Young Princess Sophia of Germany is taken to Russia to marry the half-wit Grand Duke Peter, son of the Empress. The domineering Empress hopes to improve the royal blood line. Sophia doesn't like her husband, but she likes Russia, and is very fond of Russian soldiers. She dutifully produces a son -- of questionable fatherhood, but no one seems to mind that. After the old empress dies, Sophia engineers a coup d'etat with the aid of the military, does away with Peter, and become... (Full plot summary below)
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Young Princess Sophia of Germany is taken to Russia to marry the half-wit Grand Duke Peter, son of the Empress. The domineering Empress hopes to improve the royal blood line. Sophia doesn't like her husband, but she likes Russia, and is very fond of Russian soldiers. She dutifully produces a son -- of questionable fatherhood, but no one seems to mind that. After the old empress dies, Sophia engineers a coup d'etat with the aid of the military, does away with Peter, and becomes Catherine the Great.
Leave your thoughts about The Scarlet Empress.
| Time OutTony RaynsThe decor and costumes, and the mise-en-scéne that deploys them, have never been equaled for expressionist intensity. |
| Nick's Flick PicksNick DavisA thrilling historical pageant, featuring one of the most mind-blowing mises-en-scenes ever created for a film, plus iconic performances by Dietrich, Jaffe, and Dresser. |
| MovieMartyr.comJeremy HeilmanThe filmmaking is invigorating, with some of the images standing out as originals to this day. |
| Creative LoafingMatt BrunsonHow best to describe The Scarlet Empress? Delirious? Demented? Diabolical? This historical epic is perhaps the best of the Dietrich-von Sternberg collaborations, so naturally it was a commercial disaster. |
| Q Network Film DeskJames KendrickA dense, visually astounding portrait of a woman evolving from an innocent, inexperienced, and idealistic girl to a shrewd, calculating empress. |
| Combustible CelluloidJeffrey M. AndersonIt's a complex, poetic, fantastical, and truly great movie. |
| Chicago ReaderDave KehrJosef von Sternberg's 1934 film turns the legend of Catherine the Great into a study of sexuality sadistically repressed and reborn as politics, thus anticipating Bertolucci by three decades. |
| User ReviewByron BFor a guy who's a director, cinematographer, editor, composer, and production designer; it's amazing how different this film is from his others. However, it is by far my favorite von Sternberg effort. And if you're looking for cine-phile porn, you've found it. |
| User ReviewKim MJosef von Sternberg had such an eye for detail. |
| User ReviewDave AOverflowing with decadence and depravity, this is director Josef von Sternberg's masterwork; the gothic sets of the Russian palace with its gorgoyles and wedding banquet skeleton are pure fantasy, but a more historically accurate film would have been far less interesting... Marlene Dietrich is radiant - easily her best role, and the soundtrack (a mix of Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and Wagner) is perfect. Much of the artistry of photographic techniques developed in the silent era suffered once sound was introduced into film, but this not true for this film; the camerawork is a fullfillment of silent expressionism... |
