Search - The Scarlet Empress - Criterion Collection on DVD

Glorious Excess

Martin S. Hennessee | Knoxville, TN | 07/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

""The Scarlet Empress" may be the most over-the-top spectacle ever filmed, and at the time, it was certainly the costliest. Dietrich plays Prussian princess Sophia Frederika, who is plucked from obscurity to marry the Grand Duke of Russia. This fairy-tale scenario sours when the Duke turns out to be a cruel degenerate, and Sophia (re-named Catherine) learns that her only purpose in the Imperial household is to supply heirs to the throne. Her girlish dreams shattered, she becomes a lusty libertine and ruthless political mover, eventually staging a coup against her husband and becoming the notorious Empress, Catherine the Great.Director von Sternberg throws "historical accuracy" to the winds in order to produce a baroque fantasia filmed in the most stylized manner imaginable, and laced with doses of perversion so bold one wonders how they got past the censors. The film races along in a succession of deliriously stylized set-pieces: hordes of galloping Cossacks; the incredible wedding and drunken banquet that follows; and the apocalyptic coup, led by Catherine in a man's white dress uniform, while "Ride of the Valkeries" blasts on the soundtrack. Von Sternberg's peerless visual style is given free reign, and the results are extraordinary. The lighting and photography are gorgeous, especially in the stunningly beautiful wedding sequence, and Travis Banton's costumes lovingly recreate the decadent grandeur of 18th Century fashion. Most incredible of all are the sets representing the palace at Moscow. These cavernous, candle-lit rooms are stuffed with glittering icons and grotesque statues. So imposing and detailed are these settings that the palace's occupants, in their elaborate costumes and makeup, are sometimes indistinguishable from the décor. "The Scarlet Empress" is energized by a campy sense of humor. Dietrich's journey from wide-eyed nymphet to savvy politician is portrayed with delicious irony. She sashays through the palace, enormous skirts swishing, and wins over the army with an arched eyebrow, a suggestive bon mot, and a bribe or four. John Lodge obviously relishes in his role as Count Alexei, a square-jawed stud who services both the Empress and the Duchess. Of young Catherine's reluctance to commit adultery, he scoffs: "Those ideas are old fashioned, this is the 18th Century!" Louise Dresser gives a wonderful performance as the ill-mannered old Empress, who harangues her half-wit nephew and his reluctant bride with a fishwife's bray. Less humorous, though weirdly fascinating, is Sam Jaffe's portrayal of the repulsive, rodent-like Duke - playing with toy soldiers, marching his real ones through the palace halls, and shooting peasants like pheasants from his bedroom window.Beneath these antics are interesting implications about the link between sexuality and tyranny, and the corrupting influence of power. The film opens with young Sophia (played by Dietrich's daughter) being regaled with tales of the czars, and a montage of rape, pillage and torture illustrates the moppet's fantasy. The film ends with Catherine's triumphant ascension to the throne, but only hints at the depravity and corruption in which she later engaged (though she was also an able and progressive monarch). In all, "The Scarlet Empress" is a unique film, a magnificent product of the studio system, but guided by von Sternberg's keen intelligence and stylish visual flair. A treat."