This was hyped at the 2009 SF Silent Film Festival as dark, unconventional and more to 21st century tastes than most silent films. I found it a combination of over-the-top silliness with heavy-handed religious tedium. Perhaps it can be described as surreal. Unfortunately I did not find that entertaining.
There is a bit more sexuality than in other Fairbanks films, but nothing compared to Valentino. His continual silly cigarette tricks. too-fast jumps, Velez's arms-on-hips heaving-breast stances, the house dragging scene, and the German expressionist style fake landscapes, walls that crumble at a touch, and the constant performance of miracles, take away from any feeling of reality. They say El Gaucho is the prototype for Mickey Mouse, and the movie does have a cartoon-like character, except for the religious parts. Perhaps the religious element is part of the formula to "get away with anything as long as you throw in religion".
For me, it can't hold a candle to The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse or even The Eagle. Fairbanks movies that I prefer include The Mark of Zorro and The Black Pirate.
There is a bit more sexuality than in other Fairbanks films, but nothing compared to Valentino. His continual silly cigarette tricks. too-fast jumps, Velez's arms-on-hips heaving-breast stances, the house dragging scene, and the German expressionist style fake landscapes, walls that crumble at a touch, and the constant performance of miracles, take away from any feeling of reality. They say El Gaucho is the prototype for Mickey Mouse, and the movie does have a cartoon-like character, except for the religious parts. Perhaps the religious element is part of the formula to "get away with anything as long as you throw in religion".
For me, it can't hold a candle to The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse or even The Eagle. Fairbanks movies that I prefer include The Mark of Zorro and The Black Pirate.