The Affairs of Anatol

Rating:
Summary: The 1920's soap opera king
Review: CB DeMille hit pay dirt as far as I am concerned with this one. It is a soap opera and as soap operas go a very good one. I still in my young mind can not phatom how Gloria Swanson became such a big star under the tuotoship of CB. She is a OK actress though much better than in shifting sands (1918) This will appeal to you if you want to see what a young Gloria looked like before Sunset Blvd. But I wish someone would tell me what was her magnetism. I still prefer Pola Negri to her any ole time

Rating:
Summary: THE AFFAIRS OF ANATOL!
Review: Directed by the immortal CECIL B. DeMILLE! Starring the dazzling GLORIA SWANSON! A tawdry little tale of the JAZZ AGE! Swanson plays Vivian, the wife of Anatol DeWitt Spencer, played by WALLACE REID! They are a young married couple who end up CHANGING their HEARTS along with their PARNTERS once they are seduced by the DECADENT PLEASURES of New York City! Featuring BEBA DANIELS as the wickedest woman in the Big Apple, Satan Synne! The story might not be much but the COSTUMES and the SETS are pure DEMILLE! "The Affairs of Anatol" is based on a novel and play by Arthur Schnitzler! In DeMille's hands it becuase a SOPHISTICATED FARCE! This SILENT film is presented with its original COLOR TINTING! This would be a good one to check out before watching GLORIA in "Sunset Blvd"!

Rating:
Summary: The 1920's soap opera king
Review: THE AFFAIRS OF ANATOL is one of the great but elusive silents from the early 1920s that turn up only as tantalizing photos in film books. So it is a real joy to discover a tinted and toned print on DVD with a serviceable new music score. The film also provides an opportunity to view the sophisticated work of Cecil B. DeMille when he was still very much of a creative film-maker and before he settled into the "cotton candy" purveyor of comic book-type films of the sound era.

Perhaps the spendid visual quality of some recent DVD silent film releases has spoiled me, but as all silent film buffs know, the flesh tones in silents are crucial. When the actors all look as though their make-up is white flour, you know you're watching a print a few generations removed from a good original. Since the liner notes claim that ANATOL was taken from a 35 mm. original - hence the elaborate stenciling, tinting and toning - I was shocked at the rather muddy pictorial quality and dead white faces of the actors. It's still a wonderful film but the disapponting visual quality will limit its appeal to established silent film buffs. It's tough sledding for others.

Rating:
Summary: Witty, Cynical Film But Poor Picture Quality
Review: THE AFFAIRS OF ANATOL is one of the great but elusive silents from the early 1920s that turn up only as tantalizing photos in film books. So it is a real joy to discover a tinted and toned print on DVD with a serviceable new music score. The film also provides an opportunity to view the sophisticated work of Cecil B. DeMille when he was still very much of a creative film-maker and before he settled into the "cotton candy" purveyor of comic book-type films of the sound era.

Perhaps the spendid visual quality of some recent DVD silent film releases has spoiled me, but as all silent film buffs know, the flesh tones in silents are crucial. When the actors all look as though their make-up is white flour, you know you're watching a print a few generations removed from a good original. Since the liner notes claim that ANATOL was taken from a 35 mm. original - hence the elaborate stenciling, tinting and toning - I was shocked at the rather muddy pictorial quality and dead white faces of the actors. It's still a wonderful film but the disapponting visual quality will limit its appeal to established silent film buffs. It's tough sledding for others.

Rating:
Summary: Watch out for Satan Synne
Review: The Affairs of Anatol, although concerned with adultery, is really quite a moral film. Anatol de Witt Spencer has the best of intentions with regard to the three women, other than his wife, who he is involved with. His affairs, at least in terms of what is seen, don't amount to more than a lustful look and a kiss. Nevertheless the film depicts a world which Hollywood would soon be unable to show. Later censorship would not allow a character called Satan Synne who is obviously a prostitute and it certainly would not allow us to see her invite Anatol into her bedroom.

The episode concerning Satan Synne is the best of the film. This is partly because she is played by Bebe Daniels. Anyone who has seen 42nd Street will recognise Daniels as the star who sprains her ankle. She was an important silent actress and her beauty allows her to convincingly portray a temptress known as 'The wickedest woman in New York.' Satan Synne is a wonderful character and fascinating not because of her supposed wickedness, but because Demille shows her in such a sympathetic light. Thus although Demille's film is moral it does not moralize. It does not condemn the world it shows.

The film, as a whole, is entertaining and very interesting, but it does not quite attain greatness. Anatol comes across as just a little too naïve to be completely believable, while his wife, played by Gloria Swanson, lacks understanding and is seen to be simply spiteful. The viewer is left wondering what her problem is, and thus at times her actions lack motivation and justification. This means that she is a less sympathetic character than she ought to be.

The Affairs of Anatol is a good film, but one of the main reasons to see it is that the print presented on the DVD is quite superb. It is unusual to see a print which shows such elaborate colouring techniques. Not only are there a large number of tinted scenes, but also at times the print has been coloured in such a way that different parts of the negative show different colours. Furthermore, the titles are inventive with coloured drawings and even on occasion animated scenes. The spectacle of the film is thus heightened and the viewing experience becomes unforgettable.

Silent films are often shown in black and white even when they were originally coloured. It is rare indeed to see a film which shows the variety of colouring techniques which existed in the silent era. It is for this reason that The Affairs of Anatol should be added to any silent film fan's collection.