It's quite amazing to me that EVANGELINE isn't more well known, particularly among silent film enthusiasts. What struck me most when watching this movie for the first time were the incredibly spellbinding close-up shots of Evangeline (DOLORES DEL RIO) as she was swept away with the most innocent feelings of pure love in her encounters with her beloved, Gabriel (ROLAND DREW). Her eyes flutter with excitement and anticipation of the happiness to be for her and Gabriel. This dreamy and romantic beginning quickly becomes only a memory for the two when they are separated by the war between the British and the French. Evangeline then endlessly wanders the states in her quest to reunite with her lost love. The cinematography is unforgettable in a number of different shots, particularly of Del Rio and the separation scenes. The use of the selected color tints are also highly effective as each color conveys the mood of the different sequences. Del Rio delivers a truly angelic performance that, in my opinion, wouldn't have been as effective if this movie had been in sound. I do not believe that EVANGELINE would have worked so well as a talkie. We are quite lucky that the film wasn't re-shot as a talkie to suit the new excitement of the sound era, which was already upon the world of cinema in the year of its release (1929), for the images that you experience is pure gold.
7 Reviews
Still works after all these years....
lllmeg6 May 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Although youthful viewers and those accustomed to the fast-pace of many modern films will find it slow, Evangeline (1929) still captures the viewer with a story of love and heartbreak. Having spent much time in Nova Scotia, and particularly the Annapolis Valley and Grand Pre areas, it is a bit disconcerting to see the Bay of Fundy and Minas Basin transformed into a rocky California coastline, but that dissonance disappears as you become wrapped up in the story of the Acadians and their lives. Although earlier film versions of Longfellow's poem were made, I believe this is the earliest extant copy of any of them. Dolores del Rio is quite good here and given the traditions of silent filming, her portrayals of emotions have more depth than in many other silent films of that time period.
Beautifully filmed; based primarily on Longfellow's poem; quite watchable
mmipyle17 September 2020
Watched the Milestone release of "Evangeline" (1929) with Delores Del Rio, Roland Drew, Alec B. Francis, Donald Reed, Paul McAllister, James A. Marcus, George F. Marion, and others. A beautiful film that captures the essence of the story of the Acadians' being driven from their land in Nova Scotia for not helping the British fight the French, the Acadians' native ancestry. I enjoyed the film very much. Much of the film is based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's eponymously named poem. One thing that struck me - and struck me hard, to be perfectly honest - was how much Del Rio was a method-style actress. There were a couple of scenes where Marlon Brando could have been substituted for Del Rio and the same things would have happened! I've always found her performances so very, very stylized, as though she's saying, "Look, Ma, I'm acting!" The camera loves her, but she's making love to the camera, too, and I don't wish to watch her make love to the camera! I've always also found her one of the most beautiful of all actresses of her era, but I've never liked her acting style. All of this was in evidence again last night for me. Gorgeous woman, magnificent film, but I still didn't like her acting style. Still - she was VERY watchable nevertheless. Last time I'd watched this was on an old VHS tape from the 80s. I bought this DVD version about five years ago on sale, but had never watched it. It's a treasure as far as direction and photography and mise-en-scene. It's fascinating to me, though, that this was photographed in California and Minnesota, and not in Nova Scotia...
A little-known American epic masterpiece - contains spoiler
benoit-37 July 2001
As a French-Canadian from Québec, I admit this story has always been in my consciousness but I never read Longfellow's poem, whose fictitious heroin has become the symbol of the Acadian people's struggle for recognition inside a mostly English-speaking Canadian province (New Brunswick), has a French-language newspaper named after her in Canada and is the subject of a very famous statue, which is a landmark of Maritime tourism.
This film is truly epic. The DVD version shows an absolutely pristine print with superb photography, tinting, incredible camera movement and versatility, easily equaling any blockbuster that followed or preceded it in grandeur, drama and number of participants. The scenes of the deportation of the neutral Acadians (1755) by the wicked British soldiers are stupendous and unforgettable: they out-Eisenstein Eisenstein in the depiction of the first modern military peace-time atrocity committed on an undefended civilian population, for which England still bears a burden of guilt, right alongside the massacres it later committed on undefended civilian populations in Ireland and India. (Longfellow's poem remains a piece of Anti-British propaganda and a gesture of friendship towards French-Canadians who had suffered much more from the English presence than the Americans ever had.)
I don't know how faithful the film is to the poem but (spoiler!) the separated lovers, Evangéline and Gabriel, are finally reunited, long years after their brutal deportation, in a Philadelphia hospital where she has become a Sister of Mercy and he is one of the sick during an epidemic.
