Customer Reviews

Don Juan (Silent) [VHS]

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Besides having two popular stars like John Barrymore and Mary Astor in a lavishly-costumed, entertaining and exciting adventure, this film also features this first 'perfectly matched orchestral accompaniment' recorded on Vitaphone. This was one of the first steps in 1926 towards synchronized sound with moving pictures which led to 'talkies' a few years later. The picture quality on this tape is excellent and is in clear black & white, but at first hearing the original Vitaphone recording sounds a bit muffled; exactly like our parents' old phonograph records - which it is, after all. After a short while, however, I was too engrossed in the film to pay attention to the sound quality and only noticed how well the music and sounds matched the scenes and mood of the pictures.
John Barrymore suits and plays the part of Don Juan perfectly, showing a range of emotions as he moves from playboy to serious lover and hero, as well as engaging in a breath-taking sword fight that would rival the popular Fairbanks Swashbuckler films. "Don Juan" has the perfect balance of humor, drama, excitement and suspense to make it a video well worth while and one that will hopefully appear on DVD before too long as well!

John Barrymore is perfect in the role of Don Juan de Marana, the notorious lover of all women who made a pact with his dying father that he would never let a woman into his heart. He matures into a clever and handsome young man who, with the help of his faithful sidekick Pedrillo, romances and seduces many women simultaneously- even to the point of having three women in his home who each have no clue that they are not alone with the great lover!

His reputation intrigues the fatally beautiful Lucrezia, a member of the villainous Borgia clan, and he accepts her invite to their upcoming gala. Between dodging Lucrezia and instantly seducing an attractive young maid, Don Juan's cold heart is melted by the mere sight of the pure Adriana della Varnese, portrayed by the gorgeous Mary Astor (roughly 20 years before her famous role in "The Maltese Falcon"). Adriana's father, Duke della Varnese, is an enemy of the Borgia and also a guest at the party. When Don Juan realizes that the Duke is about to drink a poisoned glass sent by Lucrezia, he gallantly saves the Duke's life as a gesture of ardour to Adriana. Lucrezia sees that Adriana is a threat and tries to rip away her rival's innocence by trying to marry her to the evil Count Donati, and by giving her to the even more evil alchemist Neri as a guinea pig for his fiendish experiments. Don Juan fights his feelings as long as he can, but ultimately stands up to each challenge with courage and intelligence. There is an excellent fight scene between Don Juan and Count Donati which ranges from swordplay to fists to exhaustion between the two men, and the scenes where Don Juan is imprisoned by the Borgia (and his escape) are amazing. Don Juan does save the girl and escape from the enemy, and the happy couple ride off into the sunset as of olden times...wait a minute, this was made during the olden times!

John Barrymore also plays Don Juan's father, Don Jose de Marana- a bitter man who had his wife's lover trapped behind a wall of their castle and swore off love forever. He also did all of his own stunts in the film. This will surprise those who don't like older movies with its timeless romance and unforgettable characters. A must-have for silent movie fans everywhere!

Don Juan is the legendary 14th Century Spanish lover immortalized in Moliere's 1665 play, Mozart's 1787 opera, and Byron's 1821 epic poem. This 1926 movie with John Barrymore was the first film version. Don Juan would later be played by Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (1934), Errol Flynn (1949), and Johnny Depp (1994).

John Barrymore (1882-1942) was one of the greatest theatrical performers of the 20th century, but many of his screen performances are not nearly as powerful, and this is particularly true of his work in the talkies. In films like "Romeo and Juliette" (1936) and "Twentieth Century" (1934), which were essentially filmed plays, we get to see what theater goers saw, but in more dynamic vehicles like "Rasputin and the Empress" (1932) and "Dinner at Eight" (1933), much of Barrymore's charm and charisma are missing. But here in this silent film his skills are fully in view.

FWIW - Barrymore set the world's record by slapping 191 kisses on various women during this film.

A very young Mary Astor (1906-1987) plays the innocent girl who attracts Barrymore's attention. Astor is best remembered as Mrs. O'Shaughnessy from "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), although she won the Oscar for her role in "The Great Lie" which appeared the same year and is now mostly forgotten. Astor made more than 100 films from 1921 to 1964 ("Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte") and was a major star in the silent era. Astor does her usual good job.

Myrna Loy (1905-93) plays an aide to Borgia. She started in silent films in the mid 20s, appearing as an uncredited slave girl in "Ben Hur" (1925) and then appeared in more than 50 silent films before transitioning to sound. Her persona as a comedienne slowly emerged in films like "The Prizefighter and the Lady" (1933) that was directed by Woody Van Dyke, who would help transform Myrna Loy into Nora Charles, the other half of "The Thin Man" series (1934 - 47) for which she is best known.

