A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Because of its length, I had to watch this film in three segments, and each segment presented a revelation. In the first segment, it was the famous tango by Rudolph Valentino, which might be considered great acting all by itself. In the second segment, it was the tragic romance between Rudolph Valentino and Alice Terry, so well played by both of them. In the final segment, it was Nigel De Brulier's reply to Josef Swickard's question: "Did you know my son?"-"I knew them all", and what a beautiful expression of sympathy was on his face! The movie was quite long, but it had a story to tell that needed a longer length! Everyone in it was quite good, especially Rudolph Valentino, Alice Terry, Nigel De Brulier, and Josef Swickard! The direction by Rex Ingram was excellent, also!

1st watched 10/20/2013 - 4 out of 10(Dir-Rex Ingram): Heavy handed anti-war movie comes across very one-sided as far as the perspective on a war between Germany and France in this epic family drama, love story & war movie wrapped into one package. Rudolph Valentino plays a son of a Parisian who departed to Argentina fleeing the country from an earlier conflict, but returns after his grand-father's demise. The son has a weakness for the woman-folk and becomes involved with the wife of one of his German cousins causing scandal between the two families. He is an artist who lives off his father's money until he decides to join the cause of the war. The four horsemen come into play as an allegory against the biblical reference(referred to in the movie as an old book) in Revelations where each horsemen represents a different side of the results of war activity and the movie does some special effects introducing these horsemen at different points of the movie. Rudolph's father hordes antiques in an old castle in France, but it's destroyed by the German's in an almost naturally occurring guilty verdict on his original escape from the draft. This is a departure from the rest of the movie's otherwise emotionally pointed view about the negative perspective on war. There is not much detail given to the war only that Germany is the conqueror and France takes the blunt of their blows. I believe the piece would have been stronger if the motivations of both sides would have been revealed better. The romance in the story is lessened and seems to just be an opportunity to show off the good looking Valentino's occasional dancing with the ladies. I'm sure the actual re-percussions of World War I prompted the novel and the movie and this played real well to packed houses in America when it first came out, but doesn't play as well to the current age. Overall, I just didn't see that the movie made it's point very effective -- which appeared to be that war should be avoided. In my opinion it wasn't bold enough in it's assessment.

Being an aficionado of Classic Movies, I had always been curious about the Actor Rudolph Valentino. So when the opportunity to watch his star making movie came on an old time TV Show called "Silents Please" I could not resist. I must insert here, that at the time I was only 19 years of age and yet watching this very old movie, I also fell under the spell of this handsome actor. The year was 1960 and over 30 years after his death. Even so, and knowing all of this, I was stricken. The scene that cinched it for me was just prior to the famous tango; it comes when Valentino is watching the two dancers and. The expression on his face - the confidence, the downright arrogance was right there. And it became quite obvious that he was planning to appropriate the female part of that dance team and equally obvious that he was going to show all who was the better man - the tango being the handy vehicle. Valentino captured my adulation, and I was viewing the movie from a small screen television. I would be willing to bet that those women watching that scene in the dark 1921 theater never stood a chance. Talk about Star Power. He surely had it!

Europe is "a world old in hatred and bloodshed, where nation is crowded against nation and creed against creed, centuries of war have sown their bitter seed, and the fires of resentment smoldering beneath the crust of civilization but await the breaking of the Seven Seals of Prophecy to start a mighty conflagration." But, in the Americas, "boundless space offers a haven to the alien, and ancient hatreds are forgotten." In the "New World", Pomeroy Cannon (as Madariaga) and his family thrive. Mr. Cannon's eldest daughter Bridgetta Clark (as Luisa) marries German Alan Hale (as Karl von Hartrott), and they have three sons. Youngest daughter Mabel Van Buren (as Elena) marries French Josef Swickard (as Marcelo Desnoyers), and they sire son Rudolph Valentino (as Julio Desnoyers) and daughter Virginia Warwick (as Chichi).From the preceding family of characters, you should pay relatively close attention to Mr. Valentino's "Julio" and Mr. Swickard's "Desnoyers", who emerge as two of the drama's three leading players; they are patriarch Cannon's favorite grandson and son, respectively. When the old man dies, the sisters' families move back to their husbands' home countries of Germany and France. Valentino studies art, thrills the French with his "Argentine Tango", and begins an affair with married woman Alice Terry (as Marguerite Laurier). Ms. Terry, wife of director Rex Ingram, is the third player of prominence.Several supporting players stand out; perhaps none more than two men Valentino becomes acquainted with, in France: servile companion Bowditch M. Turner (as Argensola) and mysterious "man upstairs" (hint, hint!) Nigel de Brulier (as Tchernoff). Eventually, events culminate into "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" fulfilling its promise; it becomes a story of The Great War (aka World War I). Ibáñez (and adapter June Mathis)' "Four Horsemen" are: Conquest, War, Pestilence, and Death. The war scenes are exciting.In a great crosscutting sequence, Valentino throws Mr. Turner out of the apartment, so he can "entertain" Terry. Due to a downpour, Turner goes upstairs to visit with mysterious Mr. de Brulier, who cuts into the forbidden fruit of an apple, while Valentino (off screen) similarly removes Terry's "beautiful covering" and "cloak of virtue." No sexual relations are shown, but director Ingram clearly makes his point. And, all of this occurs as the Great War erupts.The film's overall thesis is unsteady, at times; and, there are little things (like animals) to distract - does nurse Terry's husband fail to recognize her voice? Award-worthy Valentino and Terry speak French in France, by the way - regardé, for example, "Oui" for "Yes". "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is a triumph for Mr. Ingram, photographer John F. Seitzand, and company. Despite some flaws, it's an indispensable film. ********* The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (3/6/21) Rex Ingram ~ Rudolph Valentino, Alice Terry, Josef Swickard, Alan Hale