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Beyond the Rocks
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  1. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    70
    The faces of the stars glow with life, which makes you all the more grateful that this, their only film together, has come back.
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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
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  1. DanN,
    6
    [***SPOILERS***] "Beyond the Rocks" (1922) is an amiable love story between Theodora (Gloria Swanson) and a British lord, Hector (Rudolph Valentino). Theo is pressured by her family into marrying an older man, Josiah Brown (Robert Bolder), for his money. She is reluctant, but once married to him she determines to be a loyal wife. On a vacation trip to the alps, Theo slips while climbing a steep precipice. Lord Bracondale (Valentino) saves her life, and they fall in love. Theo continues to be faithful to Josiah, but before long the elderly millionaire begins to suspect his wife's affections towards Bracondale. When a malicious rival (Gertrude Astor) purposely redirects a letter meant for Hector and sends it to Josiah instead, Josiah's darkest suspicions are confirmed. Rather than rail against his rival, Josiah sacrifices himself by going on a suicidal exploring mission to North Africa, risking -- even courting -- death so that his wife can be happy with her true love. He is killed by bandits, and Theodora mourns him. After a suitable mourning period, Theo and Bracondale come together and pursue their love. "Beyond the Rocks" was long thought to be a "lost" film, until a print of it was found in 2003, in a private collection in the Netherlands. We are told that up to $200,000 was spent in preserving it and making it available for public screenings. It is now also available on DVD. While the preservation efforts are admirable, nevertheless the film still contains numerous scratches and artifacts, the sort of thing that -- in a still picture -- could be fixed by an application such as Photoshop. There are also some segments that are almost completely decomposed, and they are distracting... especially since there was so much pre-release publicity about this picture, and what a great find it is. I'm told that a complete restoration of "Beyond the Rocks" could cost as much as half a million dollars, and that there is no economic incentive to spend that for a 1922 silent movie that only a few thousand fans would seek out. I'm not a socialist, but I think that instead of spending billions of dollars on wars halfway around the world, the U.S.A. could spend a half million on restoring a treasure like "Beyond the Rocks." God knows, our government is spending a lot more than that, on far less worthy projects. Dan N.… Full Review »
  2. SandraR.
    5
    ALthough it was nice to see this film preserved for posterity, I would not recommend it to anyone as a fine example of silent film. The plot is frivilous and the music FAR too comtemporary for the era. Not to mention the sound effects which did not add to the film but actually tended to distract from it. Despite the restoration, there were several parts which are still very badly damaged. I would not call this a GREAT film, but it is a part of our American film heritage and for that reason alone, it is good to know it can now be viewed forever.… Full Review »