism-its faithful reproduction of the vital story-its mighty drama-its soul stirring romance.
Set in the years before and during World War I, this epic tale tells the story of a rich Argentine family, one of its two descending branches being half of French heritage, the other being half German. Following the death of the family patriarch, the man's two daughters and their families resettle to France and Germany, respectively. In time the Great War breaks out, putting members of the family on opposing sides.
Οι Τέσσερις Ιππότες της Αποκάλυψης, Los cuatro jinetes del Apocalipsis, I quattro cavalieri dell'apocalisse, Os Quatro Cavaleiros do Apocalipse, 启示录四骑士, Os Quatro Ginetes do Apocalipse, De fyra ryttarna
”Perhaps some afternoon you will come and dance with me.”
To paraphrase the Kaiser Chiefs: 🎶Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! Ruudddaaayyy!🎶
This was Rudolph Valentino’s breakout hit and was one of the first films to make $1,000,000 at the box office as it went on to be the sixth-best-selling silent film of all time. It was also one of the first anti-war movies ever with its epic WWI story of a family divided.
But war be damned! This is Rudy V’s movie, and he steals the show as a dancing ladies man with a poncho wearing monkey as his wingman! My favorite part was when he says to a young lady that if she…
An intriguing prototypical anti-war movie with a flawed message. The film effectively illustrates the horrors of war by showing the misfortune of a wealthy family — an intriguing idea, I guess, but these are the people that will ultimately be least impacted by war in the long term. Several technical elements stand out: the battle footage, a ghost, and the horsemen themselves all look great, and there are several gorgeous shots scattered throughout. But there are also way too many characters and superfluous details that make this a disappointingly messy endeavor.
Nearly a full century late to this party, but that Valentino fellow is quite good isn’t he?
Not to be dramatic or anything, but that first tango scene was life-changing. Ditto to the ones at the end where he has that beard.
On a more serious note, it is fascinating to me how films made in the direct aftermath of World War I (this, The Big Parade) are exceptionally anti-war and very clear, sometimes to the point of graphic, in that message. While there are some really emotional films from the aftermath of World War II, I honestly cannot think of any that are as explicitly anti-war as many of those released after WWI. Just something that I was thinking about watching this.
I watched this mainly for its importance in cinematic history - the film that shot Rudolph Valentino to superstardom and also boosted the already rising career of screenwriter and MGM executive June Mathis, who became one of the most influential women in the silent film era. An epic saga of a family torn apart by WWI.
Based on a popular bestseller by Spaniard Vincente Blasco Ibáñez, it opens with a wealthy Argentine rancher whose two daughters marry a Frenchman and a German. When he dies, the two families each return to the husbands' homelands and eventually WWI breaks out, on opposite sides of the conflict. But the war doesn't factor in until halfway through the picture, with the first half…
A Spaniard goes to Argentina in the years leading up to WW1 and makes a fortune off of cruelty and slave labor. He has two daughters: one marries a Frenchman who he loves and the other marries a German who he despises. The Frenchman has a son who the Spaniard takes in as his heir and raises as a libertine party boy. Eventually the Spaniard dies, but instead of leaving his whole fortune to our part-French grandson he splits his wealth evenly between his daughters. “Wow, what an intriguing film, wish you didn’t spoil the ending though” -you may be saying. Oh not at all. What I described is just the first 10 minutes!
Sometimes the old warhorses wind up being not much good. "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" has surely fallen out of favor in recent decades given that it hasn't been restored for circulation since the days of VHS tapes and analog television last century when done by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's Photoplay Productions--the same viewable but soft-looking print that aired on TCM this past inaugural Silent Movie Day and which has also presumably been the source of bargain-bin DVDs and internet uploads since. Nevertheless, it's had a reputation as one of the important Hollywood productions from the early 1920s, especially given its epic war film format and its history of launching Rudolph…
Besides a few decent segments in battle/Horsemen depiction, there were very few technical innovations for the time that made this enthralling to watch in 2024.
It is, however, worth it to see Rudolph Valentino in his break out role. And also gave me the chance to discover his full name, which is as epic as the film - Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella.
Valentino’s first close ups, smiling and smoking, then cutting into a tango to show how it should be done: actual star is born moment. Intertitles over waves and catherine wheel fireworks take him to Europe and World War 1. At the periphery, moments that wouldn't be allowed in Hollywood in a few years: a monocled lady with her gal pal at a cafe, a white woman flirting with a black soldier, topless models smoking and chatting with each other during a break, cross-dressing German soldiers dancing down a staircase…There’s a love triangle in there somewhere, along with a family split by the war, but it’s less compelling than the scenes of carousing and war, with the Four Horsemen superimposed over it all.
Paired with Valentino (1977). Try to catch the tinted restoration with the Carl Davis score.
As far as extant silent films go this one isn't particularly entertaining by modern standards- it's definitely overlong and scattered in focus. There's ambition bursting through the seams though, and it possesses many individual moments of power and artistry even if the whole never quite coheres. Rudolph Valentino's a magnetic presence as well, and the fiery anti-war stance grants it a base level of power and pathos.
I definitely wouldn't casually recommend this, but it is a worthwhile experience for any fan of this era of filmmaking.
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