This love story is told in an absolutely Romantic fashion, in idyllic scenery with lots and lots of pastoral touches equating Acadia with "Arcadia". (The contrast between the time before the deportation and the diaspora of Acadians is similar in nature to the one before the first and second parts of "Gone With The Wind".) Évangéline (Dolores del Rio) is the only woman in the principal cast and she is surrounded by some of the dreamiest male lumberjack specimens Hollywood has ever cared to dress up in long trousers.
The original music score and sound effects track is preserved on Vitaphone records that sound remarkably fresh, during 80 % of the 90 min running time. The missing parts of the soundtrack is faithfully reconstructed by a small instrumental ensemble. Dolores del Rio even sings an original (dubbed?) song, "Love Me Forever", to her ailing lover. As a missing Vitaphone record at the beginning of the movie prevents us from having heard her voice the first time she sings this song in the "happy" first part of their courtship (after Gabriel has had a crack at it), it comes as quite a nice surprise at the end. The film score incorporates many lovely authentic French folk songs and, all in all, there is no questioning the seriousness, dedication and talent of everybody involved in this project, which would probably be better known and admired if the talkies hadn't invaded the scene just at that time.
This film is truly epic. The DVD version shows an absolutely pristine print with superb photography, tinting, incredible camera movement and versatility, easily equaling any blockbuster that followed or preceded it in grandeur, drama and number of participants. The scenes of the deportation of the neutral Acadians (1755) by the wicked British soldiers are stupendous and unforgettable: they out-Eisenstein Eisenstein in the depiction of the first modern military peace-time atrocity committed on an undefended civilian population, for which England still bears a burden of guilt, right alongside the massacres it later committed on undefended civilian populations in Ireland and India. (Longfellow's poem remains a piece of Anti-British propaganda and a gesture of friendship towards French-Canadians who had suffered much more from the English presence than the Americans ever had.)
I don't know how faithful the film is to the poem but (spoiler!) the separated lovers, Evangéline and Gabriel, are finally reunited, long years after their brutal deportation, in a Philadelphia hospital where she has become a Sister of Mercy and he is one of the sick during an epidemic.
This love story is told in an absolutely Romantic fashion, in idyllic scenery with lots and lots of pastoral touches equating Acadia with "Arcadia". (The contrast between the time before the deportation and the diaspora of Acadians is similar in nature to the one before the first and second parts of "Gone With The Wind".) Évangéline (Dolores del Rio) is the only woman in the principal cast and she is surrounded by some of the dreamiest male lumberjack specimens Hollywood has ever cared to dress up in long trousers.
The original music score and sound effects track is preserved on Vitaphone records that sound remarkably fresh, during 80 % of the 90 min running time. The missing parts of the soundtrack is faithfully reconstructed by a small instrumental ensemble. Dolores del Rio even sings an original (dubbed?) song, "Love Me Forever", to her ailing lover. As a missing Vitaphone record at the beginning of the movie prevents us from having heard her voice the first time she sings this song in the "happy" first part of their courtship (after Gabriel has had a crack at it), it comes as quite a nice surprise at the end. The film score incorporates many lovely authentic French folk songs and, all in all, there is no questioning the seriousness, dedication and talent of everybody involved in this project, which would probably be better known and admired if the talkies hadn't invaded the scene just at that time.
Fatal flaws, alas!
JohnHowardReid11 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
SYNOPSIS: Because they refuse to take up arms against France, their mother country, the good citizens of Grand Pré are forcibly deported and scattered throughout the United States from Boston to Louisiana. Evangeline, the daughter of the town's leading citizen is separated from her betrothed, Gabriel, the son of the village blacksmith. She hunts for him high and low. He hunts for her high and low. Because neither stay put in one place, they continually miss each other.
COMMENT: A knowledge of the poem helps the viewer appreciate the story and better understand the motivations of the characters who, in the screen version, often seem to behave somewhat stupidly. Anyone could have told Evangeline that once she had located her lover's father, she was well on the way to being re-united with her lover. The father had prospered and was wealthy enough to offer a big reward for information. All she had to do was to stay put in the father's house and wait, while others ran down any leads.
Evangeline is a big-budget production with many outstanding scenes and spectacular set-pieces. Visually, thanks to the largess of the producer/director and the superlative cinematography (enhanced by beautiful tinting) of Kurrle and Green, the movie provides a constant feast for the eyes. For the mindful viewer, however, the movie's enormous visual appeal is somewhat undermined by fatal flaws in the poorly conceived one-dimensional characterizations of all six principal participants. The minute we start asking even simple questions (like how come Basil is astute enough to make pots of money from scratch but doesn't have the slightest inkling as to how to use some of his spare cash to locate his son? Or how come he waits for the next day to run after his son instead of sending servants to chase after him straightaway?) the plot starts to fall apart. And for all its care, Carewe's direction is sometimes remarkably remiss in details, like the violin tosspot who is regarded as the life of the party even though it's patently obvious he can "play" only a single note!
