Rent The Scarlet Empress (1934)
3.8 of 5 from 77 ratings
1h 41min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Marlene Dietrich lights up the screen as the Empress Catherine in this historical drama directed by Josef von Sternberg. Young Princess Catherine's dreams are shattered when she's forced into an arranged marriage with Peter (Sam Jaffe), the homely and idiotic Grand Duke of Russia. Though there is pressure to bear a male heir to the throne, Peter prefers the company of his mistress. Imprisoned in loveless wedlock, his young bride seeks solace in the arms of other men, including a handsome young officer of the guard. Months later, when a son is born, Russia rejoices, while Peter conspires to murder his adulterous wife. But the officer of the guard and Catherine's loyal troops stand by their beloved monarch to save imperial Russia from the hands of this madman. - Actors:
- Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Sam Jaffe, Louise Dresser, C. Aubrey Smith, Gavin Gordon, Olive Tell, Ruthelma Stevens, Davison Clark, Erville Alderson, Philip Sleeman, Marie Wells, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Gerald Fielding, Maria Riva, Eric Alden, Richard Alexander, Nadine Beresford, Thomas C. Blythe, Hal Boyer
- Directors:
- Josef Von Sternberg
- Producers:
- Josef Von Sternberg
- Writers:
- Catherine II, Manuel Komroff, Eleanor McGeary
- Studio:
- Universal Pictures
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Romance
- Collections:
- 100 Years of German Expressionism, Film History, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Marlene Dietrich, Holidays Film Collection, Top 10 Screen Kisses (1896-1979)
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 26/08/2019
- Run Time:
- 104 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- 'The Scarlet Empress' audio commentary with writer and programmer Tony Rayns
- Introductions to film by Nicholas von Sternberg, son of J osefvon Sternberg
- Josef von Sternberg, a Retrospective (1969): feature-length documentary by Harry Kumel
- The Twilight of an Angel (2012): documentary on Marlene Dietrich's final years
- The Fashion Side of Hollywood (1935): Paramount promotional film
- Lux Radio Theatre: 'The Legionnaire and the Lady'(1936): radio play adaptation of Morocco
- If It Isn't Pain (Then It Isn't Love) (1935, audio only): deleted musical number from The Devil Is a Woman
- Josef von Sternberg: An Introduction (2009): lecture by von Sternberg biographer John Baxter at BFI Southbank
- The Art of Josef von Sternberg (2019): Nicholas von Sternberg discusses his father's artworks Video essay by film historian Tag Gallagher (2019)
- Writer and filmmaker Jasper Sharp on the life and career of Shanghai Express star Anna May Wong (2019)
- So Mayer, author of Political Animals: The New Feminist Cinema, on the queer iconography and legacy of Dietrich and von Sternberg's films (2019)
- Nathalie Morris, film historian, on the costume designs of Travis Banton (2019)
- Image galleries
- UK premieres on Blu-ray
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Reviews (2) of The Scarlet Empress
A Romp - The Scarlet Empress review by CH
Made in 1934, this take on Catherine ll sneaked in ahead of the Code, which means that not only does Marlene have a romp in the hay (interrupted by a horse) but there is a brief shot of a clock at the Court which contains a figure in an overcoat who flashes on the hour. The pervasive American accents add to the hokum, along with somebody drilling a spyhole through the eye of a portrait while the backs of chairs sport goulish sculpted figures. And yet it has to be seen for, at quite a clip, all this is pervafed by von Sternberg's Expressionist past in Germany: light and shade, tolling bells in close up, crowds surging across the open land and these Imperial buildings - not to mention a montage of executions in the opening minute.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Historical Melodrama. - The Scarlet Empress review by Steve
A title card in the opening credits claims this is based on the diaries of Catherine II, Empress of Russia. But it's a Hollywood melodrama which takes only an outline from history. Its principal impact is from the astonishing costumes, oppressive sets and fabulous expressionist photography. Its visual dimension is prodigious. Everything is spectacular.
Marlene Dietrich plays Catherine the Great... from the naive German ingenue to the ambitious Russian despot. She arrives in Moscow to marry Peter III (Sam Jaffe) and finds a grotesque promiscuous hell. And to prosper in hell, you become a devil. She has her husband assassinated and seizes the throne by sleeping her way through the army.
Dietrich hardly gives a performance. For the first hour she does open mouthed astonishment. And then we get a tyrannical Mae West, played out to a score of rousing Russian symphonies. Being a Joseph von Sternberg production, sometimes we're just watching him watching his star. It cost the studio a fortune and it bombed, but it's one of the standout films of the '30s!
Maybe there was no stomach in the depression for this reckless decadence. When it opens with nudity and a montage of torture and murder, it's clear this slipped out before the Production Code was enforced. There are moments which are scarcely credible. For my money, this is among the best historical melodramas. And surely the most excessive.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.