Les quatre cavaliers de l'apocalypse

Remake from classic silent (1921) set in WWI and directed by Fred Niblo with Rodolfo Valentino , Alan Hale , Alice Terry that is still deemed the best . This one , updated to WWII deals with an Argentinian family man patriarch named Julio Madariaga (Lee J. Cobb) who reunites his diverse members as French (Charles Boyer and his sons Glenn Ford and Yvette Mimieux) as well as German (Paul Lukas , Karl Boehn) but with the Nazi outbreak the events get worse . Some years later , in Paris the various components of the grievous family cross their destinations with tragic results . Meanwhile , in the city of lovers , the day the clocks stopped turning and the world stood still , the protagonist (Glenn Ford) falls in love with the resistance leader's (Paul Henreid) wife (Ingrid Thulin , allegedly dubbed by Angela Lansbury)

This dramatic film is packed with an excellent cast , thrills , suspense , emotion , betrayal , a loving triangle and historical events . Complex anti-WWII story about cousins and uncles who fight on opposite sides . It depicts the tormentous period during painful Nazi invasion in Paris , including Resistance activities , Gestapo cruelties , and other sorrowful happenings . It is accompanied by a rousing and sensitive musical score by composer Andre Previn . Based on a novel by the Spanish Vicente Blasco Ibañez whose books have been adapted several times as ¨Blood and sand¨ , ¨The temptress¨ , ¨Cañas y Barro¨ and ¨Mare Nostrum¨ , among others . Glimmer cinematography by Milton Krasner , he is one of the few cameramen for whom Technicolor seems to have been invented , it includes colorist imaginary that still staggers as when appear the four riders , Pest , Hunger , War , Death . The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ to Saint John the Evangelist . Although some interpretations differ, the four riders are commonly seen as symbolizing Conquest, War, Famine and Death, respectively. The Christian apocalyptic vision is that the four horsemen are to set a divine apocalypse upon the world as harbingers of the Last Judgment.

The motion picture is lavishly produced by Julian Blaustein and well directed by Vincente Minelli . Vincente was an expert on musicals , being hired by MGM for many years . After working on numerous Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland vehicles , usually directed by Busby Berkeley , Arthur Freed gave him his first directorial assignment on ¨Cabin in the sky¨ (1943), a risky screen project with an all-black cast . This was followed by the ambitious period piece , the classic ¨Meet me in St. Louis¨ (1944) whose star Judy Garland he married in 1945 . Many of his films included in every one of his movies features a dream sequence such as ¨Four horsemen of Apocalypse¨ . Employing first-class MGM technicians , including Erich Von Stroheim , Minnelli continued directing musicals as ¨The band wagon¨ (1953) , ¨Kismet¨, ¨The pirate¨ , ¨ An American in Paris¨ , ¨Brigadoon¨ as well as melodramas as ¨Some came running¨ (1958) , ¨Madame Bovary¨, ¨The sandpiper¨ and urban comedies like ¨Designing woman¨ (1957), occasionally even working on two films simultaneously . In his last average film titled ¨Nina¨ worked with his daughter Liza Minnelli . Rating ¨Four horsemen of Apocalypse ¨ : Better than average , it's a good story though sometimes falls plain , well worth watching .

This film has many fine qualities, some oddball aspects, and some things of interest because of how they relate to other work by the creative artists. For example, Minnelli returns to Paris location shooting as he did in 'American in Paris' and 'Gigi', but this time to re-create wartime Paris and what it was like to be part of the Resistance, as well as what life was like among the privileged Parisian collaborators who lived the good life under Nazi rule. In spite of MGM glamour and production values that must have cost a fortune, Minnelli and his screenwriters often succeed in portraying the anguish of that time, the moral crisis of privileged neutrals, and the courage of those who resisted. Credit must go to a splendid cast of Hollywood veterans and some talented newcomers. Paul Henreid shows up playing, what else?, a resistance hero. Ingrid Thulin's Swedish accent must have been too much for MGM's money men - they had her dialogue dubbed by Angela Lansbury, and pretty effectively too. One of the greatest pleasures of the film is Andre Previn's score. If you like your movie music big, complex, intrusive, and romantic, you'll agree that this score is one of the great overlooked gems of Hollywood soundtracks.

