Valentino

Released by: Kino Studio Classics
Released on: January 5th, 2016.
Director: Ken Russell
Cast: Rudolf Nureyev, Leslie Caron, Michelle Phillips, Carol Kane, Seymour Cassel
Year: 1977
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The Movie:

Ken Russell's 1977 "biopic" of legendary silent film star Rudolph Valentino was never one of the director's favorite films. Fraught with studio interference and bickering stars, the film manages the neat trick of being quite representative of the director's overall artistic impulses whilst renaming a lesser effort in the Russell canon.

Rudolph Valentino was one of the silent film era's greatest stars and a huge sex symbol to lonely, sexually frustrated women. The man himself battled persistent rumors about homosexuality though. Of course, all of this is catnip to an artist like Russell who virtually feeds off of controversy and sexual ambiguity in his work. VALENTINO starts off as a fairly straight exercise in telling a life story, but Ken Russell soon swerves into his usual outlandish mode with grotesquely arch performances from his cast and sumptuous sets and outrageous costumes.

The great Russian dancer Rudolph Nureyev was cast as Valentino - and this sets the viewer's course for a favorable or unfavorable opinion right out of the gate. He's stiff and often out of his depth when called upon to emote, but he has the athletic grace and stone cold dancing ability to make for a believable target of women's lust. As the film offers a potted backwards rolling history of the life of Valentino - it kicks off with his infamous funeral procession - the story gets muddled under a large number of confusing characters and Russell's tendency towards kitchen sink insanity. Cigar chomping studio execs are in scenes with albino gorillas, decadent ballroom parties are conducted with women dressed in a dizzying array of eye-popping outfits and there isn't an ounce of subtlety to be found. The performers essaying the two main women in the story - actress Alla Nazimova (Leslie Caron) and film biz insider Natacha Rambova (Michelle Phillips) both deliver quite naturalistic performances in the midst of this insanity. But Phillips and Nureyev can be quite jarring in their scenes together mostly because of their at-odds acting approaches. Turns out that they both detested each other in real life, so that could be part of what you are seeing here as well (though that didn't stop Richard Gere and Debra Winger from achieving white hot chemistry in AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN). Supporting players are all quite good with German actor Anton Differing being special fun in his few scenes.

The bottom line is that anyone looking to get Valentino's life story should pick up a book.
VALENTINO is a film for Russell devotees. It isn't designed as casual or populist entertainment. If you want a kinky costume epic with some eye-popping set pieces and sumptuous visuals then you should enjoy this. The themes may be rote (shallow industry moguls, grasping women, tortured immigrants trying to Americanize themselves) but the presentation isn't boring. Russell also manages some very impressive recreations here: Valentino's epic THE SHIEK, the funeral procession, the outrageous decadence of much of the era. There's historically inaccurate but exploitative grist for the mill too - in one of the film's more infamous scenes, Valentino is abused by a prison guard. This bit of business isn't soon forgotten.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Kino's 1.85:1 framed 1080p AVC encoded presentation is their usual midlevel mini-triumph. Clearly, a lot of restoration work hasn't been done, but elements are in good shape and the scan is natural and organic in appearance with no obvious digital tampering. This is a very colorful film and the transfer handles that aspect admirably. Black levels are solid and skin tones natural. Overall detail is strong with facial closeups surpassing the passing grade. The print itself has some minor scratches and debris, but that's about the only deficiency here - and the emphasis is on minor. Sound is handled by a 2.0 DTS-HD track that's serviceable but sometimes swamped by the sheer amount of noise in crowd scenes. It isn't disastrous by any means, but not optimal either. The track would have benefited from a remix but at least everything is intelligible and the score has a bit of bottom end.

The first extra is an audio commentary by film historian Tim Lucas. He's clearly working from a prepared script but his knowledge of both the film and the overall Russell filmography is sound. He's clearly a champion of VALENTINO and any serious fan of the movie should listen to this. CANDYMAN director Bernard Rose pops in for a three and a half minute "Trailers From Hell" appreciation that's a little shallow but diverting enough. "Silent Years: Films from the Collection of Paul Killiam" is actually a TV show hosted by the legendary Orson Welles where he discusses classic silent films with a particular focus on Valentino. This is actually my favorite of the extras, Welles is a hoot and genuinely entertaining. The combination of cigar waving, dulcet tones and charisma is irresistible. There is also a three minute newsreel excerpt focusing on the real Valentino's 1926 funeral procession, an animated montage of behind the scenes footage clocking in at just over a minute and two theatrical trailers. Finally, the trailer for Valentino's film BLOOD AND SAND is also offered. Oh, and Kino chucked in the trailer for the completely unrelated BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN too.

The Last Word:

VALENTINO has a lot of problems, but it's certainly an interesting film. Devotees of the cinema of Ken Russell will find this well assembled HD package a no-brainer, but the less devoted should proceed with caution unless you have a real taste for costume epics. Kino's overall package is excellent though with strong extras and a nice presentation of the film.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!