Beyond the Rocks (1922)

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

A very rare teaming-up of two silent superstars, Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson. This film was lost until 2005, when it was discovered in a Dutch film archive. It's okay, but kind of pedestrian. Swanson plays a poor girl with an aging father and two spinster sisters. The sisters convince her to marry a much older man, a millionaire (Robert Bolder, who looks like he could play the Penguin in a silent movie adaptation of Batman). Swanson falls in love with young count Rudolph Valentino after he rescues her twice, but of course can't be with him. When Bolder finds out, he is so depressed that he undertakes a dangerous expedition in North Africa, hoping to be killed there. The North African sequences near the end are the film's best. I also liked the alpine sequences nearer the beginning. Otherwise, it's a bit of a bore.

Though famous for re-coining "It" as a code word for sex appeal, this piece of romantic slush is more typical of Elinor Glyn's output. Gloria Swanson marries a rich old fart to save her family from ruin, but falls hard for dashing aristo/playboy Rudolph Valentino. A jealous old flame swaps letters Swanson has written to her husband & her putative lover (she's going to do the right thing, whew!) and in a fit of renunciation, her portly spouse goes off on a Sahara expedition (!) knowing that his life will be in jeopardy. Gloria & Rudy give chase, arriving just in time to get the dying man's blessing. Sam Wood helms efficiently, but brings out the ham in everyone, esp. Rudy, and this famous 'lost' pic only proves the axiom about disappointing discoveries. The newly commissioned background score also disappoints though the picture restoration is largely a success.

This is proof positive that not every silent film is great or even worthy of restoration, however good the photography may be. Nor is the musical accompaniment always appropriate, as is the case here.GLORIA SWANSON and RUDOLPH VALENTINO may have been the hot twosome of the twenties, but here they hardly get a chance to do more than exchange intense glances while Swanson coyly looks away and flutters her overmade eyelashes and purses her bow-lipped mouth. Rudy is given not too much material to work with in the way of romantic lover, but he gets hero status from the fact that first he saves her from drowning, then rescues her when she falls off the rocks.Aside from her garish and non-flattering make-up, Miss Swanson does nothing to suggest why she was such a popular silent star except for the fact that she is paraded in a series of costumes that were clearly not designed by Adrian.Valentino, on the other hand, gets to look his handsome self and even dons one white outfit that flatters his swarthy good looks. Other than watching the two of them parade around in various outfits, there is nothing in this Harlequin romance that makes much sense.Her romance with a nobleman is given a conveniently happy ending when her husband nobly allows himself to be shot in the desert so that his young wife can spend the rest of her years with Valentino.Somewhere in this hopelessly old-fashioned, banal, slow moving romance there must be a message, but I'll be darned if I can find one--except perhaps that when you're old, you should kill yourself if it will make your wife happy.As silent films go, the direction by Sam Wood is quite restrained for the time period and the photography is often artful when the film isn't having restoration problems. But this is by no means anything anyone should go out of their way to see. The story is trite, Swanson's acting is all a series of poses, and only Rudolf Valentino comes out of this smelling like a rose. At least he's natural and low-keyed and knows how to look at a woman--which must disappoint female fans who wanted to see him and Swanson steaming up the desert with passion. Not.

Despite an earlier poster's view that the soundtrack was at times "too contemporary sounding," I would argue that the track brings this film up-to-date, without sacrificing its initial intent.The more modern track (and I'm a traditionalist in all things...) pulled me in and made me watch this film with new eyes. The "original" music used on many silents is clearly one of the things which immediately dates them and makes them seem old and, to some people, silly. With fresher music, it is easier to watch the performances and not get caught up in the sound, which obviously predominates in silents...Ron