Beyond The Rocks (1922/Milestone Cinematheque)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: B Film: B
Sam Wood
is best known for directing some major comedies (The Marx Brothers’ classics A Day At The Races and A Night At The Opera) and dramas (Our Town, Kitty Foyle, Kings Row, Pride of The Yankees, For Whom The Bell Tolls and sections of
Gone With the Wind), but he also did
many films early in the silent era and some are lost. However, none were more sought after like Beyond The Rocks, a 1922 hit that paired
Hollywood (and Paramount Pictures) biggest stars for their only film together,
Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson. In
2004, after decades of being lost probably for good, a good copy was discovered
all the way in The Nederlands and the newly restored print is now on a loaded
DVD that maybe the best silent movie release since the restoration of Fritz
Lang’s Metropolis (1926) arrived a
few years ago.
Swanson
plays a who when boating alone, falls into the water and is saved by
Valentino. She is fine and returns home
to be married to an older, richer man.
She goes through with it for the sake of family and securing a future at
a time when women had little opportunity and money was scarce. However, she has fallen for Valentino at this
strangest of times and they have a relationship involving love letters. However, it will not stay that simple and a
Swiss Alps trip with start their love affair going.
Because
al the Paramount films that have survived to 1948 are at Universal and they
hardly issue them, the silent films the studio (#2 behind MGM and sometimes #1
for all intents and purposes) made are often not seen, but they were a great
studio in the silent era and this production is very impressive for its
age. The stars also have some palpable
chemistry and how this film ever got lost is an atrocity. However, except for a scene or two missing,
this is complete and will further break the myth that silent films are somehow
passé or even obsolete. If anything, now
more than ever with loud soundtracks that amount to nothing, digital visual
effects that are garbage on arrival and mannequins for movie stars, the film
looks greater than ever and once you start watching, it is very easy to forget
whether this is a silent film or not.
True film fans and buffs will love this DVD.
The 1.33
X 1 image is impressive for its age considering the film barely survived, but
detail and the reintroduction of tints (orange for the whole film except some
blue for night shots) make for an interesting comparison to the regular black
and white of the vault print in the supplement section. The score by Henny Vrienten is available in a
Dolby Digital 2.0 version that is more traditional, then the Dolby 5.1 mix adds
sound effects. Both are pretty good,
though the 5.1 mix may go too far for purists with the sound.
Extras
are many and include an introduction to the film by Martin Scorsese, s set of
stills sections including advertising for the film and the 1919 Valentino short
film (at 54 minutes) The Delicious
Little Devil included here at full length, an 85-minutes-long wire
recording of Swanson never before heard and included as an audio commentary to
the film, a couple of Valentino silent trailers and three featurettes. One is on Vrienten composing the music, the
second a Dutch TV piece on finding the film (including background on film
collector Joop Van Liempd) in another look at the vital work being done in film
restoration and third on Giovanna Fossati explaining with illustrated
examples. Like the Milestone release Electric Edwardians (reviewed elsewhere
on this site), more silent classics have been saved and having a detailed
restoration piece in the extras further champions the international necessity
for film restoration efforts worldwide. Beyond The Rocks is one of the great
lost films finally found and probably not a moment too soon. Another great DVD from Milestone!
- Nicholas Sheffo
