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vicky_lc2001's Replies
Woah! They cut the film because it was too erotic?!!!! I want to see the erotic version!!!!
Can anyone detail all the difference between the original and re-edited version? Please?
But with an actor like Valentino, what couldn't they do? LOL!
Thank you for sharing but I just want to comment on one thing:
QUOTE:
"Edward Said’s “Orientalism” was a pioneering look at the “exoticizing and racist representations of ‘The East’.” (McAlister) In Orientalism, the East is associated with femininity and sensuality, while the West is associated with masculinity and rationality. As representations of their respective cultures, Ahmed and Diana become examples of Orientalism. In the introduction to her book “Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and US Interests in the Middle East, 1945-2000,” Melani McAlister describes Valentino’s character as a “woman-made man.” Filmed in soft lighting, with heavy makeup emphasizing his eyes and mouth, Valentino does take on a feminine quality. He is quick and emotional in his reactions, and exhibits rapid mood swings, which can be associated with conventional femininity. Although physically female, Diana is portrayed as having masculine qualities; she is proud, headstrong, and determined. In one scene, Ahmed mocks her masculine (Western) riding attire and demands she change into more feminine (Eastern) clothing. Clothing, particularly what Diana should wear, becomes a major plot point in this film. Throughout the film, Diana is forced to wear “Eastern” clothing, which is usually skimpy, gauzy, and oversexualized. In “Scheherzade Goes West”, Morrocan feminist Fatema Mernissi is quick to point out that this is a common Western mistake. She explains that in most Middle Eastern cultures, men and women dress very similarly, and have for many, many years. She even uses an example from as early as 1599, long before the setting of “The Sheik.” "
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The feminization of the Arab/the East is not solely relegated to them. Many Southern Europeans like the Italians (like Valentino was), Spaniards, and the French for example are also associated with romantic notions, with being passionate & volatile, and with femininity.
In fact Valentino was so associated and plagued by it that it got under his skin. He would challenge a writer for calling him a "powder puff." In fact I just watched a biographical documentary of him and a gay man who perhaps worked or was of the Valentino era said that: "the 1920s was a feminine decade of his youth. Valentino wasn't really an exception as he was beautiful in a feminine way." I think his description or views of Valentino is also because Valentino was seen as an "other" and they simply didn't understand his Italian-ness.
Valentino was very Italian:
-he was a very passionate man as shown by his affection for Natacha
-he liked to dress, a metrosexual in 1920s America, but in Italy, probably a dime a dozen
-he liked jewelry and wore them (today you see rappers, Italians, Latinos, etc men wear them yet we don't think of them as feminine for doing so)
-he wore a wrist watch popular in Europe but was a new thing in America associated with women bracelets
-he is quick & emotional both in temper & sensitivity (stereotypes we now associate with being Latin and yet their men are seen as stereotypically macho still)
So I disagree in the general view of the West as masculine while the Middle east as feminine because much of Europe can also be associated with femininity as you put it. The differences are perhaps more so on WASP America - the Anglo Saxon culture vs Valentino "the other." And Valentino's otherness was hyped up because he was seen as exotic and it was what the public, the women really, craved and yearned for. And Hollywood gave the public what they wanted. To be taken by force by a man like Valentino out of their dull dreary lives, it was all fantasy and lust to the tenfold.
Of coarse those beheadings and killings are truthful but the point of the other poster is that Islam as a whole is only presented thus. We're not shown any positive images in that religion.
We have Muslims in the south of my country, and they have been associated with bombings, kidnappings, and killings of children, tourists, & priests. These associations are based on what we see and hear in the news, and they are truthful. And I can't help but have a negative view of them, and these are people of the same ethnicity as me, they speak a language similar to mine, and still have retained some cultural traditions prior to Islam that are similar to mine, BUT, I still see them as "the other" in a negative light. Because all I ever hear about them are the negatives, not the positives so in a way it is biased. Because not every Muslim is a terrorist, a vicious murderer, a rapist or a child molester but these are very extreme and severe things we associate unconsciously with every practicing Muslim, not just the ones who are.
Hello, yes, it was suggested to me that I should try searching for the stars that came out as it might show on their filmography. But for the film Valentino (1951) for example, I could only recall the last name of the main star and so could not find it here. I had to go to imdb and go to The Sound of Music film to get the name of the girlfriend of the father who also came out in the Valentino film.
I'm not a twilight fan but I'm reading this book now. I also want to read the sequel from which the second film is based. Apparently this book is credited in making all those dessert-kidnapping by a savage-falling in love with your captor popular in many trashy romance novels.
Thank you for sharing so much trivia on him! I wish I could read the book myself but it's not available in my country unfortunately!
Do you have a quote when & where he said he could identify with Julio the most?
