Reviews of silent film releases on home video. Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett and the Silent Era Company. All Rights Reserved.

The Sheik (1921)

It is a well known and often told story that Rudolph Valentino was a largely unknown actor when he appeared in The Sheik (1921), the film that shot him into the rarified heights of an international film star.

The film, based on a ‘scandalous’ British novel, seems more than a bit melodramatic today, with its ‘forbidden’ interracial love elements and its sappy story of a privileged and self-determined society woman who is knocked-down a peg or two by the desert and its inhabitants. However, Valentino (who does more than his share of ridiculous eye-popping in the film in lieu of better acting devices — fault director George Melford for not keeping it under control) holds the film together by virtue of his magnetic presence alone. There are plenty of shots of Valentino flashing that million-dollar smile that made him the top matinee idol of the 1920s. The film, nonetheless, does have a number of exciting action sequences that help it rise above the average film fare of 1921.

— Carl Bennett

This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered in high-definition from 35mm archival materials. More than one print may have been utilized for the video scan as some footage is significantly scuffed while other is nearly pristene, some footage is soft in picture details, and many of the intertitles appear to have been scanned from a 16mm reduction print (some of them a bit difficult to read). Among the other flaws are dust, speckling, some loose splices, emulsion scrapes, print schmutz, and fine vertical scratches. If multiple prints were indeed sourced for this edition, we cannot be certain it entirely represents the film as originally released. Some footage may be from the original American release version, some may be from export prints that likely have alternate angles or entirely different takes.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on virtual theatre pipe organ by Ben Model.

Supplementary material includes audio commentary by professor Gaylyn Studlar of Washington University in St. Louis; archival footage taken at Valentino’s funeral; and an original theatrical trailer of Valentino’s Blood and Sand (1922).

This edition is our recommended home video edition of the film, in part for the musical accompaniment and the audio commentary.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.

This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered in high-definition from 35mm archival materials, and is virtually identical in picture presentation to the Kino Lorber Blu-ray Disc noted above. Comments about image quality and source materials apply equally here. We have not been able (as yet) to identify why this presentation is 10 minutes shorter compared to the Kino Lorber edition.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on synthesizers by Roger Bellon. Once again, as with some other home video synthesizer-based accompaniments, we are annoyed to the point of distraction by most of Bellon’s synthesizer voicing settings.

Supplementary material includes the brief video documentary, “Desert Heat: 100 Years with The Sheik” with commentary by Leslie Midkiff DeBauche, associate professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point (12 minutes). The information relayed feels as though it is an abbreviated version of that presented in the Kino Lorber edition. The edition includes an access code for a digital copy of the film.

We do not recommend this home video edition of the film, in large part for the annoying quality of the musical accompaniment and for the film’s shorter running time.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on virtual theatre pipe organ by Ben Model.

Supplementary material includes audio commentary by professor Gaylyn Studlar of Washington University in St. Louis; archival footage taken at Valentino’s funeral; and an original theatrical trailer of Valentino’s Blood and Sand (1922).

This edition is our recommended DVD home video edition of the film, in part for the musical accompaniment and the audio commentary.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.

Comparing this DVD edition to the VHS edition released in 1992 by Paramount Home Video, one immediately realizes that the Paramount edition utilized a reedited and retitled rerelease print for its video transfer, and that this DVD edition has utilized for its transfer an excellent color-toned 35mm print of the original theatrical release version. Owners of the Paramount videotape may choose to hold onto it as a document of the reissue print.

The Blackhawk Films print for this Image DVD features a broad range of greytones and very-good image detail, with very slight print damage in the form of light speckling, scrapes, and emulsion scuffing. The transfer is full-frame but is also generously cropped at the extreme edges of the film frame to render the maximum picture (as long as your television doesn’t excessively crop overscan area). Some intertitles will be slightly cropped on some TV monitors, but that appears to be the fault of the camera framing rather than the transfer framing.

We’re not impressed by the music score performed on MIDI synthesizers by Eric Beheim (performing under the moniker, the “Café Mauré Orchestra”), however. We feel that the synthesizer sounds that are achieved are irritating at best and undermine the musical compositions themselves.

Featured with The Sheik on this DVD is the film’s sequel, The Son of the Sheik (1926). The Son of the Sheik DVD review.

Among the supplementary material is Rudolph Valentino and His 88 American Beauties (1923) is documentary produced by the young David O. Selznick during Valentino’s contract dispute with Famous Players-Lasky, and served the purpose of keeping Valentino before the moving-going public during his vaudeville tour. Valentino was a judge in a beauty contest held in New York, with 88 contestants, including future film star Eugenia Gilbert. The film is padded with a hodge podge of footage taken during the event and of the contestants afterwards, but the film served its purpose for Valentino and made Selznick a goodly sum of money at the beginning of his career as a film producer. The transfer has been made from an excellent 35mm print, with mild speckling and moderate frame jitters. The film was previously available as a supplement on laserdisc.

The Sheik’s Physique (192?) is an odd little fiction film of Valentino (complete with long, pointed sideburns) driving to the beach and, to wow female viewers, changing into a swimming suit to spend a leisurely afternoon relaxing. Having fallen asleep, Rudy awakens to discover that he is late for an undefined appointment, realizes that his car is gone, and he must hitch a ride back into town. The film, which is likely exerpted from a longer compilation reel, has little purpose other than to keep new Valentino footage on the world's cinema screens until he formally returned to film acting. Transferred from, what appears to be, an excellent 35mm print.

[Pathe News: Rudolph Valentino Dead!] (1926) is a portion of newsreel footage of the funeral of Valentino. Includes footage from The Son of the Sheik and an incidental glimpse of Pola Negri. Transferred from an excellent 35mm print that is lightly speckled, moderately jittery and slightly damaged.

All of the films on this Image DVD feature music scores performed on synthesizers by Eric Beheim, who has written extensive notes on the scoring for the insert booklet. The disc also features an alternate music track of the 1937 reissue music and sound effects track for The Son of the Sheik.

This DVD edition of Valentino’s sheik films, produced for home video by David Shepard, encompasses a five-year span during which Rudolph Valentino rose to fame, fought studio control (almost disasterously), successfully returned to films, and ultimately died a premature death at age 31. With its wealth of Valentino films in great prints, this DVD is a great buy for both value and quality.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.
This Region 1 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued and is . . .

The film is presented with a music score performed on MIDI synthesizers by Eric Beheim (performing under the moniker, the “Café Mauré Orchestra”).

Supplementary material includes The Son of the Sheik, and Valentino short films.

This Region 0 NTSC DVD+R edition is available directly from FLICKER ALLEY through . . .

The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack of preexisting recordings.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .

North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.

United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 2 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.
This Region 2 PAL DVD edition has been discontinued and is . . .

The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting recordings.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition has been discontinued and is . . .

It is unknown which version of the film is presented (original or rerelease version).

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting recordings.

NOSTALGIA FAMILY VIDEO has discontinued business and this DVD-R edition is . . .

It is unknown which version of the film is presented (original or rerelease version) or the quality of source materials used for the video transfer.

Other silent era ADOLPHE MENJOU films available on home video.