Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

pvtexmex-1 Whatever made Nazimova think she could be Camille, one of the most sought after "courtesans" in Paris? Or maybe French men really did have a thing for flat-chested, shapeless women with big feet and bigger hairdos. Surely that was a wig. There is no way they could have tossed up that concoction on a daily basis. And Rudolf Valentino falls hopelessly in love with her at first sight. Really? Valentino might could have added something to this picture if Nazimova would have allowed it. Instead, she chose to keep his appearances brief and subdued, and even to keep him off-screen as much as possible so as to keep the (very soft and fuzzy) focus on herself. On the positive side, there are some very interesting set designs, especially Camille's Paris apartment and the casino. I especially liked the women in silhouette behind the screen and their Egyptian-evoking movements. Valentino's second plaything, Olympe, looks like she may have just stepped out of a Venusian spacecraft. But then it was Paris. I see that many people are impressed with all of the "artistic" innovations introduced by Nazimova, including her rather unique acting style. To me, it seems to date the picture. Possibly in 1921 Nazimova was all the rage, but not for long. It could have been a better movie with more Valentino and less Nazimova--and a lot less hair.

Vasilii Naidionoff Absolute masterpiece of style! Actors: Very effective type of acting with minimum movements of characters in manner like sculptures which come to life(matador's gesture of Valentino with up hands when he wants to kill his sweetheart at last them meeting - for example).See this influence in acting even in avant-garde films of Kenneth Anger. Decorations:Clothes and decorations with Art Deco for more romantic and impression.Scenario: Simple and correct (in Shakespire's manner).Love in Spring,Death at Winter... Direction: As good as it's possible.Because punctual and accurate sets maximum style for this king-size drama.

dglink Although the 1921 silent version of "Camille" will not eclipse the later Garbo vehicle, the earlier film is an unexpectedly entertaining movie in its own right. The Dumas story was updated to the post World War I era and starred Alla Nazimova as the tragic Lady of the Camellias. Physically, Nazimova fails to convince viewers that she could lure young men into her clutches or coax a rich suitor to cross her palm with a jewel for her favors. However, she plays Camille in the grand style of the era, and, had she lived, she would have been a fine Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard." Two years after "Camille," the 44-year-old Nazimova played the teen-aged "Salome," the role that Norma Desmond wrote for herself as a comeback vehicle. The Nazimova version offers a glimpse of what the Norma Desmond film might have been.As in "Salome," Nazimova's hair, costumes, and gestures in "Camille" compensate for her lack of physical allure, and the audience eventually accepts that a Rudolph Valentino would succumb to her charms. However, Valentino, does not register here either physically or emotionally with the appeal that he would exhibit in later films.Natacha Rambova, who was Mrs. Valentino, designed the costumes and sets, which often add a striking dimension to the film. The unusual designs are reminiscent of the Aubrey-Beardsley-inspired work on Nazimova's "Salome." Although the overall direction of "Camille" is competent, if not exciting, the story is well paced. While certainly not an example of the silent cinema at its artistic peak or even a typical commercial film of the era, "Camille" offers a star turn by one of the era's more eccentric actresses and an early look at one of the great male stars of the 1920's.

cgm95 For more than two decades I have been a journalist, with extensive experience writing about historic Hollywood. Along the way, I have read much about this movie: about how horrible it was, the critical reception (quite unpleasant), how it ruined careers, etc.Last night I finally had the chance to see the beautifully restored version on Turner Classic Movies.I cannot speak for the world of 1921 (being much too young, of course), but this movie must rank up there with one of the top ten films of the silent era. The acting, while not perfect, exhibits little of the hamminess and showiness that earmarks the typical 1920s silent. Nazimova is spectacular in her performance of the dying woman of ill repute. The design elements are tremendous -- especially considering how unique they were in their time. Beautifully realized sets, costumes, props, etc.Other versions of this movie have been made before and since, but this version far outweighs the more familiar version with GG (next to whose photograph the word "hamminess" appears in the dictionary).The only downside to this otherwise marvelous film is the appearance by Valentino -- whose popularity must have been a product of the times, as I still cannot fathom how he ever got more than a bit part in a Hollywood film.Of special note are the French flashbacks that pop up throughout the film. They bring a special poignance to the finale that is especially touching.