World-renowned European actress Marguerite Sylva joined the legions of top female personalities who played Merimee's tragic gypsy heroine Carmen on the silver screen in the pre-1920 era. Less star-driven than the recent American versions of Carmen, this Italian production concentrates primarily on the intrigues of the storyline. Curiously, while the hot-and-heavy love scenes between Carmen and Don Jose were left intact in the American prints, Escamillo's bullfighting scenes were extensively trimmed, presumably because of their blood-and-gore content. Critics were duly impressed by Sylva's bravura performance in the title role and were especially bowled over by her death scene. Unfortunately, the film's impact was lessened by the English-language subtitles, which seemed to have been written by someone who had never seen a production of Carmen before.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
