The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

1921

Drama / Romance / War

3
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 86% · 7 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 74% · 500 ratings
IMDb Rating 7.1/10 10 3733 3.7K

epic nurse world war i artist tango castle

Plot summary

Set in the years before and during World War I, this epic tale tells the story of a rich Argentine family, one of its two descending branches being half of French heritage, the other being half German. Following the death of the family patriarch, the man's two daughters and their families resettle to France and Germany, respectively. In time the Great War breaks out, putting members of the family on opposing sides.

Director

Rex Ingram Photo
Rex Ingram

Top cast

Rudolph Valentino Photo
Rudolph Valentino as Julio Desnoyers
Alan Hale Photo
Alan Hale as Karl von Hartrott
John George Photo
John George as Ranch Hand in Argentina
Wallace Beery Photo
Wallace Beery as Lt. Col. von Richthosen
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.2 GB
1280*962
No linguistic content 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
2 hr 13 min
Seeds 3
2.23 GB
1436*1080
No linguistic content 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
2 hr 13 min
Seeds 12

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by jojofla 8 / 10

Astonishing imagery

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.
Reviewed by Nazi_Fighter_David 7 / 10

Ingram's film was more than a war or antiwar film…

Reviewed by Lichtmesz23 7 / 10

Stereotyped portrayal of Germans blurs anti-war-message

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.
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