Customer Reviews

Legend of Rudolph Valentino

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

True this is not the best documentary you will ever see on the one-and-only Rudolph Valentino, but what you get sticks to the facts. Perhaps that is the reason no mention of his homosexuality is made as Rudolph Valentino was NOT gay. This was a latter-day invention based on Kenneth Anger's and others' (in the more outre fringe of gay culture) wishful thinking. It is not hard to imagine why certain gays find Valentino such a prize and a would-be feather in their collective caps: he was the most gorgeous vision ever to appear on the Silver Screen and most desireable lover in film history. As to Valentino's puported homosexuality this tiresome rumor is based on some pretty thin gruel such as a fantasy diary, unathenticated (and unathenticatible letters) and the like. However dated and superficial this documentary may be at least it is based on FACT not fantasy.

This DVD beautifully conveys the magic of the silent screen era my parents told me about so often. The scenes from his biggest films accompanied contempory newsreels made the presentation more realistic. I would like to see similar DVD presentations of other "Legends" as well as great directors of the silent era.

Although this documentary uses extensive footage from Valentino's films and good photographs, the details and information concerning Valentino's life is only glossed over. For example, the segment about Valentino's death shows newspaper headlines but the narrator fails to even mention what Valentino died from! For those interested in Valentino's personal life, you won't find it here. The infamous fact concerning his first wife is not mentioned (she threw him out of their room and the marriage was never consummated) nor is Valentino's homosexuality discussed. There is so much footage from "Blood and Sand" and "Son of the Shiek" shown that you feel as though you have watched the entire film. The dvd will be enjoyed by Valentino fans but for those interested in a good documentary in the vein of A&E's Biography series will be disappointed. You can find out more about Valentino's life from a brief entry in a film encyclopedia than you can from this documentary.