Warner Oland (1879-1938) plays Cesare Borgia. Oland is best known for his many films as Charlie Chan, starting in 1931 following his role in "The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu" (1929). Interestingly enough he was Swedish.

Hedda Hopper (1885-1966) appears briefly. Hopper is better known for her gossip columns, but she did, in fact, appear in over 100 films between 1916 and 1946. Her performance in this film suggests that her career move was the correct one.

Alan Crosland (1894-1936) was a major director in the silent era where he made some 50 films including "Under the Red Robe" (1923). He followed "Don Juan" with "The Jazz Singer" (1927), but after this his career declined.

The sets are lavish, the costumes are terrific, and the photography is marvelous, using some hand held techniques that were revolutionary for the time. This was the first time the music and the film were synchronized and it works perfectly. The same team later worked on "The Jazz Singer" and so began the talkie era.

The big money earners in 1926 were "Aloma of the South Seas", Raoul Walsh's "What Price Glory?" with Victor McLaglen, "The Great K and A Train Robbery" with Tom Mix, "Beau Geste" with Ronald Coleman, and Clarence Brown's "Flesh and the Devil" with Greta Garbo and John Gilbert. "Don Juan" came in #9, just ahead of another Barrymore film, "The Sea Beast". Other notable films released that year were "The General" with Buster Keaton and "Son of the Sheik" with Rudolph Valentino.

This movie is great stuff for silent film fans and for anyone interested in seeing the early work of future stars like Astor, Loy, and Oland. For Barrymore fans this is a must see. He is in complete control of his considerable skills. He climbs balconies, swings from the chandeliers, jumps off terraces, and engages in sword fights on land and on horseback that are the equal of any of Douglas Fairbanks' swashbuckling during that same era. Indeed, the duel between Barrymore and the evil Count is one of the top 5 dueling scenes ever photographed.

As a modern-day technology teacher, I was amused to see the response I got when I used this old film for a unit in my Information Technology Lab. The video cassette itself was in great shape, and my students were entertained by seeing how far we've come in the film industry and technology as a whole. Don't rule out enjoying the oldies!!

This is a good example of a silent adventure film with a talented star (John Barrymore) in a role to which he is perfectly suited. However, the primary reason it is remembered today is that this was the first feature film to use the Vitaphone system. In other words, it was the first film to have a synchronized sound track, even if all it did at the time was provide orchestral accompanyment and sound effects such as swords clashing. It's a shame that is what it is mainly remembered for, because the film is great entertainment. Barrymore not only entertains the audience with his athleticism, he gives great depth to the role of the wealthy cad who believes that woman gives man only three things - "life, disillusionment, and death" - until he meets a woman (Mary Astor) whose behavior challenges his lifelong beliefs.

Another interesting thing about this film is that two of the female stars are playing roles that seem unusual for them if you are familiar with their later work. Mary Astor, at age 20, is playing an innocent in this film. The finely chiseled features she developed as she got a little older had her playing at best good but hardened women and at worst femme fatales. Myrna Loy plays the sneaky aid to Lucrezia Borgia, where she is best known as playing the heroine in her talking picture roles once she got to MGM.

The irony of this film is that by 1926 the camera work is able to help make the the sword fight and the horseback battle two very exciting sequences because the Vitaphone soundtrack was providing only canned sound, not anything that was actually occuring on screen. Once that phase of sound on film began, such mobile action films as these would not be possible for awhile. Highly recommended, it's just too bad it is not available on DVD.

To be honest I have not seen this movie as I don't want to buy it on tape!
I'm keen on owning it on DVD or, even better, on HD-DVD or Blu-ray.
The main reason for it is the shot of the orchestra that plays the music is included. As I'm related to John Amans who should be seen on this movie, I'm keen on owning it in the best possible quality. VHS is not an option.
I'm sure the movie itself is worth watching as well, if only out of historical point of view.
So, what's keeping the industry from issuing those gems on 21st century systems?

The first film version of "Don Juan" is very good. John Barrymore plays the title character. Though NOT the first sound film, it did pave the way for "The Jazz Singer" and the rest is Hollywood history. Often overlooked because it's a silent movie and in black-and-white, this film version of the Spanish legend deserves to be seen as much as the 1948 swashbuckling adventure-romance starring Errol Flynn. I highly recommend this film version. Not Rated.