A century ago every educated man of the western world knew the history of Rome: if not from reading about it in Latin, then at least from Macauley's "Lays of Ancient Rome", a series of epic poems about the mythology of the city's founding. The Rape of the Sabine Woman was a hot piece of the puzzle and this is an early effort to put it on the movie screen.
Unfortunately for the modern viewer, this is an example of the Illustrated Text method of movie-making, in which the audience was told what was happening and then the event would be played out on the screen. Given that knowledge, a work such as this, with the actors indulging in big gestures, would be comprehensible. However, this declamatory style of acting was better suited for the stage and was going out of style even then. The result is a movie that is more interesting for its sheer antiquity than its excellence as cinema.
The copy that is currently up on Youtube is nicely tinted and toned. The yellows are particularly telling. I can't recommend this, however, for much more than that.
Unfortunately for the modern viewer, this is an example of the Illustrated Text method of movie-making, in which the audience was told what was happening and then the event would be played out on the screen. Given that knowledge, a work such as this, with the actors indulging in big gestures, would be comprehensible. However, this declamatory style of acting was better suited for the stage and was going out of style even then. The result is a movie that is more interesting for its sheer antiquity than its excellence as cinema.
The copy that is currently up on Youtube is nicely tinted and toned. The yellows are particularly telling. I can't recommend this, however, for much more than that.
