Rudolph Valentino is Juan Gallardo, a poor boy who becomes a famous bull fighter. Although he is married to his childhood sweetheart, he starts a passionate affair with a wealthy widow. When Juan wants to terminate this relationship, his mistress tells his wife about the affair. Juan gets more and more depressed and becomes reckless in the arena.

This blockbuster from 1922 was not only one of the films that put film star Rudolph Valentino on the map. An extra amount of spectacle was added to the film because of the editing of film pioneer Dorothy Arzner, who invented and used new editing techniques to make the scenes in the arena even more dynamic. 

The film was such a success that Stan Laurel made a parody: MUD AND SAND. This film will be shown on January 9th by the NSFF during the second edition of the 16mm comedy show. 

“We are going to see why Rudolph Valentino got his first star billing, in a picture called Blood and Sand…. In 1922, when that picture was released, it was considered the absolute epitome of adult entertainment. Well, it is still a good show. Before this picture, his type was unknown on the screen – which was dominated by clean cut American types. But then came along the erotic lady killer, the king of which was Valentino.”  

– Orson Welles