The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Foolish Wives
Drama · Thriller · 1922
A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.
Movie details
Foolish Wives
1922 Drama · Thriller 2h 23m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.0 / 10
4K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
89 %
Tomatometer
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Foolish Wives?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Hungry Hearts
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Erich von Stroheim
Written by
Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim
Count Wladislaw Sergius Karamzin
Rudolph Christians
Andrew J. Hughes
Miss DuPont
Helen Hughes
Maude George
Princess Olga Petchnikoff
Mae Busch
Princess Vera Petchnikoff
Dale Fuller
Maruschka
Cesare Gravina
Cesare Ventucci
Court is in session
Put Foolish Wives on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.