This film links a seemingly heartless czarina; a revenge-driven cossack who, though engaging in numerous scriptural debates on the subject with his beloved, finally gets back at his enemy in a fun, pleasurable, and totally inadvertent way; a high-born thief who's such an oblivious father that I wanted to slap him; and a bear. During the movie, we laughed so many times... One thing I notice about silent movies (and it's very refreshing for a slightly deaf person) is that you can talk all you want, and you won't miss anything. Me and my mom were on the edge of our seats towards the end, which rarely happens with us; I had hide my eyes when it got too grim to contemplate. Shame they don't make movies like this anymore.

Silent screen legend Rudolph Valentino reached enormous heights of popularity in the 1920s before his untimely death not long after starring in "The Eagle", which is a terrible shame because judging by his performance in this film in particular, it is evident that Valentino was more than just a pretty face and had a lot of talent to offer. First cast in some dubious character roles (such as in "The Married Virgin") Valentino was soon established in the typical Hollywood heroic and irresistably charming leading man role for whom all women swooned. "The Eagle" is a good example of this role in which Valentino demonstrates not only his usual magnetism and appeal, but also humour and an overall fine feeling for details and subtle comedy. Very much in the style of Zorro and Robin Hood made popular a few years earlier by Douglas Fairbanks Sr, "The Eagle" is Russia's version of this masked avenger fighting for the poor against injustices, and all in glorious Hollywood style. Although the sets and costumes give the film a distinct Russian flavour, the story is definitely classic Hollywood entertainment all the way with tongue-in-cheek comedy, indispensable romance, standard action and adventure, and the triumph over bad in an unexpected happy ending. The story is quite interesting and entertaining from the very onset which shows how Valentino as a Cossack guard first gets into trouble by resisting the Czarina's romantic advances, resulting in her condemnation of him as a deserter, wanted dead or alive. At home, his dying father has been cheated by a wealthy landlord out of his entire estate, and as the peasants rally around him crying for justice, Valentino dons the Zorro-like mask and becomes known as `The Black Eagle' vowing to take revenge on the greedy landlord, but wouldn't you know it: Valentino's love interest turns out to be the daughter of the man he is after! This enjoyable and satisfying story is enhanced by good acting, especially by Valentino, and the picture quality is very good throughout. The musical accompaniment is a theatre organ and is well-suited to the scenes, although I can imagine that an orchestral score playing Russian-style music would further enhance this film. In any case, "The Eagle" is thoroughly entertaining in true Hollywood style and should satisfy even those who are not great Valentino fans.

Those who know little about Rudolph Valentino other than modern society's dark image of him, painted by gossip and the passage of time, will be greatly surprised by his skill and humor as an actor in this terrific film, filled with romance and adventure. There is a real sense of fun here, as though Valentino is quite aware of his own image at the time and is giving a wry wink to it.

The set direction of William Cameron Menzies is beautifully photographed by George Barnes in Hans Kraly's fun screenplay of romance getting in the way of revenge. When that romance involves the lovely Vilma Banky, known mostly today for her films opposite Valentino, the quandry is a difficult one. She is shown to great advantage throughout the film, one particular scene where she kneels by her bedside table in a nightgown, searching for a way to sway the man she loves away from revenge, proof that her baby-faced charm rivaled any female star of the era.

Rudolph Valentino is Lt. Vladimir Dubrousky. When he rescues a runaway coach with Mascha Troekouroff (Vilma Banky) in it, the wheels are set in motion for a great adventure. It is the Czarina's (Louise Dresser) steed Vladimir appropriates during the valiant deed, but upon her meeting with the young soldier, her heart melts and she tries to use her power to procure his love. But Vladimir has only signed on to fight, not for this!

He returns to his home with a bounty on his head, only to find his father near death due to a scoundrel named Kyrilla. While the Czarina finds romance with one of her Captains, whom she promotes to General, Valentino swears vengence when his father dies, donning the mask and title, "The Black Eagle." If this sounds like fun, that's because it is!

Though it's all done seriously, Valentino's charm and charisma come through loud and clear, giving this film a sense of humor. Vladimir runs across the lovely Mascha once again, and grabs an opportunity to be near her and quench his thirst for vengence as well. Mascha's father, of course, is the evil Kyrilla. When Vladimir comes to their home in the guise of her French tutor, an incident in a wine cellar when he saves her life reveals to her his true identity. Rather than exposing him, she opts to change his mindset from vengence to love.

There is a fun and terrific ending to this one I won't spoil for the first time viewer. Director Clarence Brown, not widely regarded for his action films, allows the "Great Lover" to have some fun in what turned out to be one of Valentino's finest pictures.

The movie is worth 5 stars and more; it's only the quality of the DVD transfer that is meriting a 4-star review. This DVD is my only experience with this movie, since I never had a laser disc player, but hearing about how beautiful the laser disc version this very same company used to offer was, it's shameful that they put out the lackluster rendition in lieu of their far superior print. On the one hand, we're lucky to have this on DVD when only about half of Rudy's major movies are currently available on that format (the rest are on videos that aren't sold in most major retail chains, and those videos too deserve restoration work and DVD treatment), and that most of his major movies, and even a fair amount of the movies he made before becoming famous, are still with us when so many other silent movies are lost, but considering all of that, more care should have been demanded. It's one thing to say it's expected in a film of this age, but obviously there was a much better print available previously, a print which didn't have dust, specks, and lines speckled over it. However, in spite of that, it's in very good condition; from having read about the condition of the print, I was expecting much worse. This isn't a film like his earlier movie 'Moran of the Lady Letty'; a solid underrated movie which is practically unwatchable in many spots because oftentimes faces and objects are little more than blurs. This movie has none of that; you can see everything and everyone clearly, and since it's such a good story, the background disturbances can be overlooked. The background music of the organ is also a problem in this transfer; it's not as bad as the background music in 'Moran,' but still just doesn't seem to fit with the mood of the movie. I would have expected authentic Russian pieces to be played in the background, giving the movie an even more Russian feel (I'm also a longtime Russophile in addition to liking classic cinema).

In spite of the lacking transfer job, the story is still wonderful, combining drama (my favourite genre) with a lot of comic moments, like when Vladimir, while posing as Marcel, is so distracted by the presence of Masha at the supper table that he puts way too much pepper in his soup, or when the ring on his finger gets stuck and he has to pull on it for awhile before he can give it to Masha. If there were another DVD edition put out, this time with proper music and the old laser disc print, it would be even better and more highly-recommended.

If you don't have a copy of Valentino's most engaging silent, "The Eagle", in your collection, you should certainly have this, but you should know that it is far - very far - from the best version that has been available. This edition is sourced from the Killiam Collection, and is evidently from a 16mm reduction print that saw long use and little care. Contrast and detail are poor, to say the least. There is a sad, tired musical accompaniment that is best turned off, frankly.

What's awful about all this is that this same company, Image Entertainment, once offered a far superior version. Its 1989 laserdisc edition was based on a clean 35mm print from the Rohauer Collection that had excellent contrast and detail. The score was a magnificently well-suited one by Carl Davis; it went so well with the film that once you've had a viewing with Davis's compositions, seeing "The Eagle" with any other score is unthinkable.

"The Eagle" is indispensable to a collection of silents, but this edition is not a patch on what Image itself has offered in the past. It is to be hoped that the company can clear whatever obstacles are keeping it from offering a DVD release of what was one of the best silent-film offerings on laserdisc.

Two stars out of five- I'm docking two for the ghastly print, two for the wretched score that takes the place of Davis's work, and adding one back to be charitable, because this movie is one of Valentino's best, and you should have it, even in a version as shabby as this.