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5.0 out of 5 stars
An Enduring Romance, Jul 18 2004
Eternal love ~ what a premise! And in this terrific film it comes delivered to you via two star-crossed lovers Ciglia (Camilla Horn) and Marcus (Barrymore). Marcus prefers the wild mountainsides outside of his Swiss village only somewhat less than the pure and beautiful preacher's daughter Ciglia, whom he desires very much to marry. Uncle Tass (Hobart Bosworth) has other ideas, wishing for Ciglia the more staid and proper Lorenz (Victor Varconi), while wild mountain girl Pia (Mona Rico) has her own designs on Marcus, desiring him very much for herself. Pia seduces Marcus through some truly dishonourable conniving, dooming Marcus to marry her. Ciglia settles with Lorenz in an effort to heal her crushed heart, but of course this does nothing of the sort ~ Marcus and Ciglia hold blazing torches that no twists of fate can quell. Thus, the movie moves toward its devastating finale.During a blizzard, Marcus becomes lost on the mountains. Pia, desperate to find him, implores Lorenz and Ciglia for help. Distraught at this news, Ciglia slips her facade for an instant arousing the suspicions of her husband. When Marcus arrives safely home, the jealous Lorenz bribes Marcus to take his leave from the village and from Ciglia once and for all. Marcus refuses, and Lorenz seeks a final, deadly revenge, during which he is mortally wounded. Marcus is now a marked man, and Ciglia's pleas of his innocence only serves to inflame the villagers to seek their own revenge on what they perceive as an adulterous couple. What happens next adds a satisfying 'drama' to this melodrama, and contains a twist equal to the larger-than-life affections of Marcus and Ciglia, whose only real crime was loving each other despite, and in spite, of any and all circumstances. This film should appeal to anyone with even a speck of the romantic, an appreciative eye for splendid scenery (filmed on location in the Canadian Rockies), and the taste for a rousing good story. Barrymore is a smouldering hero, his magnetism unabashedly evident in the love scenes. Camilla Horn is a gorgeous heroine that one cannot help aching with and for. The conniving Pia, on the other hand, is an absolute terror, and plays the bad girl to the hilt. This DVD includes the original score to the film, and the picture quality is astonishing. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, 'Eternal Love' was his last silent film.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Restored and pleasing, Jul 8 2002
By A Customer
I'll admit, I have been a silents fan for many years, but am still a novice, but I did enjoy this movie, and was surprised by the UCLA 'disclaimer' that this restoration was not up to their usual standards (or some such note). If that is the case, I would like to see their best standards! After years of suffering through bad copies of silents, with equally hideous "soundtracks" (of which there are a few exceptions), I was glad to see this movie restored to a good speed and brilliant contrasts of light and dark. Barrymore is elegant and graceful, mixing both outrageous humor (the scenes of his drunken revelry at the town party are funny, and a bit disheartening, much like Dinner At Eight), and brilliant drama (the lone scene of his finding the 'evil woman' had entered his room is incredibly portrayed with a few surprised, heavy heaves of the chest and narrowing eyes, more sexy to me than any obvious modern bedroom scene!)
Overall, there are much better stories, but to see Barrymore at his hearty best and Lubitsch's modern use of camera movement and beautiful mountain scenery, make this a worthwhile viewing.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
European Film-making via Hollywood, Sep 4 2001
The very late silent film era in Hollywood, 1927-28, saw a number of artistic films made by European directors that could have been right out of Ufa's studio in Germany. SUNRISE is perhaps the most obvious example, but ETERNAL LOVE is definitely in that category. Not really a "lost" film, ETERNAL LOVE was safely secured among Mary Pickford's own films that she refused to circulate. Bootleg prints of this film have been in circulation for years but I was disappointed that the quality of this print wasn't more impressive. Good yes, impressive No. The introduction alerts the viewer that the print is "substandard" - too bad they didn't place that notice on the box. I would have bought it anyway. The film is intelligently written, directed and acted but it seems a little too doom-laden for its own good. John Barrymore railed for years against the happy endings that always got tacked on to his films so at least in his last silent he got the tragedy he wanted. A Barrymore-Lubitsch collaboration should have given us a sparkling romantic comedy - and that loss is a real tragedy!
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