Reviews (8)

Bravo, Valentino!
The quality of this film (or at least the version I purchased) did not seem to be to the standards of other Valentino films (picture seemed grainy and the speed seemed much faster), but I still rate it among one of the best. Like one review wrote, it does lack the style of the later Tyrone Power remake; however, Power comes nowhere close to Valentino's brooding, sensual portrayal of Juan Gallardo, and Nita Naldi was much more convincing as the witchy Dona Sol than Rita Hayworth, and plays the range of emotions (from begging Gallardo to love her to coldly reacting to his death)extremely well. This 1922 version captures the spirit of the bullfight remarkably well in spite of the limitations of silent film-making, and seemed incredibly authentic.

Now - about Valentino. I was puzzled at the over-emphasized eyebrows and wish the make-up artists had not found it necessary to use the effect, as Valentino would have projected a Spanish image easily with his natural dramatic looks alone. But, either way, he is intensely sexy, powerful, brooding, smoldering and hypnotic as usual. I enjoyed his portrayal of the youth Juan, especially his tenderness toward his mother. His transition from youth to adult matador was natural and believable. The scene in which Dona Sol begs him to love her and proclaims that she longs for him to "beat" her with his "strong" hands was highly erotic and was packed with a sexual tension that can't be matched by anyone other than Valentino and his leading ladies. I may be biased, because I am crazy about any vehicle which showcases Rudolph Valentino; however, this film carries its own and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Once again, Valentino has captured my heart, and I recommend this film to all lovers of romance.

What I think....
I think this is the best film Valentino ever did! His acting in the romantic scenes lacks the over the top feel that the loves scenes in "The Sheik" have. He brings a sincere, believeable quality to the character. Also, something that the reviews here seem to miss is the comedic moments in the film. In the scene when the black Moor servant offers to light Valentino's cigarette... the look on his face is priceless! Having the video of this film as well I noticed several scenes on the DVD edition that were missing from the VHS edition.
The DVD edition also includes a wonderfully funny piece of Will Rogers' "Blood And Sand" spoof.

CREEPY VAL BROODS AGAIN
Rudolph Valentino blazed on the silent screen with a weird, smoldering sensuality that seems kind of laughable when seen in stills or clips.

Not so in "BLOOD AND SAND," his most celebrated role. Rarely seen today, this classic silent in a new digital transfer from a 35mm archive negative does justice to the enigmatic Valentino's portrayal of Juan Gallardo, a young Spaniard who achieves his boyhood dream of becoming a famous matador only to fall under the malefic charms of mysterious Dona Sol (Nita Naldi).

The compilation, exotic stereo music score is performed by the acclaimed Mont Alto Motion Picture orchestra. The disc comes with a wealth of supplemental features including a filmed introduction by Orson Welles, a great parody starring Will Rogers, footage from Valentino's funeral and more. Brooding and hypnotic and funky. No one smolders like Valentino. Was he gay or just pleasant?

One of Valentino's best!
I recently bought this movie and loved it. I disagree with Maltin's comments - the seduction scenes are a lot of fun and really make the movie, whereas the bullfighting sequences are less impressive - though Valentino does look great in his matador's costume! What really struck me was the sensitivity in Valentino's performance and the overt sensual quality he possesses that just lights up the screen. Nita Naldi plays her role as the 'the vamp' very well and her scenes with Valentino are great (they played together again in 'Cobra'). Of course, the movie is wildly dated - it's 80 years old! But it holds up well as a piece of entertainment, and fans of silent movies should enjoy it. And if you're a fan of Valentino then you're going to love him in this - he looks stunning and gives one of his finest performances, and according to what I've read it was one of his personal favourite parts to play.

Bravo!
Another of Rudolph Valentino's cinematic triumphs. He stars as a bullfighter who is torn between two women. It's a very good film and the bullfighting scenes are very interesting to watch. Great performances by Valentino, Lila Lee and Nita Naldi make this a good film. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

ONE OF FAIRBANK'S BEST MOVIES
Doug Fairbanks was the consumate swashbuckler and the Three Musketeers is one of his best movies, if not THE best."The Three Musketeers" is based on the French novel by Alexandre Dumas. The King of France (Adolphe Menjou) is a weak-minded man manipulated by his sinister advisor Cardinal Richelieu (Nigel de Brulier). The Cardinal conspires against the Queen who opposes his influence. Fortunately for her, she is aided by the King's Musketeers, who have just welcomed young D'Artagnan (Fairbanks) into their ranks.

