The Sheik / The Son of the Sheik (Special Edition)

These two movies are a must to see if you have any interest in the filmography of Rudolph Valentino. The Shiek (1921) was the movie that literally shot Valentino into the stratosphere as movie star. His career was forever changed after that movie came out. It is an interesting comparison between the movies to see how much he had developed his craft in the five years between the movies. In The Son of the Sheik (1926) you can tell he is a more controlled performer. His performance, in this his very last movie before his death, is so good. Every scene is so convincing and Vilma Bankey is perfect in her roll as the heroine of the movie. If they would have had the Oscars in 1926 I feel he would have won best male actor for sure. I highly recommend these films

Why do people still love Rudolph Valentino after all these years? This DVD provides an ideal way to get acquainted with the great leading man in his most famous roles.After the phenomenal succes of The Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse, studio execs were unsure what to do with the darkly handsome Valentino. At last, he landed the lead role in Paramount's The Sheik. Based on the "scandalous" best-seller, it was romantic melodrama in it's purest form.It's the story of a young English woman, Diana (Angnes Ayres) who crosses paths with the desert chieftan Sheik Ahmed ben Hassan. Fascinated by her spunk, he abducts her to become his wife. Diana is not too thrilled with the concept and resists. Thus begins the battle of wills.From a coldly logical standpoint, the Sheik is not a very good movie. Valentino's acting is not as good as in his later work. The script is somewhat disjointed. In fact, it was a predicted bomb when it was first released. However, the movie posesses a kitchy, innocent charm that is probably as fascinating now as it was then. It is one of those movies you find yourself enjoying even though you don't know why.The version on this DVD is a tinted print in pretty good shape. Some of the titles vary slightly from the VHS release (for example, Diana is referred to as the daughter of a poet in the VHS and the daughter of a peer on DVD) Some scenes are added or cut. People who own the VHS release may chose to make their own comparisons.The soundtrack is electronic/orchestral. It is a selection of music that was available to organists at the time and probably some of the music was used when the Sheik was first released. The music generally does not sound too electronic though it may bug purists (though the VHS edition has an obvious synth score). I enjoyed it.The second film on the DVD is the sequel, Son of the Sheik. Valentino plays both father and son. Unlike The Sheik, which followed the book it was based on, Son of the Sheik changed the plot considerably (and I feel for the better). Valentino is Ahemed jr. who meets and falls in love with Yasmin (Vilma Banky) They plan a secret rendezvous but Yasmin's corrupt family follows her and captures Ahmed for ransom. Because he will not give his name he is tortured. His friends rescue him but he is very depressed. He believes poor Yasmin betrayed him. So, when opportunity arises, he steals away with her for his own brand of revenge.Son of the Sheik is a well directed, well acted movie. While on a smaller scale that the Sheik, it had a much larger budget. There is much comedy added. Valentino and Banky absolutely set the screen on fire as a pair of lovers who now hate each other. However, for all it's charms, it does not posess the oddball charisma that made the Sheik such a fun movie.The print used is black and white, the music can either be the new electronic/orchestral score or the original re-release orchestral score. The latter has a lot of static and I found it annoying so I used the newer score instead.Whichever one of these movies is your favorite, I am sure you will enjoy the presentation.Also included on the DVD:Three Valentino short films including footage from his funeral. Rather depressing.A great DVD to round out your collection, to introduce yourself to Valentino or for comparative purposes. Quite worth it!

This version of "The sheik" is tinted and has a better quality then another tinted one I owned.The same for "The son of sheik" about its quality,it's black&white version.You can choose between 2 types of soundtrack :one from period music performed with films in the 1920s.In addition,"The son of sheik" has the 1937 reissue music score on an alternate audio track.You'll find 3 shorts subjects from jazz age Americaof 1920s:1)RUDOLPH VALENTINO AND HIIS 88 BEAUTIES(1923);2)THE SHEIK PHYSIQUE;3)NEWSREEL FOOTAGE OF VALENTINO'S FUNERAL,(VERY SAD !!!!I have not watched yet...).I don't want tell you the plot of these 2 movies because if you have not seen them yet,I don't want ruin your surprise;and,if you know the 2 movie,I don't want bore you!About "The sheik" I want to tell you that is digitally mastered at visually correct speed from a 35mm nitrate print with all original titles;colors tints are restored according to the original cutting continuity.About "The son of sheik",it's digitally mastered in black&white from a reissue print taken from the original negative in 1937,except for a few shots which have been replaced from later material.Inside the package you'll find a little 4-pages-depliant where you can find more info.On this dvd you have a main menu where you can choose:scenes+scores.On my opinion this is an excellent piece for your Rodolfo Valentino's dvd collection,also,the price is good and you can discover more Rodolfo's facial expressions as I've done.About Rodolfo what can I tell you?I'm an Italian woman,so,I can see him being a wonderful Italian young man,all his pantomima is plenty of Italian soul...and when I think that just for his "being so Italian&naive" he had been so hated and so loved,I understand how strange we,Italian people,may seem in the eyes of the rest of the world in the 1920s as nowadays!?!In fact,the way of acting of Rodolfo seems quite similar to any of us Italians and makes him even more OUR...forever!Rodolfo made famous "being Italian" worldwide and we are very proud of this.malefica from Italy.

I absolutely adore Rudolph Valentino, he was elegant and handsome, he was a jack of all trades, professional dance, fencer, horseman, opera singer and mechanic to name but a few so was delighted to receive this DVD, unfortunately I couldn't play it on my DVD player but plays on my PC. The films are so good and done with such attention to detail, the bonus documentary section was fascinating, he hosted a beauty contest and looked dashing in tails...….the second one was a short film of Rudolph at the beach with his toned and trim body (ooohhhh lala), the third part was of his funeral which bought tears to my eyes, he passed too young but he will always be beautiful and not ravaged by time. Good value DVD with 2 films and the documentary part.

This is pure glorious fun with hunk Valentino displayed shamelessly. He smoulders, he grins, and, the crowning glory, in 'Son of the Sheik', he is shackled to a ruined building, stripped to his trousers and boots, and whipped by his enemy captors. There are panoramic shots of desert scenery, and wonderfully unreconstructed Orientalist depictions of 'Arabs'. Can be viewed with a critical eye (gender! colonialism! race!), as a product of studio-era silent Hollywood (very interesting changes between the early 'Sheik' and the later 'Son of the Sheik' in terms of editing, close-ups and use of intertitles), and simply as fun entertainment (the dances! the kissing! the abductions on camel-back! the bare-chested bondage!).