bsmith5552 "Don Juan" has historical significance in that it was the first feature to utilize Warner Bros. "Vitaphone" process wherein a synchronized sound track was used. It consisted of orchestral accompaniment and sound effects. Besides that, it is a pretty good swash buckler giving star John Barrymore a duel role.Barrymore plays Don Jose de Marina and his son Don Juan. In the opening scenes the elder Don Jose catches his wife (Jane Winton) with her lover and casts her from his castle. He sours on all future relationships with women and councils his son as he dies to do like wise.Fast forward about 20 years and we find the young Don Juan in Rome loving and leaving several ladies (most of whom are married). Then one day he meets the virginal Adriana Della Varnese (Mary Astor) and is smitten by her. We learn that the infamous Borgias, Lucrezia (Estelle Taylor) and her brother Cesare (Warner Oland) rule Rome. Their right hand Count Giano Donati (Montague Love) also has designs on the fair Adriana.The Borgias force Adriana to agree to marry Donati in order to save her father (Joseph Swickard) from execution. Don Juan believes that Adriana is doing so willingly and seeks comfort in a love/mistrust relationship with Lucretzia. Needless to say, things get sorted out culminating with an exciting duel between Don Juan and Donati.Barrymore who looked to be in great shape complete with his skin tight leotards, surprised me with his prowess with a sword. He gives a performance worthy of Douglas Fairbanks that other master swash buckler of the silents. It was no stretch for him to play the womanizing playboy, a role he essayed in real life.Barrymore displays his versatility in the scene in the torture chamber where he impersonates the torture master. He contorts his face, much like he did in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1920), to render himself unrecognizable to the Borgias and the fair Adriana.Mary Astor and Myna Loy, who plays Lucretzia's hand Maiden were just starting out and were only in their early 20s at the time. Hedda Hopper also appears briefly.Unfortunately, Wasrner Bros. chose to tack on a typical Hollywood ending with the hero and heroine riding off into a painted backdrop sunset. It kinda of spoils what had been a good movie.Warner Bros. would release the first synchronized talking picture the following year with Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer" and the rest, as they say, is history.

Michael_Elliott Don Juan (1926) *** (out of 4) John Barrymore shines in this highly impressive costume drama, which is also historically important as being the first film released with the Vitaphone soundtrack with a synchronized score and sound effects. In the film Barrymore plays the title character, lover to many woman, but he falls in love with Adriana della Varnese (Mary Astor) but the evil Lucrezia (Estelle Taylor) and Donati (Montagu Love) have plans to keep them apart. I really wasn't sure what to expect out of this film and I ended up being pleasantly shocked at how well made and entertaining it was. Barrymore does a wonderful job in the role even though he was way too old to be playing it. The make up work is very effective as the actor really does appear to be twenty years younger. You can tell he's having a blast in the role as he's constantly playing that "lover" type who always has a smile or serious look in his eyes. Barrymore also made news for doing all of his own stunts, which included some impressive horse riding and an even more impressive fencing scene. The fencing scene here was marvelously done and makes for some great drama. Pay close attention to the point of view shots during this sequence because they're quite ahead of their time and very effective. Astor, Taylor and Love also turn in fine performances as does Warner Oland as Cesare. Fans of Myrna Loy will also be happy to see her here. It seems today that this movie is best remembered by film buff's due to the soundtrack but it's certainly a lot more than just that. The wonderful costumes and sets are another major plus.

Neil Doyle This is another example of an early sound film that is worth viewing just to get a sense of how advanced film was in the mid-20s with the ability to synchronize a musical score to film. Otherwise, it's not quite up to what we expect of entertainment in a story about DON JUAN and his exploits, which was done years later (in tongue-in-cheek style) with the dashing Errol Flynn in THE ADVENTUES OF DON JUAN.The performances are what one would expect during this transition period from silent film to sound--the acting is stilted, stage bound and overly theatrical. I was never a great admirer of JOHN BARRYMORE as an actor and his performance here left me feeling there was room for a lot of improvement in his screen technique. MARY ASTOR, although young and demure enough, never makes a strong impression as the dewy-eyed leading lady.The prologue seems to set the tone for the rest of the story. It unfolds like a Greek tragedy with Don Juan's father entombing a man he catches having an adulterous affair with his wife. When a woman in his court later stabs him fatally, he tells his son to take his revenge on women by adopting a love 'em and leave 'em attitude.Then the main story begins and the tone becomes playful. Unfortunately, nothing in the story proper has any particular twist on the Don Juan story, at least at the start where the Vitaphone Orchestra busily chronicles his amorous dalliances with three women in a playfully amusing way. But as the story progresses, the constant tempo of background music begins to get on the nerves, never ceasing to stop emphasizing the heavily persistent score.After a good forty-five minutes, I was beginning to resent the background score as much as the paltry scenario which only begins to shift gears when it gets to the Borgias and their involvement with Don Juan.A very youthful looking MONTAGU LOVE sporting a mustache, looks much like Nelson Eddy in his heyday, and MYRNA LOY has a small role as a handmaiden of the court.Summing up: Overall, it's a rather dull version of the Don Juan legend, interesting only as a film of historic value because of its transition via Vitaphone to a sound background score. Silent titles and film technique makes it still a product of the silent period. The story itself is uninspired by the Don Juan legend and, unfortunately, Barrymore is more effete than robust in his manner of portraying the great lover.

vickio1125 Previous commenters have noted John Barrymore's great acting skills, and the abundance of beautiful women -- and the Costumes!! Stunning women's gowns for the many principals, surprisingly racy outfits for the various dancers and debauchees, and the fashions for the men were mostly kept within the same historical time period. All of this makes for a costuming fan's dream come true. Although I have one tiny gripe: if they were determined to put Barrymore in skintight hose and short jackets, they really should have given the man more, well, support. Rather distracting, esp. during the action sequences, and it made him look rather effete in the love scenes. A small quibble when the overall movie is so astonishing.