Blu-ray
The scarlet empress
Call Number
- BLU-RAY DRAMA (CEN)
Edition
Blu-ray special edition.
Languages
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Performers
Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Sam Jaffe, Louise Dresser, C. Aubrey Smith, Gavin Gordon, Olive Tell.
Publication Information
[Irvington, NY] : Criterion Collection, [2018]
Physical Description
1 videodisc (104 minutes) : sound, black and white ; 4 3/4 in.
Audience
Not rated.
Summary
"Marlene Dietrich stars in Josef von Sternberg's feverishly debauched biopic as the spoiled princess Sophia Frederica, who grows up being groomed for greatness and yearning for a handsome husband. Sent to Russia to marry the Grand Duke Peter, she is horrified to discover that her betrothed is a half-wit and her new home a macabre palace where depravity rules. Before long, however, she is initiated into the sadistic power politics that govern the court, paving the way for her transformation into the imperious libertine Catherine the Great. A lavish spectacle in which von Sternberg's domineering visual genius reaches new heights of florid extravagance, The Scarlet Empress is a perversely erotic portrait of a woman--and a movie star--capable of bringing legions to heel."--Container.
Notes
"Based on a diary of Catherine II."
Originally released as a motion picture in 1934.
Issued in a boxed set: Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood.
Special features: New, restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack ; television interview with actor Marlene Dietrich from 1971.