SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Marketic
It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.
Zandra
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
JohnHowardReid
John Barrymore (Sergeant Ivan Markov), Camilla Horn (Princess Tamara), Louis Wolheim (Sergeant Bubba), Boris De Fas (peddler), George Fawcett (general), (Ulrich Haupt (captain), Michael Visaroff (guard), Lena Malena (Tamara's friend), Albert Conti (bit), Wilhelm von Brincken (examiner), and Michael Marke, Gregory Gaye, John Bleifer.Director: SAM TAYLOR. Adaptation: C. Gardner Sullivan. Original story and scenario: Erich von Stroheim. Based on a story by V.I. Nemirovich-Dantchenko. Uncredited script contributor: Lewis Milestone. Titles: George Marion, junior. Uncredited direction: Lewis Milestone, Victor Tourjansky. Photography: Charles Rosher. Art director: William Cameron Menzies. Costumes: Alice O'Neill. Music score: Hugo Riesenfeld. Set decorator: Casey Roberts. Wardrobe manager: Frank Donnellan. Technical adviser: Alexis Davidoff. Production manager: Walter Mayo. Production supervisor: John W. Considine, Jr. Producer: Sam Taylor.Copyright 11 October 1927 by Feature Productions, Inc. Presented by Joseph M. Schenck. Released through United Artists. New York opening at the Embassy, 17 May 1928. U.S. release: 11 August 1928. Sydney release at the Prince Edward, 19 October 1928 (ran 5 weeks). 10 reels. 9,300 feet.SYNOPSIS: Romance between a peasant soldier and a princess during the Russian Revolution.NOTES: Academy Award to William Cameron Menzies (shared with his "The Dove") for Art Direction (defeating Seventh Heaven and Sunrise). Also nominated for Cinematography, but lost to Sunrise. A silent film. COMMENT: Once thought lost, this large-budget movie has now been placed back in circulation. Unlike some other lost/found films which have recently surfaced, this one is not in the least disappointing.In fact it really was a lost masterpiece featuring superb performances not only from its star, Barrymore, German import Camilla Horn (making her Hollywood debut), and ever-reliable Louis Wolheim, but a most remarkable study in insane villainy by Boris De Fas. What makes this menacing portrait even more remarkable is the fact that De Fas does not seem to have made any other Hollywood films. None! So if you don't catch him in Tempest, you will miss one of the most unique character studies in the movies.Director Sam Taylor has also excelled himself in this instance, though he is aided by Rosher's superlative photography as well as Menzies' deservedly award-winning sets.All in all, an engrossing story with vivid characterizations, realized with panache, style, plus a consistently visually appealing finesse.
evanston_dad
"Tempest" will be of interest to anyone who wants an example of John Barrymore's considerable screen presence. He's quite good as a star cadet culled from the ranks of the Russian peasantry whose fortunes take a turn for the worse when he falls foul of his boss's daughter. The story is pure melodrama, with lots of arched eyebrows and swooning romantic embraces, but Barrymore pulls it off with flair, and there's something ahead of its time about his acting. It's natural in a way that a lot of acting in the silent era (and even for a while after) wasn't.The film overall is a bit saggy, and suffers from lugubrious pacing and static shots that linger past the point when they should. William Cameron Menzies won the first Academy Award given for art direction for his work on this film and another from the same award year, "The Dove," while Charles Rosher, who won the first cinematography Oscar for "Sunrise," provides the camera work. To be sure the film looks good, but it would have benefited from crisper editing.A not overly memorable film from the last days of the silents, but enjoyable for what it is.Grade: B
lostto
This is a neglected gem.! Amazing camera work, wonderful sets and art direction, and above all the great performance of John Barrymore make this a silent classic all film fans should see. Barrymore was a true master of the craft, and I wish there were many more of his performances available today. Those that are available have impressed me repeatedly. His reputation as one of the finest actors of his time was well deserved, and until late in his life, his talent shown through and survived the ravages of his personal demons. He really delivers on this film, in a more subtle and well-developed character than some of his other silent roles. The character undergoes a shift from fury to affection at one point, and he's magnificent here. The female lead is a bit wooden at times, but mostly hits her mark, first as arrogant, contemptuous, even cruel. The script doesn't give her much opportunity for redemption, but a softer side does emerge and she has eyes and a face that work well in silent cinema. The chaotic and vengeful culture in the immediate aftermath of the revolution is shown rather than alluded to or omitted, as are the cruelties of the aristocrat/peasant one before it. Some early film slants heavily to the "feel good" side, but this seems an honest treatment. It's just such a shame more folks don't appreciate silent films on their own merits, rather than trying to compare them to contemporary ones…its like apples and oranges.
