Beyond The Rocks (1922)

directed by Sam Wood
starring Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

Valentino & Swanson are big names for film buffs proficient with movie history of the past 100 years; it's acting credits certainly caught my attention. The opening wide shot & subsequent long shots that establish setting gave me a good sense of place. Then again, having recently read about "picture theory" of the mind in cognitive psychology and philosophical inquiries into visual perception & imagination, establishing shots particularly from older movies have given me much food for thought; "traces" of the world abound in the most contrived of fiction films.

Both movies stars were very photo-charismatic and to watch this film is to gaze at them every time they appear onscreen or anticipate their appearance. The beginning of the final act saw an interesting turn in this melodrama. The story is of a young woman who falls for a man, but who didn't marry for love. There's footage missing near the end - in the final scene I think - so the ending did seem rather abrupt & not believable. Still, it's a good film to observe silent film acting: Swanson's eye lashes are expressive and Valentino seems to have naturally cinematic body language.

The copy I watched was a DVD transfer originally from a nitrate print found in an eccentric Dutch collector's stash. This story did remind me of how Dreyer's "Passion" was partially recovered from an asylum. The moral lesson: physical artifacts can be found anywhere irrespective of reason.