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wolfmansRazor
3May12
Unfiltered Sternberg. Perhaps his most opulent and visually spectacular film -- That feast scene! Those sets! Dietrich in fur! -- but I felt this less deeply than some of his other films. Perhaps that's because Dietrich arcs from emotionally vulnerable child into an ice queen rather than starting out as an ice queen and slowly revealing her fragile interior. Still, Sternberg is the master of mise en scene.
DT likes this
Dave
1Mar12
I disagree with those who say this is von Sternberg's best film, but it is quite an achievement. The early montage sequence shows why the director was one of the finest of the silent era, and then the last half of the film shows why he is probably the best director of the 1930s. And anyone who has ever doubted the chops of Dietrich just watch the scene in which she gazes on her pathetic husband and his mistress.
Neil Bahadur likes this
DT
14Nov11
The incredibly lavish production work is something to soak up, no doubt. But I remain unconvinced by the script. It initially keeps to a snappy pace and, with the cast and the editing, avoids becoming the sort of turgid production that was not uncommon with these studio pieces. But eventually, the historical inaccuracies and dramatic license become all too apparent, facile and tedious. While the film's solid beginnings aren’t forgotten, the sour note on which it ends isn’t either. An unsuccessful case of style over substance.
Neil Bahadur and 2 others like this
Christopher Taylor
20Jul11
The innocence of Marlene Dietrich is utilized with a vengeance giving way to odd sexual humor in a very early and very strange "biopic".
Material Salva+ion
12Feb11
It certainly is an imperfect film but yet lavishly beautiful and unique! Visually barroque, the film has an arresting effect that highy compensates for what it lacks in narrative or dialogues. And who cares, anyway! Besides, the silent era was't so far behind...mouths were still trying to get used to words & voices! Also, Marlene Dietrich candle-litten close-ups are worth gold! love it!
a Smith
5Feb11
I wanted to like this more--and the transition from naif to seductress by way of intertitle worked well enough for me--but the acting seemed straight out of a Laurel and Hardy picture (John Lodge's Alexei and Louise Dresser's Empress, especially), bearable but out of place. Given how surreal the visuals are, perhaps this was intentional, but for the initial viewing, it was distracting.
fiona_huffman
18Aug10
The cinematography is impressive, the costumes are marvelous, the sets and visuals are mind-blowing, Marlene Dietrich is absolutely beautiful...... but the dialogues are poor. If it were not possible to write good dialogues, it would have been a great solution to leave the film silent, with only music.
byavuz
12Jul10
A ghoulish fiance, plaster skeletons at the dinner table, and fur, fur, fur make for a truly nightmarish palace and von Sternberg does an great job of using the set to give you an utterly claustrophobic sense of Imperial Russia. But boring dialogue and Dietrich's erratic acting (blank eyed dolly to wily seductress) do nothing to develop the character or convey even a hint of her future illustriousness as monarch.
DT likes this
Musidora
22Jun10
So overwhelmingly voluptuous and dangerously playful with power. I cannot explain to you the waves of shivers I get every time I watch the scene during a rest on the journey to the Russian palace where Alexei kisses the innocent Sophia and hands her his whip, demanding punishment (read: reward!). It is one of the most delicious moments in film for me.
