Length: 117 minutes
Director: Erich von Stroheim
Cast: Erich von Stroheim, Miss DuPont, Maude George, Mae Busch, Rudolph Christians, Dale Fuller, Al Edmundsen, Malvina Polo, Cesare Gravina
Eric's Impressions: Though this film nearly put me to sleep throughout with a predictable plot and drawn-out story, this is a must-see due to the performance of director/star Erich von Stroheim. Popularly known as "The Man You Loved To Hate," von Stroheim is a tour-de-force as the sinister Count Karamzin, who manipulates all that cross his path, especially an American damsel in distress. I guess knocking the film for its originality is a bit harsh as it did come out in 1923 and maybe it was the films that came after that were copying.
Natalie's Impressions: This film has a short version and a long version. According to our book the film is 85 minutes but the version we saw was an unedited 117 minutes long. I would have much preferred the shorter version because it took about 75 minutes for the film to get interesting. The pace picked up for the last half hour and was interesting in that I didn't know how the film was going to end. The ending was not terribly surprising but the plot had an unexpected twist that kept me watching to see how it would play out. The plot is somewhat boring but von Stroheim is a superb villain and every moment he is on the screen is entertaining.
COUNTDOWN: Just 988 movies to go!
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