The actual Musketeers pretty much fade into the background and act as more of a comedic back-up to Fairbanks. I couldn't really tell one from the other (except for the portly Porthos) but they do a fair job with the fight sequences that they are given.

Great costume, exciting sword fights make this a true winner!

Back to basics
Sometimes the simplest things are the best !
I can recommand also the french silent movie version from henri diamant-berger(in 1921 too) that was a huge budget for this time and was lost forever before being found by chance in a private home.

No matter how thrilling and entertaining all the movie adaptations of dumas stories are, the book is still the best

That old movie is very close to the book which is a great thing

to get it, go to the french amazon (www.amazon.fr) and type les trois mousquetaires choose the one from diamant-berger

Fairbanks at his best!
Silent movie fans will be delighted with this swashbuckling tale starring the one and only Douglas Fairbanks! Set in France of long ago, this film uses elaborate costumes, wonderful sets and a hoard of extras. Fairbanks IS Dartanion as he sword fights his way into the Musketeers with bavery, arrogance and that wonderful touch of humor that seems to sparkle through his films. Spectacular stunts (done by the man himself), a wild chase scene and a supporting cast including Eugene Paulette (before he became rotund) and Adolph Menjou make this a silent screen classic everyone will enjoy! Watch out for the "odious Cardinal!" ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Douglas Fairbanks, the most famous of the Zorros, made this mix ofcomedy and derring-do reluctantly, as a change-of-pace from his modern-dress playboy roles. The Old California adventure fared so well at the box office it caused the athletic superstar to rethink his image and don period finery for his best later vehicles, including The Thief of Baghdad.

Here, Doug has a ball playing dual roles, as hopeless fop Don Diego and as masked caballero Zorro, sworn enemy of all oppressors. When he isn't dueling with the evil Capt. Ramon (Robert McKim) or rescuing peasants, Don Diego/Zorro courts the lovely Lolita (Marguerite de la Motte) with bad magic tricks and worse manners. In the end, when Lolita's family is jailed, our hero throws off his masquerade, whips out his rapier, and wins the leading lady's hand.

Full of fun plot twists, secret passageways, and Fairbanks's signature arms-akimbo bravado, this silent classic (with restored sepia interiors) became the model for all the Errol Flynn-Tyrone Power swashbucklers to come. --GlennLovell ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Loved it!!!
This is a great silent film and my first with Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. (I love his son - he's cool and looks a lot like Cary Elwes in Princess Bride). He is great in the part-daring and dashing about here and there as Zorro while yawning into his hankercheif like a 'fish' while a rich gentleman. (You'll note the story is very remniscent of the Scarlet Pimpernel.) The 'lines' are great, the acting very well done and a number of parts will have you chuckling (like when the girl slaps him not once, not twice, not thrice - and with both hands on either cheek!) I'll have to say that this is one of the most enjoyable silent films i've seen in a while. When I put it on, even my little sister came to watch it.

I loved this movie!
Last Thursday, I got "The Mark of Zorro", starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., and I have already seen it. I loved it!

I especially loved the way Fairbanks played the dual role of Don Diego Vega/Zorro. Don Diego's lifelessness was oftentimes amusing, and so were those magic tricks of his. And I loved seeing the practical jokes Zorro played on Sergeant Gonzales. Oh, and could Zorro ever woo Senorita Lolita Pulido!

The acting was probably very good for a 1920s movie (though quite frankly, this is the first time I really saw a silent film, so I don't have much to compare it to), though the performance of Marguerite de la Motte as Lolita, in particular, is slightly melodramatic at times. Still, it's a minor complaint, and it didn't keep me from loving the movie and from wanting to watch it often. END

One of the best of the silents.
The only silent film I have enjoyed as much as I enjoy the best of modern film is Buster Keaton's The General, but Douglas Fiarbanks' The Mark of Zorro holds up better than most silents. The original music by Jon C. Mirsalis adds a lot. The sequal, Don Q., Son of Zorro, is even better than "Mark", so be sure to buy the two films on one DVD from King Video.

Wierd
I saw this film last night on TCM. Silent movies are very odd. Douglas Fairbanks is impressive in his acrobatics and swordplay but does not look like Don Diego, who is said to be handsome in the original story. It is the basic traditional Zorro story, based directly on the original novel by Johnston McCulley. For my first silent movie, it was OK, but without sound it is hard to follow. All the original characters are here, all not as attractive as their parts suggest. The remake starring Tyrone Power is much more impressive.

Silent movie viewer's guide
I am afraid that silent movies are not for every taste. But complaining about a silent movie being bad because it is, well, silent is like complaining that a talking movie is bad because it, well, talks.

