In life he was a movie star, in death he became a legend.

Rudolph Valentino, born in Italy in 1895 as Alfonzo Raffaele Pierre Philibert Guglielmi, emigrated to the U.S. and became for a time the reigning male romantic lead of the silent-film era. He died in 1926, having led a short, troubled and tempestuous life which included several stints in prison. The crowds surrounding his coffin before and during his funeral were among the largest ever seen in the U.S. In this film, Ken Russell has used events from the famous actor's life as the basis for an extended meditation on the nature of stardom, and especially on what it means to be a sex idol. Beginning and ending with the funeral of Valentino (Rudolf Nureyev), the story chronicles his rise to Hollywood stardom from life as an Italian emigrant dishwasher and show-dancer. Often embroiled in controversies about his manliness (or perceived lack of ), in the film he dies as a result of internal injuries suffered in a boxing match he fought in to defend his honor.


Valentino is a 1977 American biographical film directed by Ken Russell and starring Rudolf Nureyev as Rudolph Valentino. The film is very loosely based on the life of Valentino as recounted in the book Valentino, an Intimate Exposé of the Sheik, written by Chaw Mank and Brad Steiger. The film also stars Michelle Phillips, Leslie Caron, and Carol Kane.
Upon its release, Valentino was a critical and commercial failure. Russell later described his decision to make the film as the biggest mistake of his career


Upon its release, Valentino was a commercial and critical failure. The film garnered mixed reviews, most generally negative. The Village Voice called the film "so embarrassingly and extensively bad that it achieves a kind of excruciating consistency with the rest of his [Russell's] career." Charles Champlin of The Los Angeles Times dismissed the film as "superficial and silly".[2]
The majority of the negative criticism stemmed from Russell's blending of fact and fiction. Russell defended his actions stating, "I only want to be accurate up to a point. I can be as inaccurate as I want-it makes no difference to me. I'm writing a novel. My films are novels, based on a person's life, and a novel has a point of view."[3]
Despite its general negative reception, some critics and scholars liked and respected the film. Russell later stated that he would rather forget Valentino.[3]
The film was later included in John J. B. Wilson's 2005 book The Official Razzie Movie Guide.[2]


Release Date: October 6, 1977


Distrib: United Artists