Salome / Lot in Sodom
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Movie Reviews of Salome / Lot in Sodom
Movie Review: La Nazimova
Summary: 4 Stars
Charles Bryant's SALOME is a gaudy, glittering, fantastical adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play of the same name; his `historical phantasy' of the Jewish princess who danced and demanded as payment the head of John the Baptist.
Wilde's play is faithfully, perhaps too faithfully, rendered. All the action takes place on one large set, and it very much feels like we're watching a stage play. The actors sway and swoop, arch their backs and throw back their heads to portray the pangs of unrequited love. Great stuff if you're sitting in the back row of a large auditorium, but a bit too much when the actors are photographed in full shot and closer. I enjoyed it, but I can imagine being turned off by the artificiality of it all. The costumes, based on illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley, are pretty loud as well. Salome (Alla Nazimova, simply billed as Nazimova in this one) wears what looks like small, glittering Christmas tree bulbs in her wig, and when she's pictured in her peacock gown it look as if she's embedded on a page from Beardsley's sketch book.
The second film on the dvd, LOT IN SODOM, is a whole different kettle of fish. Although made in the sound era (1933), there's no dialogue, save for an off-screen prayer and other stray bits of words, in its thirty minutes. Just about everything is thrown into this one - multiple exposures, prismatic lens effects, cascaded and rotated images. Everything save coherence. If, as I think may have been the case, this was an experiment in telling a story using only filmed images, pure film storytelling, I'd called it a mixed success. If you don't know the biblical story of Lot this will probably seem very confusing. LOT IN SODOM isn't much more than a 30-minute montage, interesting and uninvolving.
Both movies are taken from acceptable to good source prints (SALOME seems to have come from multiple source prints). As an added bonus, SALOME comes with two music tracks, each of which give the movie a different emotional feel.
Movie Review: Utterly Bizarre Double Bill
Summary: 4 Stars
If proof were ever needed that silent films were an art form unto themselves as opposed to just a primitive warm up to the talkies then Alla Nazimova's SALOME' is it. Even 80 years after its initial release SALOME' remains art with a capital A. This is not necessarily a good thing as works that fall into that category are more often than not appreciated only by a select few.
The production is based on Aubrey Beardsley's scandalous drawings of Oscar Wilde's even more scandalous play. In this respect the film is a complete success with credit for the design going to Natacha Rambova (Valentino's wife who was originally born Winifred Shaughnessy Hudnut) who worked closely with Nazimova to create what is probably the most stylized film ever made. It is this ultra stylization which makes the film so utterly bizarre even to today's audiences.
Once seen the film cannot be forgotten as there are enough memorable images in it to fill 10 movies. Nazimova is utterly mesmerizing as Salome' with Mitchell Lewis' Herod one of the most decadent looking figures you'll ever see (Fellini MUST have seen this movie) while Nigel De Brulier's Jokaanan radiates spirituality.
The film was a notorious flop in its day so special thanks go to Image Entertainment and all who worked on this restoration to make the film available once again as very few people have ever seen it. It has some signs of minor decomposition but these are hardly noticeable and with 2 scores to choose from you get to pick the one that works best for you.
The second part of the double bill is the experimental short film LOT IN SODOM which was made in 1933. While just as artistic in its expression as SALOME', it lacks the delirious visuals that make Nazimova's film so memorable but it makes a nice companion piece for the DVD. An excellent disc for the silent film enthusiast and the more discriminating movie buff.
Movie Review: UNIQUE!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is one of those rare treats ~ previously 'lost' but what a discovery.The Great Nazimova [perhaps the inspiration for Norma Desnmond] stars in the vehicle, a bold, unabashed and in your face version of the Wilde play - superior costume and set designs.
Makes the pop-divas today seem quite bland.
Nazimova served as the prima-diva muse then and now.
Must for the serious collector. This version is utterly dateless - more deam-like in its imagery and quite a good double-bill with the Ken Russell version.
Movie Review: Lavander & Leotards
Summary: 3 Stars
It might be sort of heretical to admit, but I never really cared that much for Oscar Wilde's "comedy of manners" stage plays. Part of it might be that during high school I was a "techie" for a production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. It was a dreadful production that toured to about seven other schools. I can recite every line from the script even today. Another factor is that Wilde's plays primarily deal with the artificial British upper class of the late 1800's. Not my favorite milieu. His play SALOMÉ is not my favorite either. That being said, I certainly acknowledge Wilde's literary genius & the cruelty he was subjected to by the very society he was trying to entertain.
There is one quote from Lady Windermere's Fan" that's great. The actor describes his thoughts on the English pastime of fox hunting as "the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible."
