Sex and violence seems to be what De Mille relies upon here for entertainment, in a drama filled with attractive Spanish settings and unattractive characters. Carmen is an outrageous flirt who comes within inches of kissing several men, seeming to be on the cusp of it every time she is on screen, which is often, and often running her hands over her body and flaunting her eyes about, all for the sake of profit. Elsewhere we get a nasty all female fight, where of course layers of clothing are shred so that one woman looks in trouble of losing her top, followed by a sword fight and a bull fight.
Given the type of violence and nudity that are accepted on screen today, some might wonder what the fuss is about, and the answer is that it is tasteless. There is neither humour nor insight nor depth here - it is but an unashamed excuse for fancy costumes (is it a broom or a helmet?) and profit. Carmen's use of sex appeal to trick men into giving her what she wants could be an apt metaphor for the way she, and the film as a whole, use her sex appeal to trick audiences into buying tickets for it - an audience watching a film about robbery, unaware that it is they who are being robbed.
Having said that De Mille shows some technical talent, featuring a larger variety of angles and shot sizes then you typically see during the period. If only he had a better story to use it on.
Given the type of violence and nudity that are accepted on screen today, some might wonder what the fuss is about, and the answer is that it is tasteless. There is neither humour nor insight nor depth here - it is but an unashamed excuse for fancy costumes (is it a broom or a helmet?) and profit. Carmen's use of sex appeal to trick men into giving her what she wants could be an apt metaphor for the way she, and the film as a whole, use her sex appeal to trick audiences into buying tickets for it - an audience watching a film about robbery, unaware that it is they who are being robbed.
Having said that De Mille shows some technical talent, featuring a larger variety of angles and shot sizes then you typically see during the period. If only he had a better story to use it on.