The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

An extended family split up in France and Germany find themselves on opposing sides of the battlefield during World War I.Often regarded as one of the first true anti-war films, it had a huge cultural impact and became the top-grossing film of 1921, beating out Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid". The film turned then-little-known actor Rudolph Valentino into a superstar and associated him with the image of the Latin Lover. The film also inspired a tango craze and such fashion fads as gaucho pants. The film was masterminded by June Mathis, who, with its success, became one of the most powerful women in Hollywood at the time.Despite this -- the sales, the Valentino connection, and more... this is a little-known film and one that is rarely seen. Even being preserved by the Library of Congress (which is how it got on my to-see list) has not really raised its stature much. And yet, it is a minor silent epic that could be seen as the equal of anything DeMille or Griffith put out.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) was the biggest blockbuster of its day and among the highest-grossing films of the 1920s. Today, it is the most well-known film of the unsung director Rex Ingram, notable for being the film which launched the career of heartthrob Rudolph Valentino with the iconic tango sequence, and it is lauded as an early anti-war picture. But is it really deserving of the praise and attention it gets outside of historical significance? The film itself is unevenly paced, even stately. One feels every slow minute of its two hours. Ingram's direction is good though, and the visuals are stunning, as they always are in an Ingram production.The acting is uneven too. Valentino does well as Julio, going from a callow philanderer to a selfless war hero. His more restrained technique is a great contrast to the eye-bulging insanity he displays in his most well-known film, that masterpiece of kitsch, The Sheik (1921). However, I think his best performance was still ahead of him in The Eagle (1925), where he juggles drama, comedy, action, and sensual romance with ease.Alice Terry is not one of my favorite actresses, as I find she doesn't possess much charisma for a leading lady. This is probably one of her better performances, a restrained portrait of romantic yearning and a struggle between her happiness and the welfare of her much older husband.Though many have praised his performance, I found Joseph Swickard to be almost embarrassing as Valentino's father. He reacts to the atrocities around him with bulging eyes and cartoonish trembling. When he collapses while telling Julio to be ruthless in war, it comes across as unintentionally comedic rather than emotional.I also disagree with the notion that this is an anti-war picture. The depiction of the Germans in this film is as extreme as the cartoonish villainy of Erich von Stroheim's nurse-raping and child-murdering Prussian lieutenant in The Heart of Humanity (1918). While the characters regret the casualties of the war, the film suggests that the war had to happen because those evil Germans had to be stopped. The enemy are not treated like people; they're all wicked and that is definitely reminiscent of wartime propaganda, not a movie arguing for pacifism or the senselessness of war.Honestly, I wish Ingram were more remembered for his excellent production of Scaramouche (1923), which is even greater than the more celebrated 1953 remake. It also has better performances and pacing. Four Horsemen is a decent epic, but it isn't anymore memorable than any other by-the-numbers blockbuster Hollywood had and has cranked out before or after.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The (1921) *** (out of 4) Rudolph Valentino does the tango here and with that one scene he became a household name, one of the biggest stars around and forever put his name in the books of Hollywood legend. The Argentinean Madariago (Pomeroy Cannon) has two daughters; one who marries a a French guy and one who marries a German against his wishes. The French daughter has a son named Julio (Valentino) who quickly because his grandfather's favorite but after Madariago dies, the two families movie back to the husband's home countries and soon afterwards WW1 breaks out. Julio, who lived as a playboy, must choose if he wants to give his lifestyle up and join the war. This legendary film from Rex Ingram certainly lives up to its reputation even though some of the anti-war feelings are a little backwards. There's no doubt the film is against the war but at the same time the film paints Valentino as a coward for not wanting to fight in the war. How can you have an anti-character in an anti-war film being shown as a coward? Outside of that this is a very impressive film and what also impressed me was the tinting used by Ingram. For the most part the film is shown in a brown tint but it also switches back to your typical B&W footage while yet again changing to a red tint for the horsemen scenes. The horsemen scenes are very well done and I thought that the special effects still looked quite good. The few battle scenes in the film look nice as well. The performances are all very good with Valentino giving the best performance I've seen from him in the eight or so movies I've watched of his. He's very good during the romance scenes but he also proves himself quite well in the dramatic department. Cannon, Josef Swickard, Alice Terry and Brinsley Shaw are also good in their roles. Wallace Beery is good in his few scenes as a German officer.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was a anti-war silent movie,but a good movie i don't know this exactly that i have seen the whole movie,but it's a good film.the main topic is the world war I. a lot of scenes were in the bar where people drinking vodka or cognac and smoking cigar or cigarette.Rudolph Valentino has been along time ago my big idol with Jimi Hendrix,Elvis Presley,Hulk Hogan and Ice-T. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was without a doubt one of the highest grossing silent films ever.and Rudolph Valentino was of course one of the greatest silent movie actors.i am men so i don't have an opinion about his look,but lady's say that was a sex symbol. and of course the famous tango scene is pretty famous scene in movie history.and i personally haven't seen the two sheik movies.