Rudolph Valentino in 'The Eagle' - Silent film with live organ accompaniment May 1, 2011

Cinema's First & Most Legendary Lover . . .

VALENTINO

Will Be Back On The Big Screen In

"The Eagle"

A RARE Screening of This Silent Classic in 35mm
With Live Organ Accompaniment
By Don Kinnier

On May 1 at 3PM

At The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre
54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel. (201) 798-6055 Fax: (201) 798-4020 Web: www.loewsjersey.org

A Not-For-Profit Arts Center in a Landmark Movie Palace

Admission: $10 for Adults. Children 12 & younger free.

Rudolph Valentino came through Ellis Island from Italy in 1913. He was just 18 years old, had no money and no prospects. Less than a decade later, he was one of the first matinee idols of the still-new Hollywood, an international super star almost before anyone had realized there could be such a thing. Unlike the other early movie stars, he seemed dark and exotic, and his celluloid persona quickly re-defined romance to millions of his (mostly female) fans. But his was a tragically shooting star. He died in 1926 of complications from appendicitis at age 31. Untold numbers of his fans wept in mass hysteria; a few killed themselves because they could not bear to live without him; and 100,000 lined up for his wake -- in what remains, to this day, one of the most extraordinary testaments of fan loyalty in our popular culture. All the heart-throbs who have flickered across the silver screen in the decades since have merely followed in his footsteps. So great was his appeal that his name still remains a synonym for suave lover, even to people who have never seen one of his movies.

Though "The Eagle" was not one of Valentino's bigger box office success, it is now seen as perhaps his finest performance, and one of the best American dramas of the silent era. Based on a Pushkin novel, it is the story of a Russian Cossack who spurns the affections of his Czarina, Catherine the Great, because he does not want to be a kept consort. When his lands are seized, he is transformed into a kind of Robin Hood-like avenger of injustice.

Valentino was at his most natural and appealing in this film, playing the Cossack with wit, humor and humanity -- and without a trace of the stiff posturing that marred some silent performances and which today we often mistakenly assume was the case with all silent film acting. He wore the elaborate period costumes as if they were his second skin, and moved with a dancer's grace and casual sexuality. In this film, it is certainly easy to understand his appeal to so many women. The story was action-packed and entertaining, the direction intelligent, and the cinematography was among the most poetic of the whole silent era. In addition, a banquet scene contains one of the most impressive tracking shots of the 1920s, belying the common misconception that cinematography in the silent era was devoid of technical prowess and dazzle. Vilma Banky was a delicately beautiful co-star, and the great Louise Dresser as the worldly Czarina was -- as always -- excellent. It is, in all respects, a great movie.

Despite its latter day re-appraisal and appreciation, "The Eagle" is not often revived. Don't miss this rare chance to see it -- and its immortal star -- the way it (and he) were meant to be seen: on the Big Screen, accompanied by the power and beauty of a live pipe organ.

**Film description was compiled from various sources.

The Loew's Is Easy To Get To: The Loew's Jersey Theatre, at 54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ, is directly across JFK Boulevard from the JSQ PATH Center with trains to and from Lower and Midtown Manhattan and Newark's Penn Station, and is minutes from the NJ Turnpike, Rts 3 and 1&9 and the Holland & Lincoln Tunnels. We're easy to reach by car or mass transit from throughout the Metro Region.

Discount off-street parking is available in Square Ramp Garage adjoining the Loew's at the foot of Magnolia Avenue off of Tonnelle Avenue, behind the Loew's. Patrons must validate their parking ticket before leaving the Theatre.

What’s Special About Seeing A Movie At The Loew’s? The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre is one of America’s grandest surviving Movie Palaces. We show movies the way they were meant to be seen: in a grandly ornate setting – on our BIG 50 ft wide screen! The Loew’s runs reel-to-reel -- not platter -- projection, which often allows us to screen an archival or studio vault print that is the best available copy of a movie title.

PLUS – Live organ entrance music (from the Loew’s magnificently restored pipe organ) before most screenings.

"The Eagle" is presented by the Garden State Theatre Organ Society.

The Loew’s Jersey is managed by Friends of the Loew’s, Inc. as a non-profit, multi-discipline performing arts center.