Richie-67-485852 Tyrone, Anthony, Linda and Rita to name a few await you here in this classic heart-moving story of a boy who wants to grow up to be a man by being a Matador i.e. the best there ever was. That's the intrigue and we are also entertained as we watch childhood friends grow up together into adulthood too. Then there is love both the carnal and the heartfelt. Throw in some poverty, poor boy makes good and you have a decent story to tell. Every time I watch these rags to riches to rags again movies I always wonder why these people don't put something away when on top? Surely what goes up must come down not to mention bad luck and how about early retirement too? That's what hooks you! Its when they don't do it or something goes wrong that you now become a part of the movie world wondering if that could happen to you and how would you handle it? This is called entertainment and they pull it off nicely here. There is a eating scene or two so prepare to eat while watching and of course have a tasty drink and some snack for later. Blood and Sand is an appropriate name for the bullfighter game...

Steffi_P It is often supposed that silent pictures are the more stylised, elegant and wordless medium when compared to their talkie counterparts, but this is not always the case. Silent movies could sometimes be clunky and overly blunt in their expression, and there were many visually graceful sound pictures. This 1941 version of Vincente Blasco Ibáñez's novel Blood and Sand, previously filmed as a silent in 1922, is a case in point.The first thing that strikes you about Blood and Sand is its breathtaking look. The Oscar-winning Technicolor cinematography of Ernest Palmer and Ray Rennahan brings layers of texture to even the dark shape of the bull's head in the opening scene, and picks out smooth whites like sculpted cream. Even the day-for-night filming (usually awful in early colour movies) doesn't look too bad. Then there is the glorious production design of Richard Day, Joseph Wright and Thomas Little which, rather than dazzling us with the array of shades available in three-strip Technicolor, sticks to two main colours – a rich dark blue and a sandy brown, both gorgeous tones which complement each other – and the story's natural surroundings – perfectly.Orchestrating these colours is director Rouben Mamoulian. Mamoulian was far more interested in style and appearance than he was in story or drama, and this is forgivable because by this point he did style better than almost anyone else in Hollywood. He uses those two tones – the blue and the brown – to regulate the colour temperature, carefully arranging props, players and camera so that the different shades flow on and off the screen. See how for example the young Gallardo creeps through the cold blue of the town, into the warm glow of the tavern, a woman in a yellowy-brown dress dancing into the centre of the screen. The movements of the actors are not only there for theatrical expressiveness (although there is that), but they also help to shift the colours around – Linda Darnell pulling up her shawl to bring total gloom to the chapel, or a blue curtain being pulled back to reveal a rack of golden matador outfits.However, speaking of theatrical expressiveness, Mamoulian did like to encourage such flamboyance from his cast. Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Rita Hayworth, big stars as they were, were not really great actors, but that's OK because all they are really required to do here is fill particular types. Power need be little more than a tower of swaggering masculinity, Hayworth need only be coolly alluring, and so on. The immense theatricality of the supporting cast is itself a boon. Only a director like Mamoulian would think of something so brilliantly corny as having the mortally wounded Nacional below a crucifix, his outstretched arms mimicking the Christ position, but it takes a grand old ham like John Carradine to make the pose look fitting.However, the area in which this version of Blood and Sand best distinguishes itself above its silent predecessor is in its writing and structure. The 1922 picture was in fact very stylishly directed by the great yet unsung Fred Niblo, and was superbly edited by a young Dorothy Arzner. However, it was extremely wordy (as in lots of intertitles) and contained much of the preachiness of the novel as well as one or two awkward subplots. The screenplay for 1941 on the other hand, written by the accomplished Jo Swerling, is a model of balance and succinctness. The inclusion of Gallardo's beginnings as a teenage wannabe are a good trade-in for the meanderings of the silent version, and they fully flesh out the rise-and-fall story arc. A couple of reminders of these early days towards the end of the picture add to the poignancy of the finale. This Blood and Sand is also complemented with many long wordless sections – the young Gallardo's bullfight in the dark, Dona Sol's hypnotic guitar performance (and later some genuine guitar playing by Vincente Gómez) and Hayworth's provocative dance with Anthony Quinn. Eventually, the picture begins to take on an intense, operatic quality, in which words become transcended by images. It is a full expression of cinema as a visual medium.

TxMike I have been seeking out old Rita Hayworth movies and came upon this one. It is a quadruple treat as it also has Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Anthony Quinn in their earlier years.From the time he was a small boy Juan thought only of becoming a famous Bullfighter. His dad was a Bullfighter and died in the ring. But Juan was full of fire and would sneak into places at night where he could practice his budding skill. He was about 15 and he was sweet on a pretty girl named Carmen, who looked about 10. Before he left, with a band of friends, to go to Madrid he asked Carmen if she would wait for him.That young Juan grew up to be played by Tyrone Power. His road to the top was a bit bumpy, but he made it, and was very generous with his money. He did return home after 10 years, and he married Linda Darnell as Carmen Espinosa. They were in love. But one day Juan met a temptation he could not resist, pretty Rita Hayworth as Dona Sol. As Juan turned to his affair, and drinking, his old friend and now rival, Anthony Quinn as Manolo de Palma, began to gain some of the fame.Rita Hayworth was only 23 when this film came out, probably 22 during filming. Linda Darnell was 17 or 18. Both of them look more mature than that.SPOILERS: Eventually Juan came to his senses, after Manolo stole Dona from him, and went back to his wife, Carmen. She still loved him, and he was to fight the bull only one more time, then they would settle down with a small ranch with cattle and pheasant. He was performing well, the best in a while, when he turned his back on the bull, waving to the crowd, got gored and died minutes later in the small chapel near the fighting ring, his faithful wife at his side. The last camera shot shows his blood in the sand of the bull ring.

MartinHafer This is a remake of the old Valentino film. Instead of the silent heart-throb, Tyrone Power plays the studly bull fighter. Initially, Power's character is a really young prodigy--with amazing natural talents and a drive to improve even more. But, through the course of the film, he becomes lazy--instead focusing on the ladies and having a good time instead of honing his skills. As a result, he becomes a bit of a hack--just going through the motions. The crowd begins to react negatively and his career seems about over. The rest of the film you can see for yourself to see how it all comes to pass.The film is very pretty--shot in Technicolor. But, aside from a few really interesting scenes here and there, I just felt bored after a while. While a technically competent film, it's not very memorable. However, it is still much more watchable than the original--especially since the original was so heavy-handed and old fashioned (even in its day).