F Gwynplaine MacIntyre
'Tempest' gives John Barrymore plenty of chances to show his left profile. The plot -- utmost tosh, about a peasant cavalry officer obsessed with Princess Tamara during the Russian revolution -- doesn't stand up to analysis. Suffice it to say that this is one of those movies where a man keeps harassing a woman until she falls in love with him.As Tamara, the haughty White Russian princess, Camilla Horn makes a magnificent entrance on horseback, riding sidesaddle in a form-fitting outfit with gauntlet gloves. Barrymore acquits himself well with a ridiculous script. There's one painful scene in which Lieutenant Markov (Barrymore) sups large quantities of booze to show how manly he is. Knowing what alcohol did to Barrymore's life and career, I cringe when I see him drinking on the screen.Among the ridiculous elements is Boris de Fast as a gap-toothed Bolshevik whose ability to be conveniently present during all the plot twists (even surreptitiously entering a military stockade) borders on the supernatural. Ullrich Haupt, as Barrymore's villainous superior officer, is splendidly hissable in a role that seems tailored for Erich von Stroheim. Character actor Michael Mark plays one of the cavalry troopers: no dialogue, no business, but his distinctive facial structure calls attention to itself. Louis Wolheim supplies a bit too much comic relief as the bulbous and bull-like Bulba: I guess he must be Taurus Bulba. Wolheim plays a cavalry sergeant, but his immense bulk makes him implausible in the role; Wolheim is built more like an infantryman.By far, the greatest appeal of this movie is Charles Rosher's dazzling camera-work, supplemented by the usual brilliant production design of William Cameron Menzies. The opening scene is a travelling shot of a military garrison: the camera is clearly panning across models, but they're as exquisitely detailed as one of those miniature villages that used to be so popular in Britain. Eventually the camera turns round a corner to show men walking past full-scale buildings ... but the cut is so well done, it's nearly seamless. Elsewhere, there's a splendid subjective shot through the bottom of an upturned glass ... and a fine example of double-exposure as the delirious Barrymore, rotting in the stockade, envisions his comrades in battle.I was also impressed with the consistent use of dissolves whenever printed words, handwriting or inscriptions were shown on screen. As all the characters are Russian, we first see signs and captions written in Cyrillic, followed by a dissolve into English translations. (Compare this with 'The Last Command', made at a different studio this same year, in which a Russian telegram is shown on screen in English.) Just a couple of times in 'Tempest' the dissolve device is not used, and there's one bizarre shot in which a handwritten note reading 'Do not disturb' in English is posted on the same door as a sign reading 'Commissar' in Cyrillic. Still, I'm vastly impressed that the art department went to so much trouble.Although the script is rubbish -- and I'm dismayed that the Bolsheviks are depicted favourably -- Barrymore's role has an impressive amount of moral ambiguity. Lieutenant Markov is basically moral and ethical, but he becomes obsessed with Princess Tamara ... and his behaviour degenerates accordingly. The script (and Barrymore) could have taken an easier route by contriving to make all of Markov's reversals a matter of circumstances rather than down to Markov's personal flaws.Despite a howlingly implausible script, the visuals and the acting are so good in this film that I'll rate it 7 in 10.
