The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) review

Rich Argentine patriarch Madariaga (Pomeroy Cannon) has two sons-in-law, German Karl von Hartrott (Alan Hale) and French Marcelo Desnoyers (Josef Swickard), but when he passes away they return (with their families) to their respective countries ... and then a certain Archduke from Austria gets taken out in Sarajevo and everyone knows what happens next.  While I recognize its historical importance (and why the Library of Congress selected it for the National Film Registry), but aside from a few distinctive moments (the scenes of battle are a little intense and the last shot of a massive cemetery is powerful) it's sub-par - and grossly oversimplified - as some poetic statement about how war should be avoided (1930's All Quiet on the Western Front actually accomplished what this thought it could).  I know Rudolph Valentino had a cult following, but surely he alone wasn't responsible for this raking in $9 million at the box office (adjusted for inflation, that comes to over $142 million in the year 2022) ... or maybe it was a public that wanted to learn about a war that ended just three years prior.  For the record, I muted the stock score and used Brian Eno's 1985 album Thursday Afternoon followed by William Basinski's Watermusic and part of Watermusic II to give it more of an ethereal mood.