I love to watch both The Sheik and The Son of the Sheik one after the other. It's amazing what five years (the time between the making of the original and the sequel) did for Rudolph Valentino's acting. In my opinion, he was one of the finest actors of the time. While he starts out a little over the top in The Sheik he quickly improves. Perhaps part of the melodrama was due to the director, who's to say? Either way both movies are thoroughly enjoyable and surprisingly action packed. They're well acted with only mild melodrama. And of course Rudolph Valentino's presence doesn't hurt anything.
When it comes to Valentino himself I prefer The Eagle to the Sheik movies but they still rank second on my list. He was actually quite good at humor and I'm glad that The Son of the Sheik capitalized on that. He obviously had fun playing his own father and it's great to watch. It's too bad he wasn't able to make more movies. I'm sure they would have been just as great.
If you're interested in silent movies (or movies in general) I highly recommend both Sheik movies. After all they're over 80 years old. They're a part of film history.

Another review by PD's daughter.

I was given this movie from one of moms friends (which I am sooo very happy that I got it!!) but even before that I was mightily curious as to what created such an insane craze and obsession in the 1920's. Now I know. His name was Rudolph Valentino.

I had read "The Sheik" (well the condensed version by Barbara Cartland, but it followed the original story never the less) a few months ago and was really captured by this ruthless Spanish-Brit mix desert sheik. The Sheik Ahmed was cruel, and seemingly heartless (brutal really, but I guess it would be called animal brutality, if you know what I mean..), stating "an Arab takes what he wants" What the Sheik really wanted was Diana, the spoiled yet beautiful aristocratic brit whose room he had snuck into and switched her bullets for blanks and later kidnapped on the desert dunes. Well the Sheik got Diana and wanted to "break her" to his will. And he did so quite violently (as could be seen in Valentino's face, which, ohmygod, he had done so effectively, but I'll talk about Rudy later..)
The one part I really enjoyed was when The Sheik releazed how cruel he was really acting and Rudy's face changed from twisted lust to a look of compassion (it was such a magical part and my mother said "rewind that part!" and so we watched it again)

The Sheik pivoted Valentino's career into the "he'll never be forgotten for ever" mode and really made the 1920's. All the ladies became shebas and the guys sheiks...and everyone from the farm girls to flappers were in love with Rudy.

Now there are 2 movies on this DVD and the second is my FAVORITE!! The Son of the Sheik, where Valentino was the son Ahmed and the father from the original picture, was a far better backdrop for Valentino's acting skills. The special effects were amazing (for that time peroid I mean, today I'd laugh and point and say ha! you must be joking!) in the sense of how the two Valentino's were juxtaposed together (like the part where he has his arm on his other self... creepy cool), it must of cost a fortune to do. In this picture the younger Ahmed falls passionately (passionately I say because he was very .... well I felt it to be very romantic even for today's standards and back then I'm not sure how the older mama's would have acted to his fevered kisses) with a beautiful dancer of a circus troope. The young Ahmed is captured by the jealous "bad guy" of the troope and is whipped (I really didn't see that coming!) and tied to bars (it was horrible and I was very upset at this point) and then the guy lays a horrendous lie at his already bound feet and WELL I can't tell you that because it is the major conflict of the movie (but it's good and I was upset even more).

The DVD has special features. One includes the "Valentino Beauty Pageant" which was creepy but very fasinating for historical reasons. One was a silly skit Valentino did (which made no sense what so ever buuut I did get to see him run around in his bathing suit :Ogasp!) and the last is a short film of the publics reaction to his death (to think there was a report of mass suicides afterwards!)

The one thing I really liked about the DVD was the choice of the soundtrack you wanted to use. It gave you the option of a new sythisized version or the original music they would have used in the theaters (which I personally prefer better). It really adds to the "Sheik" experience.

