Carmen (1915) Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Carmen
Year: 1915
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Country: US
Language: N/A

Carmen is best known as an opera. Borrowing elements of both Prosper Merimee’s novella and Bizet’s opera, the film is fairly energetic and fast-paced. It was an early hit for Cecil B. DeMille, a legendary director who would go on to make The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston. It is considerably less religious and leaner than his later films, which makes this picture quite accessible compared to his other works. 

In order to help her smuggler kinsmen, a sultry gypsy seduces and corrupts an officer of the Civil Guard turning him into a traitor and murderer. 

The early screen version of the famous French tragic grand opera is worth viewing, if nothing else, for the grand performance and exquisite beauty of opera diva Geraldine Farrar. Her lustrous energy fills the screen, ozzing charisma out of every frame. It's quite difficult to keep your eyes off of her. Her brilliance and intensity on stage was fully realized in Carmen. Few entertainers can match the success she obtained in the silent period. 

Carmen is a good choice to show newcomers to silent film. It’s short, it’s fast-paced and it features several “You can’t do that in an old movie!” moments. Cecil B. DeMille knows how to film an action scene; even for 1915 his use of onscreen violence seems startling. I can't recall any other Director from that time who is matched in passion and intensity. 

The cinematography, though not "new" at the time, is pretty well done. DeMille shows great skill behind the camera, proving that he will become a film-master later in his career. It's just over an hour long, which is a shame because I would have loved to see more. The score is forgettable, but ultimately the movie is entertaining enough to get by without it.