Queen Christina
by Rouben Mamoulian
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Actor: Elizabeth Young, Greta Garbo, Ian Keith, John Gilbert, Lewis StoneDirector: Rouben Mamoulian
Brand: GARBO,GRETA
Cinematographer: William H. Daniels
Producer: Walter Wanger
Writer: Ben Hecht
Writer: H.M. Harwood
Writer: Margaret P. Levino
Writer: S.N. Behrman
Writer: Salka Viertel
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of Queen Christina
DVD Review: Garbo Glares
Summary: 4 Stars
There was a brief time and place when the silent films had faded and talkies had begun, yet the people who survived the transition brought to the screen a sensitivity and level of emotion that has not been equaled since. Such is the value of Garbo's performance in "Queen Christina". Christina was Garbo's 8th talkie. Prior to this Garbo had been in nearly 20 silent films, starting as early as 1920. Her best known silent films were "Flesh and the Devil" (1926) which was directed by Clarence Brown, and "Love" (1927) in which she co-starred with John Gilbert. She was nominated 3 times for an Oscar ("Anna Christie", "Camille", and "Ninotchka") but never won. She is listed #5 on the AFI's list of Greatest Actresses.
John Gilbert co-stars, but his name appears in small print under the title. Quite a difference from the first time he and Garbo worked together. Their last film together had been in 1928 ("A Woman of Affairs") and in that time Garbo had become one of the top screen personalities and Gilbert's career had declined, partially due to his soured relationship with MGM head Louie Mayer. But Gilbert never managed to make the transition to talkies complete. Even in Queen Christina you'll find his performance and even his appearance to be more appropriate for the silent screen.
There are some talented actors in this film, though most of them are wasted. C. Aubrey Smith and Akim Tamariff play aides. Smith was a marvelous actor known for his roles as an aristocrat, though he plays an aide to Garbo here. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1915 to 1949. He gave us memorable roles in a host of films, including Major Hamilton in "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (1935), Lord Capulet in "Romeo and Juliet" (1936), and Colonel Zapt in "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1937). I remember him best as Col. Williams in "Wee Willie Winkie" (1937) with Shirley Temple.
Tamiroff is best remembered for his role as the Uncle Joe in Orson Welles "Touch of Evil" (1958) and twice was nominated for Best Supporting Actor ("For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "The General Died at Dawn"). He plays an aide to Gilbert. Does an adequate job, but his talents are wasted.
Lewis Stone plays Garbo's court adviser. He was a major star in the 20s and 30s and was nominated for an Oscar for "The Patriot" (1930). Between 1914 and 1953 he made more than 150 films; his memorable roles were as the warden in "The Big House" (1930), Doctor Otternschlag in "Grand Hotel" (1932), Commissioner Smith in "The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932), and "Doc" in "Three Godfathers" (1936). He's probably best known for his continuing role as Judge Hardy in the Andy Hardy films (1937-46).
Reginald Owen gives his usual good performance as Garbo's cousin and a military leader, but he's on screen far too little and barely says a word. He's best known as Ebenezer Scrooge from "A Christmas Carol" (1938) and made nearly 100 films including "Mary Poppins" (1964) and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971).
Rouben Mamoulian directs. Mamoulian made only 20 films, most of them in the 30s. Queen Christina was his 6th film. Prior to this he'd had success with "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1931) and Marlene Dietrich's "Song of Songs" (1933). Mamoulian was known for his agile camera work and this style is amply demonstrated throughout the film. Visually the film is a treat, although at times the narrative does lag.
Walter Wagner produced this lavish film, complete with many outdoor scenes. In Wagner's 34 year career he was responsible for more than 60 films, such as the Marx Brothers first talkie "Cocoanuts" (1929), Fritz Lang's "Scarlet Street" (1945), Ingrid Bergman's "Joan of Arc" (1948), Susan Hayward's "I Want to Live" (1958), and Elizabeth Taylor's "Cleopatra" (1963). Cleopatra was his last film and the only one for which he was nominated for an Oscar.
Williams Daniels is the cinematographer. Garbo insisted he shoot all her films, which he did, except for 2 ("Conquest", "Two-faced Woman") which turned out to be flops at the box office. When not working with Garbo, Daniels was a favorite of Erich von Stroheim, who was Garbo's favorite director (even though she made 6 films with Brown). Daniels lensed more than 150 films. He was nominated 3 times ("Anna Christie", "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", "How the West was Won") and won once ("Naked City" in 1948).
The film received good reviews and was a box office hit. For Garbo fans it is certainly a must see and I think it's her best performance, although her presence in virtually every scene does get overpowering. The final shot is a long close up of Garbo's face. It took nearly 50 years for any actor to match the power of this final scene (Klaus Maria Brandauer in "Mephisto").
Description of Queen Christina
Unhappy at the thought of an arranged political marriage, the queen of Sweden is ready to give up everything when she falls in love with the Spanish ambassador.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 6-SEP-2005
Media Type: DVD
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