JOSEF VON STERNBERG, ORIGINAL AUTEUR
Dec 27, 2009London’s BFI Southbank will be celebrating Viennese-born visionary Josef von Sternberg in a five-film program, running December 27–30 and featuring some rarities from the director’s . . .
Synopsis
Filmmaker-svengali Josef von Sternberg escalates his obsession with screen legend Marlene Dietrich in this lavish depiction of sex and deceit in the eighteenth-century Russian court. A self-proclaimed “relentless excursion into style,” the pair’s sixth collaboration follows the exploits of Princess Sophia (Dietrich) as she evolves from trembling innocent to cunning sexual libertine Catherine the Great. With operatic melodrama, flamboyant visuals, and a cast of thousands, this ornate spectacle represents the apex of cinematic pageantry by Hollywood’s master of artifice
Cast
| Catherine II/Sophia Frederica | Marlene Dietrich |
| Count Alexi | John Lodge |
| Grand Duke Peter | Sam Jaffe |
| Empress Elizabeth | Louise Dresser |
| Prince August | C. Aubrey Smith |
| Gregory Orloff | Gavin Gordon |
| Princess Johanna | Olive Tell |
| Countess Elizabeth | Ruthelma Stevens |
| Chancellor Bestuchef | Erville Alderson |
| Archimandrite Simeon Tevedovsky | Davison Clark |
Credits
| Director | Josef von Sternberg |
| Screenplay | Catherine II and Eleanor McGeary |
| Producer | Adolf Zukor |
| Cinematography | Bert Glennon |
| Editing | Josef von Sternberg |
| Based on the diary of Catherine II, as arranged by | Manual Komroff |
| Art direction | Hans Dreier, Peter Ballbusch and Richard Kollorsz |
| Costume design | Travis Banton |
| Music arranged by | W. Frank Harling, John Liepold and Josef von Sternberg |
| Special effects | Gordon Jennings |
Disc Features
- Luminous new digital transfer, with restored image and sound
- The 20-minute BBC documentary The World of Josef von Sternberg
- Production stills and lobby cards
- Von Sternberg tribute by underground filmmaker Jack Smith
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
From the Current
The Scarlet Empress
by May 7, 2001The Scarlet Empress was the sixth of Josef von Sternberg’s seven collaborations with Marlene Dietrich, and its box-office failure marked the beginning of the end. In retrospect, it is easy to see how baffled the audiences for popular Hollywood entertainments in 1934 must . . .
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