Legong: Dance of the Virgins (1935)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Docu-drama has the benefit of being one of the last silent movies released by a major studio (Paramount) as well as being one of the last 2-strip Technicolor movies. The film, taking place in Bali, tells the story of Poutou (Poetoe Aloes Goesti), a girl who falls in love with a boy (Njong Njong Njoman) but he's in love with Poutou's younger sister (Saplak Njoman). This film was shot in 1933 but not released for a couple years and when it finally got released it was shown in three different versions. The British version removed all the violence while the American version removed all the nudity. The DVD from Milestone presents the film uncut, clocking in just under an hour, and the history behind the film is the only real reason to check this out. de la Falaise was married to Constance Bennett at the time he made this and it was her who gave all the money. I think film buffs might get a kick out of seeing such a late silent and one in the 2-strip but that's pretty much all we have here. The biggest problem is the fake "story" they built the real action around. We really didn't need to go to Bali to see this sort of love triangle so the story adds very little to nothing. I think the biggest benefit to this film is the Technicolor, which looks great and really shows off all the colors of the land. Another reason to watch it would mainly be for history buffs who want to see Bali as it was in 1933. There's no doubt that the land is beautiful and gives the viewing a lot to take in. It should also be noted that in the uncut version we get to see some violent cockfights. Also, the women in the film don't wear shirts so one should expect a lot of nudity and what might turn some off is that it's obvious many of the girls here are very, very young. With that said, the end results isn't a classic like so many of these docu-dramas from this era but it's a nice looking film.
