WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

atlasmb With the possible exception of costuming, this film is horrible. Another example of director Russell laughing at the audiences who pay to watch his over-blown crap.The acting is mostly overacting, no doubt encouraged by Russell, who presents a film of caricatures. Swarzenegger playing Hamlet would be nearly as good as Nureyev playing Valentino. He has a physical presence, but he cannot act. Michelle Phillips and the others fall prey to Russell's misguided exhortations to act as if they are on stage, aiming for the back balcony. Huntz Hall is mere stunt casting.The script is abominable. The story bears no resemblance to the actual life of Valentino or reality, in general. The viewer should remember that Russell was a fan of Warhol and Fellini. It would be fair to call this one of his Campbell Soup Can films. This film is craftsmanship (adulterated by what must be a sick view of the world) masquerading as art.

Falconeer Anybody who watches this biopic about the legendary matinée idol, Rudolph Valentino, would think director Ken Russell had a personal vendetta against the guy. Russell is known for his grotesque, often controversial films, and this movie is no exception. The clown-like portrayal of Valentino is as offensive as the image of the white serpent ripping the arm off Jesus on the cross, in "Lair of the White Worm." This film plays like the cheapest gossip rag on the newsstand. It would have the viewer believe that R. Valentino was a flaming, super-feminine homosexual. And there is no way that the real Valentino acted or behaved like this ridiculous portrayal at all. In fact it would have been impossible in the 1920's. We basically witness endless people calling Rudy a raging homosexual, right to his face. We have people mocking him and throwing powder puffs at him! Ken Russell takes an old, unfounded rumor about Rudolph's sexuality, and builds the entire film around that one thing. It's a true character assassination of a screen legend, that should offend every fan that sees it. Of course it was usually Ken Russell's ultimate goal to offend his audience. Nothing against Nureyev, but i truly hated his interpretation of Valentino. I don't know if the man was just too feminine in real life to hide it, or if he was simply directed to mock Rudy, a man who really hated the doubts cast upon his manhood. It angered him to no end, being of the macho Italian culture. If he could see this movie he would roll over in his grave; he would despise it that much. Attacking the image of someone who has been dead 85 years, is just cowardly and disgraceful. Watching one of Valentino's films it is clear that he was a somewhat sensitive, even shy man. Not the freakshow that you see in this 1977 film. Anyway, Nureyev, although a very handsome guy, bears no resemblance at all to Rudolph, so it is unclear why he was cast at all.If it wasn't for the movie's great production values, it would be a total waste of time; the sets and 1920's costumes are really amazing, and the film looks beautiful. In fact, technically speaking, this is a well-made film. It's just a shame that the director decided to make it an hysterical farce, and had everyone act like clowns. If not for those poor choices, this could have been great. I wondered why this has never been commercially released on DVD; now i understand.. There is, happily, another film on the life of Valentino, from 1951, that doesn't mock the actor, but takes the subject matter seriously. The actor also bears a haunting resemblance to Rudy as well. But this movie just made me angry and disgusted.

ptb-8 In Australia in 1977 we were in the boom years and love affair with colour TV. Most cinema releases movies at the box office dropped dead.. and most were very good... or at least interesting.... VALENTINO was one of them. A wildly ambitious and quite well imagined 1920s fiction on Valentino's career and loves, this Ken Russell pic has spectacular imagery and hilarious casting (Huntz Hall as the head of Paramount) but as usual in a Russell film was seriously derailed by grotesque sexual moments. The film has a great sense of time and place and with great female casting, spectacular dance scenes and breathtaking art direction VALENTNO gives the viewer 2 hours of lavish early 20s Hollywood life. Any film with both Carol Kane and Leslie Caron with Nureyev must be seen to be believed anyway. Some cinemas of the time (well, mine anyway) ran it as a double feature with NEW YORK NEW YORK and found the same audience enjoyed both... even if they needed a meal break and a walk around the block to get through this 5 hour musical fruit salad. In the same week we also ran THE WORLD'S GREATEST LOVER which, also with Carol Kane and equally gorgeous 20s visuals missed its mark because of the insufferable antics of Gene Wilder over-eating the whole production. Yes, over-eating. Nobody survived.

JasparLamarCrabb Who knows if any of this is true, but director Ken Russell's take on the life of Rudolph Valentino is a lot of fun. Opening at Valentino's infamously raucous funeral, the film is told in flashbacks by various people who knew him. That's where any similarity to CITIZEN KANE ends. Russell is a master of opulence and it's clear that no money was spared. The sets and costumes are spectacular, but they're nearly overshadowed by Russell's casting choices. Michelle Phillips plays Valentino's wife Natasha, Leslie Caron is the great Nazimova and one time Dead End kid Huntz Hall is Paramount chief Jesse Lasky. Bizarre casting to be sure, but all three are surprisingly good. Caron in particular seems to be having a really good time. In hindsight, the casting of Rudolf Nureyev as the world's "greatest lover" seems ironic, but he isn't bad. It is too bad he has to speak. There are times he's incomprehensible. The direction is fairly straightforward, although Caron's funeral scene entrance and Valentino's jail house encounter are vintage Russell --- they're nearly operatic. Carol Kane and Seymour Cassel are in it too.