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Mastered in 4K from 35mm film elements preserved by the Cinémathèque Française and Paul Killiam. Additional material provided by Eye Filmmuseum. The film has been color tinted according to instructions in the 1922 continuity script. Special thanks to the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, David Pierce, and Ken Winokur. An immortal icon of brooding sexuality, Rudolph Valentino has become one of silent cinema’s most enigmatic and entrancing performers. Based on the novel by Vicente Blasco Ibanez, Blood and Sand was Valentino’s first starring vehicle, in which he portrays Juan Gallardo, a young Spaniard who achieves his boyhood ambition to become a celebrated toreador. But with fame come temptation and treachery, and the triumphant Juan finds himself the victim of his own desires, forsaking the pure love of the sweet-natured Carmen (Lila Lee) for the sinister charms of the exotic Doña Sol (Nita Naldi). Special Features: -Audio commentary by film historian Anthony Slide -Booklet essay by Donna Hill, author of Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol -Filmed introduction by Orson Welles -Original theatrical trailer -Footage of Valentino’s funeral procession -Parody film starring Will Rogers -Audio recording of the Love Theme: “You Gave Me Your Heart' (Susan Rogers soloist)

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In a departure from his onscreen persona of Latin lover, silent-era sex symbol Rudolph Valentino delivered one of the most nuanced and powerful performances of his career in this epic romance set in 18th-century Russia, directed by Clarence Brown (Flesh and the Devil, Anna Karenina). Valentino stars as Vladimir Dubrovsky, a lieutenant in the Imperial Guard who becomes a fugitive after he rejects the amorous attentions of the Czarina Catherine II (Louise Dresser). Returning to the land of his father, Dubrovsky becomes a masked defender of justice known as the Eagle, and swears vengeance upon a nobleman (James A. Marcus) who has been victimizing the poor and weak. But before he can right the wrongs of the evil Kyrilla Troekouroff, Dubrovsky’s true identity is revealed and he must face the judgement of the spurned Catherine. Special Features: • 2K Restoration from 35mm material • New musical score composed and performed by Alloy Orchestra • Audio commentary by film historian Gaylyn Studlar

Description

Rudolph Valentino stars in the role that made him a star, as the romantic Argentine hero who sacrifices his life for love in this classic adaptation of Vicente Blasco Ibanez's novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Julio Desnoyers (Valentino), the libertine son of a wealthy Frenchman living in Argentina , follows in the footsteps of his family when they return to Europe. Julio lives as an artist in Paris and falls in love with married Marguerite Lurier (Alice Terry). When the World War breaks out, Julio remains aloof from the conflict, despite a visitation by the specters of the Four Horsemen-War, Conquest, Famine and Death. Marguerite volunteers for the Red Cross and devotes herself to her husband when he is blinded in action. Shamed by his lover's sacrifice, Julio enlists in the army, aware that his German cousins are fighting without mercy on the other side. Under the extraordinary direction of Rex Ingram, this film achieved the rare combination of critical acclaim and box-office success, going on to earn its place in film history as one of the greatest classics of the silent era. Newly remastered for Blu-ray release, based on Photoplay Productions' 1993 photochemical restoration of the film, accompanied by a magnificent orchestral score by Carl Davis.