Product Description

The French poet-patriot Francois Villon enters a battle of wits with King Louis XI and fights to save his beloved in this exciting and romantic adventure. An enormous production with lavish sets and costumes, this swashbuckling story features a vibrant performance by the great John Barrymore. It also marks the American film debut of German film star Conrad Veidt, who would go on to play unforgettable roles in classics like "Casablanca" and "The Thief of Bagdad."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #81554 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-06-25
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Silent, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 99 minutes

Customer Reviews

Entertaining, bizarre swashbuckler
With the exception of two earlier films, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920) and The Sea Beast (1926), THE BELOVED ROGUE is more a personal statement by its star, John Barrymore, than any film he ever made. Designed as a romp through 15th century Paris (in a snowstorm, no less), ROGUE is both inventive and bizarre as Barrymore's Gothic tastes were given free rein by United Artists.
The actor specifically wanted to avoid the "Hollywood" type of situations where the hero rescues the heroine and both live happily ever after. Despite the film's inventiveness, the plot eventually works itself out along the more traditional lines that Barrymore wanted to avoid like the plague. It was said that he was unhappy with the finished product but many years after his death, when ROGUE was considered a lost film, a subsequent owner of Barrymore's house found a mint 35mm print of this film stored away in the basement. Perhaps that print is the one used for this dvd, courtesy of Mr. Barrymore himself.

Since the film seeks a de-glamourized view of the Middle Ages, fans of Hollywood swashbuckers made during the 1930s and 40s will probably be surprised - dismayed may be a better word - at the dingy surroundings and deformed characters present in many scenes. Barrymore revelled in this type of setting and perhaps felt justified that he could never have played such parts had he remained on the stage. As it turned out, the film rights to the hit stage play, "If I Were King," were not available so Barrymore and company had to cobble a story together based on public domain information on Francois Villon, steering clear from any story elements original to the play.

THE BELOVED ROGUE on the whole is an enjoyable if somewhat creepy swashbuckler of a type never really duplicated during the sound era. Now if they only added some bonus material like Barrymore's 1926 home movie, Vagabonding on the Pacific, we'd really shout for joy!

Great Fun
Though swashbuckling is typically associated with the movies of the 30s and 40s, it was actually invented in the 10s and 20s and pioneered by the incomparable Douglas Fairbanks. By the time this movie was made, in 1926, swashbuckling was a giant moneymaker for the film industry. This time was the last hurrah for silent cinema, talkies would totally take over within a few years. Yet, in these last few years of the artform, some of the best examples of silent cinema were filmed.

John Barrymore plays Francois Villon, introduced as a poet, pickpocket and patriot. Though his works are widely read, writing does not pay the bills so Villon makes his living outside the law. On All Fools Day, he runs afoul of King Louis XI (Conrad Veidt) and is banished from Paris. The city is his life so to be forced to leave it is worse than death. Of course, you can't keep a hero as zany as Villon down and he ends up back in the city, falls for the pretty but bland Charlotte who is a huge fan of his poetry. Charlotte is about to be married off in a master plan by the Duke of Burgundy to take Paris. The King is too fettered by superstition to act. You guessed it, it's up to Villon to save the day.

The acting is all appropriately over the top, as is right in a silent melodrama. The sets and costumes look good. John Barrymore easily dominates the viewers attention. Conrad Veidt is also very enjoyable, the supremely weird Louis must have been a fun character to play.

My only real complaint about the movie is that the climax is played with a totally straight face, I felt that a sillier climax would have been more in keeping with the overall spirit of the film. However, silly climaxes are hard to do without being just plain dumb so I suppose I understand why the film makers decided to be serious.

The print quality is good, about the usual number of flaws expected in a silent film but always viewable. The score is piano and is appropriate (I find organ scores a bit overbearing but some fans can't do without them, it's all about personal taste) The DVD does not offer any extras except chapter selection.

This is a great investment for a silent movie or a swashbuckler fan. Overall, a very enjoyable film that is finally available on DVD.

An enjoyable late Medieval costume drama
This film begins in 1432, when François de Montcorbier is burnt at the stake for his role in trying to drive the English out of his beloved France. While gathering up some of his ashes to put in a locket the next day, his grief-stricken widow prays that her child will grow up to have the same type of heart and soul that his father did, only that he'll get to live instead of die for France. Twenty-five years later, that child, François Villon (a real historical person who lived from 1431-63), is a renowned national poet and very popular with the common people in Paris and the nearby city of Vauxcelles. He's also hopelessly in love with wine and women. Villon is so popular indeed that he's made King of the Revels on All Fools' Day, but the wild fun festivities come to a premature and devastating halt when Villon insults Charles, Duke of of Burgundy, a dangerous rival to King Louis XI. Since this incident happened in Vauxcelles and not Paris itself, however, King Louis XI only has Villon banished from ever setting foot in Paris again, on the threat of immediate death. Villon eventually goes back to Paris to help the people and to try to prevent the evil Charles from taking over as king. He winds up back in Paris accidentally, by means of a catapault that he and his friends were using to send food and brandy to the poor. It is upon this return to Paris that he meets Charlotte de Vauxcelles, whom he is catapaulted into the bedroom of and immediately falls in love (or at least lust) with. For trying to break up Charlotte's impending marriage to Count Thibault, a man she doesn't love, Villon is once more sentenced to death, but he manages to save his hide by prophesising to the king that Louis's death will occur 24 hours after his own. This friendly relationship with the king isn't long-lived, however, although no matter what happens to him, Villon remains determined to expose Charles for the scheming traitorous scumbag he really is in order to both save France and win Charlotte's hand in marriage.

Although this is a very enjoyable film, with touches of several genres (comedy, melodrama, swashbuckling, drama), it is, however, a costume drama, a genre that isn't always the best introduction for someone just getting into silent film. The silent costume drama can be a bit of an acquired taste even for more seasoned fans, what with a lot of different characters to keep track of, usually a longer length than most silents, a lot more intertitles than usual, and a plot that can take awhile to fully set up (as well as how some people just aren't interested in historical pictures anyway). This film does start out a bit slowly for those very reasons, but before long it gets more and more interesting, compelling, and exciting, and has a plot that's a lot easier to follow, with less meandering twists and turns, than is sometimes found in silent costume dramas. (Although I agree that the ending is a bit lacklustre and in media res, particularly in comparison to the great scene that just came before.) John Barrymore is simply fantastic in the leading role, and exhibits a lot of range throughout the course of the film, getting to swashbuckle, be romantic, and be comedic instead of just playing the part in a dramatic serious manner straight through. He's also looking quite handsome in this film, and even appears in just a loincloth in some of the scenes. Conrad Veidt is also wonderful as King Louis XI, a role which also allows him to express a range of different emotions, and the great character comedian Mack Swain is great as Villon's pal Nicholas. It's nice to see him in a more serious film instead of just comedies. Overall, in spite of the potential drawbacks of the costume drama genre, this is a great film for seeing why John Barrymore is considered one of the finest male actors of the 20th century.