Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

TBA • NR • Series • Catalog pick

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 it's 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.