Os Quatro Ginetes do Apocalipse (1921)

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

Director:

Rex Ingram

Writers:

Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (novel) (as Vicente Blasco Ibañez), June Mathis (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Rudolph Valentino, Alice Terry, Pomeroy Cannon

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pomeroy Cannon	...	Madariaga
Josef Swickard	...	Marcelo Desnoyers
Bridgetta Clark	...	Doña Luisa
Rudolph Valentino	...	Julio Desnoyers
Virginia Warwick	...	Chichí
Alan Hale	...	Karl von Hartrott
Mabel Van Buren	...	Elena
Stuart Holmes	...	Otto von Hartrott
John St. Polis	...	Etienne Laurier (as John Sainpolis)
Alice Terry	...	Marguerite Laurier
Mark Fenton	...	Senator Lacour
Derek Ghent	...	René Lacour (as Derrick Ghent)
Nigel De Brulier	...	Tchernoff (as Nigel de Brulier)
Bowditch M. Turner	...	Argensola (as Brodwitch Turner)
Edward Connelly	...	Lodgekeeper

Storyline

Julio Madariaga is the Argentine patriarch of a wealthy family. He has two daughters, the elder wed to a Frenchman and the other to a German. He prefers the Frenchman and his family, especially his grandson Julio, causing jealousy from the German and his three sons. When Madariaga dies, the family splits up, each son-in-law returning to his own country. The Frenchman and his own move to Paris, where Julio becomes an artist and has an affair with an unhappily married woman, the lovely Marguerite Laurier. Her husband finds out, but before he can finalize a divorce, World War One rears its head and both sides of the family will endure great suffering in the conflict, especially since they must fight one another on the battlefield.

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Plot Keywords:

anti war | debauchery | cousin cousin relationship | national film registry | f rated | 

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Taglines:

He painted Paris red!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Opening night film of the 2014 San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The Mont Alto Orchestra provided live musical accompaniment for the Castro Theater screening.

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Goofs

The same shot of a cat clawing at a small poodle while sitting on top of a piano is used two different times.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: In a world old in hatred and bloodshed, where nation is crowded against nation and creed against creed, centuries of wars have sown their bitter seed, and the fires of resentment smouldering beneath the crust of civilization but await the breaking of the Seven Seals of Prophecy to start a mighty conflagration.

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Alternate Versions

In 1993 Turner Entertainment in association with Britain's Channel Four distributed a full restoration by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's Photoplay Productions. The restoration includes many scenes that had been deleted or thought missing since the film's premiere, including original tinting and a single shot of a brief Prizma Color sequence that had been in the original release. The restored film is accompanied by a new original score composed and conducted by Carl Davis.

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Connections

Version of Debout les morts! (1916)

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Soundtracks

Apocalypse Theme
(1993)
Music by Carl Davis
Based on the Fantasia Sonata "Après une lecture du Dante" by Franz Liszt (1849)
Performed by Orchestre Symphonique de Radio-Télé Luxembourg (as Symphony Orchestra of Radio-Télé Luxembourg) lead by Philippe Koch
In the score of the 1993 restored version

User Reviews

The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse (Rex Ingram, 1921) ***1/2

I had always wanted to watch this Silent version of the Vicente Blasco Ibanez novel (who, incidentally, wrote MARE NOSTRUM as well - also filmed by Ingram in 1926), especially since it's considered to be vastly superior to the 1961 Vincente Minnelli remake in color and widescreen - which is a film I've watched quite a few times and which I've actually always liked! Still, now I can't help but agree that the remake is virtually overblown in every department by comparison with the original; the only thing I could find where it improved on the Silent version is the relationship between Julio and his German cousin, which is rather underdeveloped in Ingram's film (though in both versions, the two of them die together).

The large-scale production is truly impressive, with settings ranging from rural Argentina to the French aristocracy and the grimy battlefields of World War I - not to mention a striking vision of Hell, with a gigantic fire-breathing demon unleashing the somber and ominous titular figures. The cast is certainly efficient, though some of the familiar names actually only gained popularity years later (Alan Hale, Wallace Beery and Jean Hersholt): Rudolph Valentino was shot to super-stardom with his role of the gigolo who develops a conscience and gives his life for a country which is not even his (a miscast Glenn Ford was certainly no match for him in the remake!); the tango sequence is justly celebrated, but his performance is excellent throughout (again, this might very well constitute his best work). Needless to say, the female lead was played by Ingram's own wife Alice Terry; also worth mentioning is Nigel De Brulier as a gaunt and gloomy exiled Russian who 'sees' the Four Horsemen and predicts the extent of their havoc. Though quite slow-going, the plot is compelling and the handling vivid enough to withstand its hefty 134-minute duration; as a matter of fact, the film is probably the most notable epic 'family saga' since D.W. Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915) which, obviously, had dealt with the American Civil War and its turbulent aftermath.

I've watched 6 Rex Ingram films so far and, apparently, the only two surviving titles of his I've yet to catch up with are THE ARAB (1924) and THE GARDEN OF ALLAH (1927); this is possibly the finest of them, however, despite being the oldest - and I'm surprised it still hasn't made it to DVD (from Warners), ideally as a 2-Disc Set in order to include the Sound remake...

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

None

Release Date:

31 March 1923 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Os Quatro Ginetes do Apocalipse

Filming Locations:

Gilmore Ranch, Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,183,673

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,183,673

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min (Turner library print) (1993 restored)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1