Les Quatre Cavaliers de l'Apocalypse

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, released in 1921, is so well made that it overcomes the enormous obstacles of technology. The story is of epic proportions. Set immediately before World War I, it deals with a rich Argentine family, one branch recently arrived from France, the other from Germany. After the death of the patriarch each branch returns to their respective homelands as Europe slides into war. Deep, rich subplots abound, with much time spent on the adulterous affair of the indolent French grandson (Valentino) with the young married wife of an older businessman. Quite a surprising treatment of such mature subject matter.

Made when the wounds of WWI were still open and sore, the film's themes are grim and dripping with overt religiosity. But this is what The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is all about, the horror of war, and the redemption of man through personal sacrifice.

An excellent film, recommended highly.

An extended family split up in France and Germany find themselves on opposing sides of the battlefield during World War I.

Often regarded as one of the first true anti-war films, it had a huge cultural impact and became the top-grossing film of 1921, beating out Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid". The film turned then-little-known actor Rudolph Valentino into a superstar and associated him with the image of the Latin Lover. The film also inspired a tango craze and such fashion fads as gaucho pants. The film was masterminded by June Mathis, who, with its success, became one of the most powerful women in Hollywood at the time.

Despite this -- the sales, the Valentino connection, and more... this is a little-known film and one that is rarely seen. Even being preserved by the Library of Congress (which is how it got on my to-see list) has not really raised its stature much. And yet, it is a minor silent epic that could be seen as the equal of anything DeMille or Griffith put out.

Pre-World War I, an Argentinian rancher's two daughters marry a Frenchman named Desnoyers and a German named von Hartrott. Desnoyers' son Julio grows up to be a playboy, and moves to Paris to become a painter. Von Hartrott's sons go to Germany and serve the Fatherland. Julio begins an affair with a married woman, Marguerite Laurier. With the outbreak of war in France, Julio feels no responsibility to enlist, while von Hartrott's sons join the German army. Marguerite becomes a nurse for the Red Cross, and, ironically, tends to her injured husband, who was blinded in combat. Julio finally sees the light and joins the French army, and in the climax, comes face to face with one of his German cousins.

Ultimately, this is a depressing film, and somewhat emotionally draining, but it is impressive in so many ways. The cinematography is excellent, and the few battle scenes are realistic and well-staged. The biblical Four Horsemen make several appearances, with some clever trick photography. The romantic leads are fine (Terry is particularly lovely). But what made the film for me was the outstanding supporting cast, many of whom are not remembered today. Although there were so many characters it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was who, each one had an interesting storyline. Josef Swickard, as Julio's father, may well be the most pathetic character in the film. He has to suffer the humiliation of discovering his son is carrying on with a married woman. Later, his French home is virtually ransacked by the Germans. He is initially overjoyed to find that one of his nephews is a German officer, thinking this will spare him any atrocities. Fat chance. In one scene, weird even by today's standards, one of the Germans puts on a dress during a wild celebration in the house, while another officer (Wallace Beery) attempts to molest a young woman.

Alan Hale, as the senior von Hartrott, is gung-ho on having his boys serve Germany, but at the end, he is a broken man, regretting that his family ever left Argentina.

Nigel De Brulier plays a mystical character who seems to foretell what is to happen.

John St. Polis, who could easily have been cast as a villainous character, emerges as a sympathetic hero, and his later scenes with Alice Terry are quite touching.

This is surely a visually magnificent film to watch, especially if you get to see a copy of the tinted Photoplay restoration with a great score by Carl Davis.

It strikes me however that few commentators here seem to bother about the very nasty portrayal of German people in this film. Despite its claims for universality, condemning WWI in general and not just a single nation (or class for that matter) involved in it, the image of the Germans is no different from the wartime propaganda huns as portrayed by Erich von Stroheim and others. They appear as arrogant, cold, ugly, brutal, grotesque, greedy, militaristic idiots, who even in peacetime in a civilian/family setting march in line and click their heels all the time. Julio's three cousins are portrayed as bespectacled, mischievously grinning jerks who obey their father's commands as if he was an army officer, even as children. They are even shown reading Nietzsche's Zarathustra and it's appraisals of the warrior man as if it was some kind of a bible. A race of villainous, natural born warmongers, it seems. Now this can hardly be the basis for an honest anti-war-movie. Compare this portrayal to the very different, more human and sympathetic image of German people in John Ford's FOUR SONS and of course ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. Despite the now-campiness of these scenes in question I find them still quite offensive and hard to watch, even given that most silent movies made heavy use of strong contrasts and stereotyping. I guess in 1920 the anti-German resentments in the US were still very strong, which even caused D. W. Griffith to absurdly switch a German refugee family in post-war Berlin into a polish refugee family in ISN'T LIFE WONDERFUL - as late as 1924!

All this shift from anti-war-intentions to merely anti-German clichés somewhat betrays the "message" of the movie, which admittedly comes across quite rhetorical and pretentious in the first place, and is indeed one of the movie's weakest and most dated points. It just seems to be tagged onto the Valentino adultery romance story for mere dramatic effect (as in the vision of the Apocalyptic Horsemen and the final graveyard scene). But overall the war theme doesn't really stand in the center of the movie.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is an astonishing and spectacular film. I agree with most of the other comments, that this film is definitely a must-see, though I have reservations about some unevenness in the plotting. But the spectacle, the fire-and-brimstone imagery, and the excellent star-making performance by Valentino more than compensate. In many ways, it DOES tower above 99 percent of what Hollywood throws up today.