I never realized his left ear looked weird, I never noticed it in pics. But now, I've been looking at his left ear and it does look kind of elvish doesn't it? LOL! Also, on the Valentino (1951) trivia, the actor they got to portray Valentino was Anthony Dexter - and they described how much he looked like Valentino down to his ears. I found that weird as people don't usually notice the differences in people's ears, let along comment that they have similar ears. But if Valentino had a unique left ear, then that would explain it.
I had read/seen in a bio of his that he was rejected in the army for poor vision but didn't know it was associated with his smoldering gaze! It reminds me of Christopher Lambert who has myopia and very poor eyesight, he's legally blind actually. Did Valentino have myopia perhaps?
QUOTE:
"Suffers from myopia, a condition that causes the eyes to focus incorrectly, making distant objects appear blurred. [2010]"
I didn't even know what licorice what, apparently it's native to his country and often put on tobacco? I actually noticed his teeth looked dark at times.
I have been reading "Dark Lover, The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino" by Emily W. Leider. The movie does not do his story justice but the man that played Valentino in the movie did a fine job.
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^^^I've been looking for that book as I've heard praises for it. But I don't think it's available in my country. I wish they would release it as an epub you can purchase so the rest of us can access and read it.
I just saw it and I like it but it really is a fictional account of Valentino's life.
But yes, they did feature some of his films, this included as well as The Sheik and a bit of the others.
Oh, NO WAY would I think badly of you because you liked the first TOS movie. I'd just think you had bad taste! LOL LOL Actually I went to the theater twice to see that film. It had a lot of potential, but they seemed more interested in showing the fans, "Look we have a big budget for FX now!"
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^^^I guess it would be different if I saw it in the theatre and had been waiting for years for a Star Trek show, lol!
No, I've never really gotten into the books of Star Trek. I only read 1 ST novel and that was an offshoot on what happened to Spock when he was trapped in that ancient prehistoric winter past. You know, where he met a girl who again, fell in love with him? That's it, lol!
My favorite Star Trek is actually The Undiscovered Country. :)
It would be great if they released a Criterion Collection of Rudolph Valentino's films - the best of his best.
I just watched this film and the quality was pretty good actually. I hope I can watch The Eagle soon but I hear the quality of that isn't as preserved.
The old man she takes care of and wanted to leave for the second time (before seeing the ghost of Julio) is her ex-husband.
Jim I just noticed vast archives for older films like Rudolph Valentino's in the 20s! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Although I noticed there are a few films not listed here when you search for them like:
-Valentino (1951)
-Dracula (1931)
Also, there are no archival messages for Rudolph Valentino.
I hope I'm not coming across as ungrateful as I love the update you just did and I am so grateful to all the vast archival messages you've done!
I've just mentioned the above as you requested for any other thoughts or bugs or changes we might suggest.
Flower, this site is the first site out of IMDB that I signed up for due to the archival messages.
But I have to admit, I just want to go somewhere to discuss things with people. A few days ago I also signed up for TMD - The Movie Database - because I have been getting into Rudolph Valentino lately. He was a well known actor in the 1920s. I checked here and his board had no archival messages, I checked TMD and there was 1 post there. And as sad as that was, I signed up because I needed someone to talk to about this old legendary yet bygone actor. And I have been there discussing him and obsessing about a guy who died way back then. I get crushes on dead old actors and I become a fan of them because I have romantic notions of the past, and so, I watch old films and read about old actors. That's just who I am. I love films in general, I'll watch a silent film, a kung fu film, a horror film, and the latest marvel film - I love them all. I can't help it. But there are few I can talk to about my varied taste, so, I go to the boards. Now that IMDB is gone, I will go to any board with a message/post in hopes that I can read/talk/maybe get a reply even.
And this extension delighted me because someone posted it on youtube, and I saw all the old posts on some old Rudolph Valentino films.
I'm also still pissed at imdb tbh, I am so angry at them. I have been registered for 11 years but I can't control myself and still go to check ratings, trivia, & summary. :(
This site just got a major update and a lot of these older films now have archives. Since I've been on a Rudolph Valentino binge, I just checked 3 of his films:
-The Sheik
-The Son of the Sheik
-The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse
I noticed in these older films, they always make the parents or the middle aged parents in their 30s/40s look 70.
You'll see some 70-80 year old looking parents with a baby, a 5 year old and a 10 year old, and wonder how they accomplished that! lol!
PJPurple, please don't think badly of me, but I thought the first & fifth TOS films were ok, lol!
Yeah, there are some films I love like Tron Legacy, Stardust, & Peter Pan that I absolutely love but are not appreciated by most others.
Agree very much on DS9.
Will do! :)
I often wonder if thy used to play the same music for all the cinemas or did the theaters and bands have carte blanche to what could be played?
Also, it would be great to add the extension on edge since I use that a lot on my hybrid tablet.
It would be a great idea if Jim could get in touch with the guy who did this and they can join forces somehow! :)