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Rudolph Valentino stars as Vladimir Dubrovsky, a young Russian Cossack officer who rejects the Czarina's (Louise Dresser) amorous attention and is promptly branded a deserter in this silent tale of love and revenge. On the eve of his dismissal he learns of his father's ruin--his father had sent a letter pleading for the Czarina's aid against Kyrilla (James Marcus), a gluttonous and treacherous neighbor who has stolen the family's estate. Sentenced to death with a reward on his head for shunning the lusty Czarina, Vladimir escapes into the countryside and becomes the Black Eagle, a dashing masked vigilante who seeks to avenge the death of his father. As he nears his goal, his mission is complicated when he falls in love with Mascha Troekouroff (Vilma Banky), Kyrilla's daughter. In order to infiltrate Mascha's house and seek his ultimate revenge on her father, he dons another disguise, forsaking his mask for the identity of Maurice Le Tournier, Mascha's debonair French tutor. What follows is a witty combination of parlor romance and farce as Vladimir attempts to win Mascha's affections while plotting Kyrilla's destruction. Valentino delivers a charismatic and seductive performance in this full-scale romantic adventure that shines with early Hollywood's technical advancements and stylish production values. Based on DUBROVSKY by Alexander Pushkin.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
In this good natured costume romp, Rudolph Valentino plays a Russian officer who deserts rather than make love to Catherine the Great (see their scenes together and you'll know why) and returns to his hometown to have his revenge on the man who cheated his father out of his land and who keeps a bear in his wine cellar because, well, that's the sort of things bad guys do, I guess. Disguising himself as a French tutor, his plans are complicated when he falls in love with his arch-enemy's daughter (Vilma Banky). You can guess the rest, but what the heck, it's great fun and eagle-eyed viewers may even spot a young Gary Cooper somewhere in the crowd.
Lavishly designed by William Cameron Menzies and stylishly directed by Clarence Brown, Valentino's flair for comedy is well to the fore here. His innuendo-laden comic scenes with Louise Dresser's matronly Catherine the Great are hysterically funny, the dialogue and title cards often very amusing ('Revenge is sweet, but sometimes a woman is sweeter'), with some delightful early exchanges between hero and heroine, and if the end is too contrived even for this light a concoction, the whole cast have fun, and so will you.
Unfortunately the UK DVD is overcropped and has a few intermittent racking problems - while the frame line is never visible, the framing adjusts downwards slightly in several shots. Although mastered from a reissue print, the score is not the one credited on the print to Michael Hoffman but a library track synth affair laid on with little relevance to what is happening onscreen - thus action scenes get light romantic cues while romantic or comic scenes get dramatic crescendos.
Lavishly designed by William Cameron Menzies and stylishly directed by Clarence Brown, Valentino's flair for comedy is well to the fore here. His innuendo-laden comic scenes with Louise Dresser's matronly Catherine the Great are hysterically funny, the dialogue and title cards often very amusing ('Revenge is sweet, but sometimes a woman is sweeter'), with some delightful early exchanges between hero and heroine, and if the end is too contrived even for this light a concoction, the whole cast have fun, and so will you.
Unfortunately the UK DVD is overcropped and has a few intermittent racking problems - while the frame line is never visible, the framing adjusts downwards slightly in several shots. Although mastered from a reissue print, the score is not the one credited on the print to Michael Hoffman but a library track synth affair laid on with little relevance to what is happening onscreen - thus action scenes get light romantic cues while romantic or comic scenes get dramatic crescendos.
By Michael
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The old Hollywood 'Silents' have a magic charm that 'talkies' lacked. A good buy for movie fans! At a good price.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars
25 reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Could We Have The Old Version, Please?
26 Dec 2002
By Sandy McLendon
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
If you don't have a copy of Valentino's most engaging silent, "The Eagle", in your collection, you should certainly have this, but you should know that it is far - very far - from the best version that has been available. This edition is sourced from the Killiam Collection, and is evidently from a 16mm reduction print that saw long use and little care. Contrast and detail are poor, to say the least. There is a sad, tired musical accompaniment that is best turned off, frankly.
What's awful about all this is that this same company, Image Entertainment, once offered a far superior version. Its 1989 laserdisc edition was based on a clean 35mm print from the Rohauer Collection that had excellent contrast and detail. The score was a magnificently well-suited one by Carl Davis; it went so well with the film that once you've had a viewing with Davis's compositions, seeing "The Eagle" with any other score is unthinkable.
"The Eagle" is indispensable to a collection of silents, but this edition is not a patch on what Image itself has offered in the past. It is to be hoped that the company can clear whatever obstacles are keeping it from offering a DVD release of what was one of the best silent-film offerings on laserdisc.
Two stars out of five- I'm docking two for the ghastly print, two for the wretched score that takes the place of Davis's work, and adding one back to be charitable, because this movie is one of Valentino's best, and you should have it, even in a version as shabby as this.
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
"The Eagle" on DVD -- wonderful film but poor print
13 July 2002
By Ravyn
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
"The Eagle" is probably silent screen star Rudolph Valentino's best film. A delightful romantic swashbuckler set in the 18th century Russia (although costume-wise it looks 19th and early 20th century), it is full of action, romance, and also plenty of humor. Valentino is a lieutenant in the czarina's army who becomes a sort of Russian Zorro in order to avenge his father's murder by a neighboring landowner who had stolen his land. His plans for revenge go awry when he falls in love with the charming and lovely daughter of his enemy played by Vilma Banky, who would be reteamed with Valentino in his final film, "The Son of the Sheik." "The Eagle" was directed by Clarence Brown who went on to direct Greta Garbo, and made a number of classic sound films including "National Velvet."
"The Eagle" as a film deserves 5 stars but I can only give this new DVD print 3 stars. Unfortunately, the poor picture quality of this DVD is from the Killiam Collection and is released by Image Entertainment. It has an organ score which I found to be so-so.
...The only real plus here with this DVD is there are chapter titles so you can jump to your favorite scenes. There are no other extras here.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good Movie - Poor transfer
22 July 2002
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
This is not a review of the movie - other than to say it has been one of my favorite silents for over 20 years. This DVD, by Image from the Killiam Collection, seems to be from a somewhat deteriorated positive print of the movie accompanied by a rather mundane organ music tract. Image themselves, released a Laserdisc copy from the Rohauer Collection with full orchestra music in 1989 that was far superior. Hopefully they will be able to re-master that on for release on DVD in the future.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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