What's bad about the movie? Glenn Ford for starters, not too believable as an Argentinian playboy. But that may just be a matter of taste.

Vincente Minnelli brought his aspiring "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" to the events of World War II... The new version tries to be 'more' than a war or anti-war film...

The quality of the Argentinean family with its members fighting on both sides (French and German), revealed great nationalism in their habits of thought and expression... They arouse love and ideal even in their attitudes, interests and actions to each others... They put everything at the stake, specifically two important talents, Julio (Glenn Ford) and Heinrich (Karl Boehm), trapped in this entertaining remake of "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

Karl Boehm, the ambitious Colonel Heinrich, member of the S.S. envies his cousin's independence... The dinner sequence makes it evident: When Heinrich sees his charming cousin, spending pleasant time with a beautiful woman, he warns General Von Kleig (George Dolenz), not to abuse excessively his rank as Commander of Paris in his own private interest...

The film describes the awakening of a wealthy high-living Franco-Argentinean to his duty to France after his sister is killed by the Gestapo and his father implored him to act and do what he never did... Julio finds his manhood as a member of the French resistance during War World II.

When I saw this during its first-run release, I was already an avid Minnelli fan but had been forewarned by the reviews that this was not one of his best. I recall enjoying it, nevertheless, and much of my pleasure was due to Minnelli's always inventive visual style, the expensive mounting in CinemaScope and Metrocolor, the interesting cast (not all of them well-chosen, especially the deadly-dull Glenn Ford, who was being assigned to what seemed like every other big budget M-G-M picture during that period), the astute use of Angela Lansbury to dub Ingrid Thulin's lines (though I'm sure that Miss Thulin's own voice, even if she had learned her lines phonetically, would have been preferable), and Andre Previn's very expressive score. (Mr. Previn came to disown a lot of his Hollywood work once he concentrated on conducting major classical orchestras, but I suspect he wouldn't have included this one among those he would prefer that we forget.) Tony Duquette's Four Horsemen figures are a striking addition to the lavish mounting of this production. It's not available on DVD (yet, anyway) and it's probably a safe bet that the VHS version is (ugh!) "formatted"...don't bother! You'll be missing the greater percentage of this film's achievement.

If Vincente Minnelli is to be praised in this film, it his decision to film Ibanez' novel and to cast the fascinating Ingrid Thulin--who has contributed substantially to Bergman's early work and to Swedish theatre. No Hollywood actress could have lent credibility to this role as Ms Thulin did. It is a matter of historical tragedy that Thulin's own voice was not used and Angela Lansbury's voice was used instead.

Lee J Cobb as the patriarch and Glenn Ford as Julio were avoidable decisions. However, the casting of Paul Henreid and Charles Boyer enhanced the film.

What made the film rise over mediocrity? The story and Thulin. Ibanez' work is world renowned and film is a beautiful medium to capture the image of the four horsemen. Interestingly Minnelli is not able to capture the "pale" and the "red" horse on screen--the most difficult of the four horses in technicolor and decides to use smoke and clouds to distract us. According to "The Book of Revelations," the horsemen carried a bow, a sword, a balance and a great Sword. Ingmar Bergman in "the Seventh Seal" and Minnelli transforms the great sword into a scythe. But for this detail, the art direction throughout the movie was commendable.

Erich von Stroheim Jr. was a mere Assistant Director in this work. von Stroheim's body of work in Europe is revered today and one can only speculate about the result had he directed the film instead of Minnelli. Minnelli's film has its moments--Etienne meeting his wife on his return from capture, and Etienne's confrontation with Julio. Yet the film is Hollywood's attempt at presenting a narrative without complexity for audiences who prefer to be spoonfed. Ibanez' novel is still waiting for a good director to film--Minnelli stumbled in his effort to create a masterpiece. One mistake he made was choosing Glenn Ford to play an Argentinan playboy. What a costly mistake!