Salome/Lot in Sodom

The worth of Wilde's plays were reestablished by the 1920s, but even so SALOME, with its convoluted and exotic language and hothouse sense of depravity, remained something of a theatrical untouchable--and certainly so where the screen was concerned. No one dared consider it until Russian-born Alla Nazimova, who is generally credited with bringing Stanislaski technique to the New York stage, decided to film it in 1923.

It proved a disaster. Theatergoers in large cities might be prepared to accept Wilde's lighter plays, but Main Street America was an entirely different matter--especially where the notorious SALOME was concerned, particularly when the film was dogged hints of Nazimova's lesbianism and by the rumor that it had been done with an "all Gay cast" in honor of Wilde himself. Critics, censors, and the public damned the film right and left. It received only limited distribution and faded quickly from view. Even so, the legend of both the film and its exotic star grew over time. And so now, some eighty years after its creation, Nazimova's SALOME is at last widely available to the public in this DVD release, which packages it alongside the 1933 art-short LOT IN SODOM.

Given that much of the original play's power is in Wilde's language, SALOME suffers from translation to silent film--the title cards are often awkwardly long, and in general fail to convey the tone of Wilde's voice; moreover, the convolutions of the original have been necessarily simplified for the silent form. Even so, it is a remarkable thing in a purely visual sense. Directed in a deliberately flat style by Charles Bryant and designed by Natacha Rambova (wife of Valentino, she would also design Nazimova's silent CAMILLE), the look of the film seeks to reproduce the playscript's equally infamous illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley--and succeeds to a remarkable degree.

And then there is Nazimova herself. Well into her forties at the time she played the teenage Salome, Nazimova is an electric presence: while she often shows her years in close up, she is remarkably effective in capturing the willful, petulant, and ultimately depraved Salome in facial expression and body posture, balancing an over-the-top style with moments of quiet realism to most remarkable effect. The supporting cast is also quite memorable, with Mitchell Lewis (Herod) and Rose Dione (Herodias) particularly notable.

The accompanying LOT IN SODOM is related to SALOME only in the sense that it too has a Biblical theme. Created by J.S. Watson and Melville Webber, this 1933 film is less "art" than "experimental," and consists largely of double, triple, and quadruple exposures of writing and often seminude bodies--and while it clearly influenced later experimental filmmakers such as Kenneth Anger, it is perhaps best regarded as an interesting curiosity.

SALOME is not, perhaps, a "great" film in the traditional sense--and given the technical limitations and social restrictions of the era it never could have been--but it is not for want of trying, and it is worth noting that its designs and style have cast a very long shadow; indeed, when Ken Russell set out to film SALOME as a "play within a play" for the film THE LAST DANCE OF SALOME, he borrowed ideas quite liberally from Nazimova's original. While it is no more likely to appeal to today's rank-and-file viewer than it did eighty years ago, it is a must-own for those interested in silent film, who will likely find it fascinating and frustrating in equal degrees.

LOT IN SODOM does not appear to have been significantly restored in any way, and the short film is riddled with scratches and blips and assorted artifacts. SALOME, however, has been restored; even so, the film was neglected for many years, and the restoration represents a "best case" situation rather than "mint." The DVD offers the option of two soundtracks for SALOME; for myself, I preferred the Garza-O'Meara score performed by Silent Orchestra, but both are quite good, each in its own way. Recommended to silent film fans with a taste for the unexpected.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Nazimova is very good indeed as Salomé. She is somehow remarkably convincing as a teenage girl. This is all the more surprising for Nazimova was in her forties when she played the part. Her acting is subtle, making good use of facial expressions and gestures to convey the nature of the character. It is easy to believe in Salomé's powers of seduction, for Nazimova is stunning to look at and very sexy in the costumes she wears. She was clearly no dancer, but nevertheless her dance is imaginative and effective. As a teasing temptress she is perfect.

The film has some fairly bizarre moments and some of the acting is rather broad, but the story is told well and the sets and costumes are very good. The tinted print on the Image DVD is, on the whole, good to very good. At various point it shows some signs of decay, but this decomposition is quite minor. The picture has good clarity with lots of detail. The DVD has a choice of two scores. The orchestral score by Marc-Olivier Dupin, fits the mood and the action of the film and is a pleasure to listen to. The other option is a more contemporary sounding score by the Silent Orchestra. I preferred the Dupin score, but both scores are worth listening to and it is great to have a choice.

I didn't enjoy the second film on this DVD very much at all. Lot in Sodom runs just under half an hour and is weird and bizarre without really being particularly interesting. It is almost silent with only a few pieces of dialogue. The difficulty I had with the film is that it is pretty hard to follow. It is full of hallucinatory images and strange camera angles, but you really have to know the Old Testament story to have any idea what is going on. It is fairly explicit for a thirties film with glimpses of nudity, but for all that is nowhere near as sexy as Salomé. Lot in Sodom does have some striking images and it is clear that a lot of effort and thought went into the making of the film, but as with so many experimental films the experiment ultimately fails. It fails because the film is so confusing that it is neither thought provoking nor entertaining. Others may like this film more than I did in which case they will be pleased that the print and sound quality are above average for a film from 1933. Even if I didn't much care for Lot in Sodom, I was still very pleased with this DVD as Salomé is full of interest and a lot of fun.