The Legend of Rudolph Valentino

Rating:
Summary: Poorly made documentary
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Review: 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.