Overall (finally!) I really LOVED this DVD collection and LOVE Valentino. Why you may ask?? He's in incredible actor!! His expressions are amazing and very naturally changable... he can smoothly transition expressions in a scene that it puts the topgal to shame and makes her almost invisable. But (of course) Rudolph Valentino was extremely attractive and wonderfully handsome (see Son of the Sheik where there is a part where his headgear is stripped off and his shirt is opened ohmy!)

Valentino was certianly bad for his time and my favorite photograph of all time is by him.... where (in the son of the sheik) he is wearing all black with his hood over his head and a cigarette in between his ringed fingers... glaring...
Valentino screams HOTTNESS!!!

For reasons difficult for mere man to diagnose, the sheik represented the ultimate in masculine appeal... Call it the mystery of the burning sands, the magic lure of the tropics, the titillating uncertainty of the unfamiliar, the reputed animal magnetism of the Arab aristocrat--these are mere words which leave the cult of this particular sheik unexplained...

Give Valentino a burnoose, a bejeweled dagger and fancy belt, a pair of riding boots, a luxurious tent with intimations of a harem in the background and a well-cushioned couch in the foreground, and he became irresistible... To be borne in his arm on a white Arabian stallion, struggling virtuously but not too violently, was apparently the goal of nearly every woman's ambition...

Much of the action of "The Sheik" consisted of a menacing Valentino staring at a pleading Agnes Ayres while they warily circled each other in preparation for the clinch that was a long time coming...

It took me a long time to view this movie and Rudolph Valentino`s other movies.Me and my mother decided to give it a try,being old movie buffs we like to watch a lot of silent movies,especially slapstick.Though we had never seen Rudolph Valentino or watched how he acted in his movies,
We began wondering after being real big Rudolf Nureyev fans and watching Ken Russel`s movie about Valentino`s life and death.After watching this we were very curious about him and nis movies.We had already thought rudolf Nureyev was hot,now we were curous to see Valentino.
So I bought the Sheik for me and my Mother to watch.After we watched it,we absolutely loved it.The Tale of a sheik wanting an English girl that bad by capturing and holding her hostage in his tent was an absolute gem.This is a movie for everybody tto see,well every women in a point.I thought Rudolph Valentino was absolutely gorgeous I can see what the big deal was in that time in the 1920s.
I mean come on ladies,even if you don`t like silent movies will love seeing Rudolph Valentino.I loved this movie.The only thing I was stunned by is how the English girl Diana was resisting him.He can capture me in a tent anytime.This a absolute must see for anybody who likes good cinema.

If you'd like to see the film that brought Rudolph Valentino to super stardom, this is the DVD to purchase. You'll get to enjoy 2 films, "The Sheik" (1921) and Rudy's last film "The Son of the Sheik" (1926). As well as 3 film shorts. My only complaint was about "The Sheik". I am a devoted fan of the VHS version in which the film was in Black and White and featured a synthesizer music score by Roger Bellon. The version contained on this disc has a different music score and while it is in keeping with the time period and theme, I miss the evocative and atmospheric music score of the VHS version. This version of "The Sheik" also has color tints for various settings (i.e. night, outdoors etc.) but almost of the color is in sepia which I find irritating. I may be in the minority in that school of thought but I'd rather have no color (black & white) then those sepia colors which make everything look brown and lifeless. Those are my only complaints.
Interestingly the VHS version of "Son of the Sheik" was filmed with those sepia color tints but on this disc it's in black and white which is an improvement. I just wish "The Sheik" was left in its black & white coloring, but what can you do? I also wish the DVD gave buyers the option of choosing to watch it with the old VHS score or the revised one, that way we'd at least have a choice.
Just to give you a brief synopsis of each film. "The Sheik" is about a British woman (Agnes Ayres) kidnapped by desert chieftain Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan (Rudolph Valentino) to be his love interest. "Son of the Sheik" has Rudy playing both roles of Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan and his wild son. The latter falls for a poor dancing girl (Vilma Banky) and complications soon arise. This is a terrific DVD to purchase and a great way to see what the legend of Rudolph Valentino was all about.