The Affairs Of Anatol (1921) :
Brief Review -
It's too great to know that this film was made before Murnau's Masterpiece "Sunrise" (1927), or else the Female Acid vs Make Ego conflict would have ignited, unknowingly. Having seen FW Murnau's eternal masterpiece #Sunrise, I thought that it was quite an original piece, but after watching DeMille's several films from the 1910s decade and this film, I gathered a lot of references. What's different between Sunrise and The Affairs Of Anatol then? Sunrise is about a faithful wife not knowing about her husband's extramarital affair and how he realises his mistake, whereas The Affairs Of Anatol is about a woman who knows about her husband's platonic affairs and she even tries to make him equal. There comes a male ego. The husband, who himself isn't loyal enough, seeks full loyalty, and there you see a lot of controversial stuff (which thankfully didn't take place at all). For a moment, I thought the film went really wrong there, but then came a strong climax. I loved the conclusion part where the husband finally surrenders his love to the wife, throwing that male ego aside. He wasn't really that bad. As you see, he wasn't going for every woman like a playboy. He was trying to help them but somehow was lured. "He learned about women from her," what a poignant quote it was. And the other one too, which says, "The Devil's not a man, it's a woman. She knows but doesn't say." That was about female acid, I suppose. But then the film goes on proving the other side of women, and that's purity and loyalty. Some mixture it was for the early 20s. Wallace Reid and Gloria Swanson's chemistry is beautiful, and the rest of the cast members are impressive too. DeMille's attempt is close to the classic tag but not a classic for me. It just misses it by an inch, owing the loss to its happy ending. Gosh, it just happened like that. Come on, that woman deserved more respect.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
It's too great to know that this film was made before Murnau's Masterpiece "Sunrise" (1927), or else the Female Acid vs Make Ego conflict would have ignited, unknowingly. Having seen FW Murnau's eternal masterpiece #Sunrise, I thought that it was quite an original piece, but after watching DeMille's several films from the 1910s decade and this film, I gathered a lot of references. What's different between Sunrise and The Affairs Of Anatol then? Sunrise is about a faithful wife not knowing about her husband's extramarital affair and how he realises his mistake, whereas The Affairs Of Anatol is about a woman who knows about her husband's platonic affairs and she even tries to make him equal. There comes a male ego. The husband, who himself isn't loyal enough, seeks full loyalty, and there you see a lot of controversial stuff (which thankfully didn't take place at all). For a moment, I thought the film went really wrong there, but then came a strong climax. I loved the conclusion part where the husband finally surrenders his love to the wife, throwing that male ego aside. He wasn't really that bad. As you see, he wasn't going for every woman like a playboy. He was trying to help them but somehow was lured. "He learned about women from her," what a poignant quote it was. And the other one too, which says, "The Devil's not a man, it's a woman. She knows but doesn't say." That was about female acid, I suppose. But then the film goes on proving the other side of women, and that's purity and loyalty. Some mixture it was for the early 20s. Wallace Reid and Gloria Swanson's chemistry is beautiful, and the rest of the cast members are impressive too. DeMille's attempt is close to the classic tag but not a classic for me. It just misses it by an inch, owing the loss to its happy ending. Gosh, it just happened like that. Come on, that woman deserved more respect.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.