AVAILABLE on DVD through Image/Milestone in an excellent reconstruction that utilizes some of the original Vitaphone score.
COMMENT: A knowledge of the poem helps the viewer appreciate the story and better understand the motivations of the characters who, in the screen version, often seem to behave somewhat stupidly. Anyone could have told Evangeline that once she had located her lover's father, she was well on the way to being re-united with her lover. The father had prospered and was wealthy enough to offer a big reward for information. All she had to do was to stay put in the father's house and wait, while others ran down any leads.
Evangeline is a big-budget production with many outstanding scenes and spectacular set-pieces. Visually, thanks to the largess of the producer/director and the superlative cinematography (enhanced by beautiful tinting) of Kurrle and Green, the movie provides a constant feast for the eyes. For the mindful viewer, however, the movie's enormous visual appeal is somewhat undermined by fatal flaws in the poorly conceived one-dimensional characterizations of all six principal participants. The minute we start asking even simple questions (like how come Basil is astute enough to make pots of money from scratch but doesn't have the slightest inkling as to how to use some of his spare cash to locate his son? Or how come he waits for the next day to run after his son instead of sending servants to chase after him straightaway?) the plot starts to fall apart. And for all its care, Carewe's direction is sometimes remarkably remiss in details, like the violin tosspot who is regarded as the life of the party even though it's patently obvious he can "play" only a single note!
AVAILABLE on DVD through Image/Milestone in an excellent reconstruction that utilizes some of the original Vitaphone score.
Profoundly beautiful and profoundly sad...
planktonrules5 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I cannot comment at all about how close this movie is to the book by Longfellow. However, being a history teacher I can talk about the historical aspects of the film. The movie talks about a rarely talked about part of American and Canadian history known as "The Great Expulsion". In the early 1700s, Acadian Frenchmen and women were living in the Eastern portions of Canada and America--mostly around New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Maine. However, after a treaty following one of a bazillion wars between the French and British, these Acadians came under British rule. These Acadians were content enough to remain British, but when hostilities once again broke out between these two European powers, the Acadians pledged neutrality--after all, they didn't want to fight and kill their brethren. However, the British commander was not content with their pledge to stay out of the war but demanded they fight for the British or face expulsion. As a result, most of the Acadians were forced off their lands and were scattered. Some went to live in New England, some returned to France and a huge portion of them went to what is present day Eastern Louisiana.
In the film, the Explusion is occurring. However, in the process, families and loved ones are often separated. In the case of Evangeline (Delores Del Rio), she is separated from Gabriel--the man she is about to marry. Sadly, she spends years searching for her beloved and only finds him just before his death from the plague in Philadelphia.
The film is profoundly sad--one of the saddest silent movies I have seen--and I've seen a lot. This sense of sadness and loss is heightened by excellent production values throughout--with amazingly good cinematography, nice acting and wonderful location shooting. The bottom line is that this very late hybrid silent film (which, like many films from 1929 included music and sound effects) is close to being as good a film as you can find from this period. Lovely throughout and deserving to be remembered. Well worth seeing--especially because this tale must have actually mirrored many real cases in which Acadians were separated from loved ones--a sad period in American and Canadian history.
Note: The print from Milestone is of exceptionally good quality. The only negative, and it's a minor one, is that the sound is pretty weak--something quite typical of films from 1929 as sound technology in films was still in its infancy.
In the film, the Explusion is occurring. However, in the process, families and loved ones are often separated. In the case of Evangeline (Delores Del Rio), she is separated from Gabriel--the man she is about to marry. Sadly, she spends years searching for her beloved and only finds him just before his death from the plague in Philadelphia.
The film is profoundly sad--one of the saddest silent movies I have seen--and I've seen a lot. This sense of sadness and loss is heightened by excellent production values throughout--with amazingly good cinematography, nice acting and wonderful location shooting. The bottom line is that this very late hybrid silent film (which, like many films from 1929 included music and sound effects) is close to being as good a film as you can find from this period. Lovely throughout and deserving to be remembered. Well worth seeing--especially because this tale must have actually mirrored many real cases in which Acadians were separated from loved ones--a sad period in American and Canadian history.
Note: The print from Milestone is of exceptionally good quality. The only negative, and it's a minor one, is that the sound is pretty weak--something quite typical of films from 1929 as sound technology in films was still in its infancy.
The movie is the story told by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's, poem,"Evangeline"
jim-17227 September 1998
If the viewer has not yet read the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's, "Evangeline", it is strongly recommended they do. It is a love story told as few others have been told. The 1755 forced exile of the citizens of Arcadia in Nova Scotia by the British is imortalizes by Mr. Longfellow.
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