Word: nureyev
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...very much. Russell should try fishing around for a solid script next time. Rudolf Nureyev is the subject for Russell's current experiment, and the results are no cause for pride. Admittedly, Nureyev took on a task more daunting then Daltrey's. While the rock star merely had to portray a deaf, dumb and blind parody of himself in a rock opera that his group had created. Nureyev was asked to bring to life one of the all-time classic leading men in cinema history, a giant of an era that the ballet virtuoso never knew. The role demands...
...Nureyev's Valentino is mostly a credible performance, but he is no nascent film star. No glaring flaws scar his rendition of the silent film idol; he delivers a convincing Italian accent, and the spectacle of star-struck women clustering about this Valentino is plausible. The script wisely makes use of Nureyev's awesome talents on a dance floor at several stages, and the opportunity to watch him glide through tangos briefly takes one's mind off the film's many lesser moments. Russell did choose good raw material for the title character, but the script he co-authored with...
...Nureyev's supporting cast does little to help pick up the slack. Making a comeback on the screen for the first time since the days of An American in Paris, Leslie Caron plays a middle-aged Russian star on the decline, who dreams of sharing top billing with the new sensation of Hollywood. Her performance betrays the length of her absence from movies; in a role that calls for an eccentric sort, Caron fails to discriminate between the passionate and the hammy. Her performance deteriorates into a caricature of The Beautiful People of that period. Michelle Phillips passes...
...taken a downward turn is to examine which areas of the movie received most of the director's attention. When critics can only muster compliments such as "ravishing to look at" and "visually stunning," something is missing. Russell's Valentino is a case in point. The shots of Nureyev working on the California desert during the filming of The Sheik provide delights for the eye, as do the many crowd scenes. But the audience should be able to expect more from a director with Russell's experience than artsy effects with the camera. Russell never seems conscious of this obligation...
Valentino. Ken Russell's latest turkey can be credited for furnishing an appealing showcase for Rudolf Nureyev's breathtaking prowess on an empty dance floor, but compliments come to an abrupt halt there. We see all the glamor and fame that filled the title character's moment in the spotlight, but Nureyev's Valention remains a distant figure, a romantic anachronism bursting forth with panache and charisma and little else. Russell seems to persist in the belief that audiences enjoy having their senses assaulted and will consider it entertainment; grotesques and caricatures dot the screen in Valentino, evoking some...