The Scarlet Empress (1934)

I remember soon after I hit the proverbial jackpot and actually started getting Turner Classic Movies, they ran a tribute to Marlene Dietrich. I had no clue who she was at the time, but I recorded some of the films based on how cute she looked in the commercials. Der Blau Engel, at the time, didn't do much for me, but I really enjoyed it. Shanghai Express, I thought was fantastic. Morocco felt kind of bland. I saw Rancho Notorious and Destry Rides Again and they were decent enough, but Dietrich seemed to be playing a caricature of herself when she was younger, so I wasn't a fan of her performances then.

As for Von Sternberg's direction, I never noticed it much. It seems to be pretty seamless. I'd heard about his svengali-style of direction with Dietrich and noticed that he had made sure to always have her looking as good as she possibly could. But, other than that, aside from the films being good, I hadn't noticed any particular style. In The Scarlet Empress, I'm starting to notice those things more and more. Obviously, the way he lit and directed Dietrich, but also the fact that he's just a good storyteller.

I really liked The Scarlet Empress. My favorite by Dietrich or Von Sternberg thus far. Marlene is incredible in the role. She's completely believable as the young, naive romantic young girl who transforms into a malevolent sexual conquerer. As usual, Von Sternberg has done everything in his power to make Marlene look as lovely as possible. And how lovely she looks. Between her dark red lips, her long eyelashes, highset cheekbones, her beautiful bedroom eyes...

The plot of the film is excellent. It reminds me of Casablanca, which was one of the first times I comprehended a story fully as having concrete characters whose actions you could make sense of, due to their personalities shown in flashback. In The Scarlet Empress, you're shown every step of the way, every little event that turned Sophia from timid little girl to lusty sexpot of the Russian throne.

I'm impressed by the many subtle ways that Von Sternberg and co. had to suggest sex without being overt about it. Catherine flirts heavily with a guard and then they embrace. As the music swells, we're shown a long close-up of her hands gripping the back of his uniform. This shot is held for a very long time, maybe 10-20 seconds, I'm not sure. Real classy. Nonetheless, the film possesses a very erotic quality, no doubt due to Ms. Dietrich's breathless performance. Towards the end, she uses her sex as a weapon much in the same way that Peter uses his army, guns and swords. Ultimately, we know which is really mightier.