As with any entertainment from a different era, silent films require patience and an open mind to get the proper feel of. Some people can do this, some people can't, that does not make either side an inferior species.

After having just rewatched this film, I must say that I still find it quite enjoyable. (I have seen every readily available version of Zorro) This is still the best of the lot in my opinion for several reasons. First, no pretentions. Second, very good action. Third, wildly imaginative stunts for the time.

I do hope you will give this movie a fair chance, silent films are a fascinating intellectual challenge to a modern filmgoer and will widen your film appreciation. Set your mind back to 1920 and savour the taste of the era. ... Read more

Description

Theda Bara was the first of the great vamps, but by the late 1910s she was being eclipsed by a new breed of screen temptresses. The best-remembered of these was Louise Glaum, whose first claim to fame was as the perennial bad-girl dance-hall queen in William S. Hart's westerns. From there, she took leading roles in a string of torrid melodramas: lurid films bearing titles like "A Law Unto Herself" and "Sweetheart of the Doomed." She topped herself with "Sex" in 1920, just as the age of the vamp was coming to a close. Here she plays a cabaret star who lures married men to amorous disaster. Her spiderweb costume is a treat in itself: the symbolism may not be subtle but it certainly is apt! Organ score by Bob Vaughn.

Supplemental material: An eye-opening photo gallery of unclad and under-clad film stars from throughout the silent era and into the early 1930s. Included are rare and risque photos of Louise Brooks, Clara Bow, Douglas Fairbanks, Mae West, Bessie Love and many more. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Perhaps a somewhat misleading title
No doubt most of us will have certain expectations from a film entitled simply "Sex", and seeing the production date, 1920, might stretch our imagination even further.The film's title caused quite a controversy back in 1920, but watching it by modern-day standards will make you wonder what all the fuss was about.The worst you'll see are dancing girls in a club called 'The Frivolity' which attract wayward married men.In fact, putting aside any expectations or images that the title might conjure up, "Sex" turns out to be a very good story with a morale and some points to ponder.Its director, Fred Niblo, has some impressive credentials directing famous stars and films like Valentino in "Blood and Sand", Fairbanks in "The Mark of Zorro" and "The Three Musketeers", Greta Garbo in "The Mysterious Lady" and not in the least, "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ". I was pleased to find that "Sex" measures up to Niblo's standard - at least in 1920 before his more famous films - with a smooth, flowing style as the story unfolds and the plot takes a few turns.Louise Glaum may have been cast in the vamp role in those years, but her part in "Sex" as the leading dancer and hostess of wild (by 1920 standards) all-night parties appears harmless to the modern-day viewer.She and her girls think that flirting and having fun with married men is just a game, but after some time the tables are turned on her, and this makes "Sex" an interesting and satisfying story.The picture quality could be a bit better, and another musical score other than the standard organ accompaniment would also enhance this film, but it's still quite acceptable as it is presented here by Unknown Video. However, if you're after something sexy after all, the bonus feature on this DVD might hit the mark:a slide show of several dozen surprising photosof many famous silent screen stars like you've never seen them before!Featured are Louise Brooks and Clara Bow, plus many others - also some men - in various stages of undress, but all of them are very tastefully done and suit the fashion of the time. This fascinating slide show, together with a quality film with a good story makes this DVD worth a look - or two.




... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Douglas Fairbanks established himself as the first action hero in a series of lavish, action-packed adventures beginning with The Mark of Zorro in 1920. The next year Fairbanks called on the director of that success, Fred Niblo, to direct him in the even more ambitious The Three Musketeers, a swashbuckling costume classic packed with romance, knockabout humor, and Fairbanks's patented brand of gymnastic action. In a perfect match with his exuberantly cocky personality, Fairbanks plays the naive but gifted son of an impoverished nobleman who goes to Paris to seek his fame in the legendary king's guards, known as the Musketeers. The quick-tempered hick is easy to rile and immediately secures duels with the best swordsmen in France, the infamous Three Musketeers, before bonding with them in a brawling fight with the Cardinal's men. Meanwhile, the conniving Cardinal plots to humiliate the Queen and gain the ear of the foppish, easily manipulated King (Adolphe Menjou). The complicated plot introduces more characters than one can easily keep track of and Niblo tends toward static, airy setups that show off the spectacular sets, relying on the bounding energy of human dynamo Fairbanks to create the energy, which he does with cocksure confidence and a smile simultaneously generous, genuine, and just a little smug. Fairbank's version is a veritable blueprint for Richard Lester's excellent 1974 remake. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more