I do enjoy Aubrey Beardsley's illustrations of the play. They combine Art Nouveau, Symbolism & Decadence. His work in general is often sexually charged, with dark, even homicidal tones. It was the perfect illustration for a dark, decadent script that also had distinct homosexual overtones. Alla Nazimova (this was way before the Nazi Movement and the actress had no association with them) was the protogé of Natacha Rambova, second wife of silent film heart throb Rudolph Valentino.
They formed an interesting trio, to say the least. A lot of (Caucasian) American men felt threatened by Valentino's sauve handsomeness & sensitive male charisma. There were allegations that the three were in some sort of open "lavendar (gay) marriage." Valentino really suffered as a result of this Flapper Age homophobia.
Valentino did not participate in SALOMÉ.
The production was "the Baby" of Rambova & Nazimova.
Rambova focused on the overall set design & Nazimova, of course, was to play the lead. There is no doubt that both women were probably artistically ahead of their time, particularly in post-World War I America. They did have the cache of Russian ancestry that seemed to appeal to a romantic segment of the population. But the allure of doomed Tsarist beauties & poetic male lovers could not save SALOMÉ
So what was so "naughty" in the film that bristled censors from Hollywood to Maine?
It's a difficult movie to write about because it really is bizarre & extraordinarily different--certainly different from any other commercial release at the time. The homosexual overtones are obvious and this in itself would set up a barrier to wide distribution of the film. The plot can easily be seen as a slap in the face to traditional Christianity--and Fundamentalist elements would go absolutely ballistic if they viewed.
The overall "feel" to SALOMÉ is very faithful to Beardsley's decadent, "far-out" in interpretation. That I liked. There are European expressionist, Fritz Lang elements I liked as well. This isn't a straight-forward (pun intended) interpretation of the Biblical story. Herod is a white-faced evil clown who appears to have a melting face. His wife, the wicked Herodias, is an overweight, alcoholic cave woman with impossibly enormous hair, wearing painted leotards. She pounces around the set rapidly alternating between rage, lechery & glee. She was pretty funny--and I liked that as well.
Another comic element was the depiction of the Sanhedrin, the Council of Jewish Elders. They were presented as 3 very short men (who could pass as triplets) dressed in oversized turbans & vestments straight off the vaudeville circuit. I'm not sure if the humor was intentional or not. So, go figure...
Now we arrive at Nazimova's Salomé.
For starters, I didn't see anything very seductive about her. It's true that the actress was middle aged, playing a girl not yet 18 (in fact, if there really was a Biblical Salomé, she could have been even much younger.) Nazimova was known for her beauty, and while it was not unusual for actresses of the time to play much younger women, this didn't "work" for me. Certain long shots of Nazimova did suggest a young girl with a lithe, dancer's form. But close-up shots were less flattering. The white make-up & dark eyeliner (typical to this era of filmmaking) actually appeared to add to the actress' years.
For me the most disappointing scene in the SALOMÉ was the all-important Dance of the Seven Veils. I can't believe that an actress with Nazimova's background would be so lame as to deliberately allow herself to look so ridiculous. My idea of the Seven Veils Dance is Rita Hayworth coquetishly letting each of the seven veils slowly fall in an extraordinarily erotic, saturated technocolor routine.
Salome (1953) ( Salome: The Dance of the Seven Veils ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]
Rita Hayworth 6 Disc Box Set ( Gilda / You'll Never Get Rich / Salome / The Lady from Shanghai / Miss Sadie Thompson / The Magnificent Showman ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ]
Movie Review: A Little Too Strange
Summary: 2 Stars
Alla Nazimova is a famous name from the stage; she was ranked among stars as talented as Sarah Bernhardt. She made a few films, though many of them appeared quite stagey and overdone. This is a perfect example of this. Salome is a famous Biblical story; a young Babylonian girl takes the head of John the Baptist as revenge for his rejecting her advances. The sets and costumes were done by Natacha Rambova, a talented but strange designer. Although opulent and beautiful, the visual elements make for a bizarre film.
Nazimova was much like silent star Mary Pickford in that both played young girls into their 40s. Both did excellent jobs; here Nazimova accomplishes the appearance of youth through her body language. However, she and Pickford were opposites as actresses. Pickford was very subtle and perfect for the screen, but Nazimova's movements are exaggerated. At times they are poetic, but at others, just silly.
One of the worst parts of the film is the dance of the seven veils. It is one of the most unseductive dances ever, which is strange since the dance of Babylon in Metropolis was so racy. Of course, censorship might have hindered this scene; it is also not helped by the default music score. This choice is absolutely dreadful and monotonous. The second choice is much better and helps the dance scene out a bit more.
Also included on this DVD is Lot in Sodom, a film about the exploits of men with other men. It is obviously an art film, demonstrated by almost no dialogue, nudity, moody lighting, and strange double-vision images. It is difficult to understand, and seemingly just "art for the sake of art." You might find yourself wondering what you just saw and what the point was.
This DVD is certainly a curiosity, but not necessarily worth the price.
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