Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

non_sportcardandy The good :Restoration of a film not seen for years featuring two silent film superstars.Viewing the film at a festive event on top of this makes for a very special occasion.The bad: A bride falling in love with another man shortly after being married is the pits in my world,to try to pass it off as something wonderful doesn't fly.The ugly:As in putting great emphasis on the looks of a person.Seems as though if a man is fat and old many persons think this is more than enough reason to dislike them .In short,for the viewers that put great value on the outer person they may like this movie.Anyone that values strong inner qualities in a person more than likely will not like this movie.

MisterWhiplash One of those nice stories to hear about: a film starring two of the most glamorous and true-blue STARS (in caps) of the 1920s was lost for the greater part of the last century and then discovered in a Dutch museum, and then restored for viewing on DVD and TCM. Viewing it any way you can is delightful, but really, if it's at all possible, the best way to watch it is in a theater preferably projected from 35mm with a live piano accompaniment. It is rare to happen but well worth the while, especially with the right organist; the material begs to be given lush and melodramatic rhythm to go with the lush and melodramatic storyline. It might not be the very best silent film you've ever seen, but as far as these old-fashioned romantic will-she-or-wont-she movies go it could be a lot worse.It's one of those stories: a girl needs to betroth a rich gentlemen to help out her family, and she does reluctantly, but her heart is soon to be linked to a man who saves her not once but twice, first time from drowning after falling out of her rowboat and again when she slips and nearly falls off a cliff. There's a few of those moments where one laughs at something kooky being played straight- the honeymoon is spent in the mountain where there's clog-dancing or other- but it's really about these two characters, Lord Bracandale and Theodora, coming together. Moreover, it's about the stars playing would-be lovers on screen, with *the* sexy symbol of his time Valentino substituting for all those lonely women who would love to be in Swanson's shoes. You could guess that so many in the audience would yell out "just leave with him already, he's friggin' Valentino!" Granted, Sam Wood is no master of cinematic drama, but he's a strong craftsman who directs his stars extremely well, getting some restrained and touching performances filled with those little gestures or those sad or loving looks that make up so much of what makes silent films tic. And there's also a supporting performance Robert Bolder that has its moments. Only once did I get slightly fidgety, which is right in the scene where he's deciding on whether or not to go off on the expedition (it dragged slightly, even for just its few minutes as one wants to get back to the stars). The rest of his performance, however, was splendid, particularly when he discovers by a misplaced letter about the love affair between the Lord and Theodora. The final desert scene is also a knockout of melodramatic proportions.It's always something nice when a good film is unearthed for all cineastes to take in, and Beyond the Rocks provides its audience a match-up comparable to the likes of Brad Pitt teaming up with Angelina Jolie or Roberts with Owen in the recent Duplicity. It's engaging to watch the story and yet it's not the reason we're watching: there's something to the chemistry between Swanson, a beauty who doesn't hide her curves and tender but knowing exchanges, and Valentino, who could melt the right girls face with a glance. It's a fine little relic meant to be seen on a big screen.

bakooi-1 Being a genuine film buff, I couldn't miss out on this one when it was shown on television. It is quite easy to see why the creators of this fluff wanted to bury this incredibly ludicrous film. The biggest stars of their time also seem to realize that they have somehow been forced to make something of what has to be one of the most awful screenplays to ever make it to the big screen. Swanson is on holiday when she nearly drowns and is rescued by... Valentino! Later on she is climbing mountains somewhere in The Alps and nearly dies. But who just happens to be there (again) to save her in the nick of time (again)? Yes, it's Valentino. And when Swanson has dinner in one of the numerous Parisian restaurants, disaster strikes again when she inadvertently drops her handkerchief! Guess who (once again) just happens to be in the same restaurant at the exact same time to (once again) play the romantic hero by retrieving Swansons handkerchief? It would have been more credible had Rudolph The Rednosed Reindeer been there to liven things up, because the creators of this film apparently despised their audience so much, that they believed we might actually fall for this ridiculous story. One the fans could have (and, for my part, SHOULD have) done without. Still, strangely fascinating to see these two together...

bkoganbing Having just seen Beyond the Rocks tonight I had no idea this was a 'lost' film that was rediscovered and restored thanks to our good friends in the Netherlands where a copy was located. Still a chance to see Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson together is never to be passed up even if what they appear in is a cheap romantic melodrama made better by their presence.Gloria's a titled Englishwoman in who the rest of her family two half sisters and an impoverished titled father rest their hopes on restoring the family fortune with a good marriage. Enter Robert Bolders in a part that a few years later Charles Laughton might have played. He's a self made member of the English upper middle class looking for what now would be called a trophy wife. Under pressure she marries him.Of course then Rudolph Valentino comes along and Gloria regrets having married in haste. Rudy's enough to turn anyone's head and they keep running into each other, in the Alps, at Versailles, and back at home where Bolders is being asked to finance an archaeological dig in the Sahara. An expedition along the same lines as the Carnarvon-Carter expedition that discovered King Tut's tomb.The whole thing ends up in Rudy's old stomping grounds the Sahara Desert. As another reviewer pointed out, if you're a devoted reader of Harlequin novels, you KNOW how it will end.Gloria and Rudy make this film seem a whole lot better than it is. If it weren't for them it would get an even lower rating. Still for those who admire these two stars and they have deserved admirers, you might want to catch this film.Now I'll bet the discovery and restoration of Beyond the Rocks would make an interesting movie.