The Scarlet Empress (Catherine the Great) (1934)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Stella D

  
  what a spectacle this is. the sets are just outrageous. could've used a better script perhaps but definitely worth watching for the fantastic art direction alone. and then there's dietrich...

• AJ V

  
  This was a good historical drama, I didn't know much about Catherine before, but this movie didn't tell me everything I wanted to know. It only covers her youth and the time she marries into the Russian royalty, but we don't get to see how she handles the country as… More
  This was a good historical drama, I didn't know much about Catherine before, but this movie didn't tell me everything I wanted to know. It only covers her youth and the time she marries into the Russian royalty, but we don't get to see how she handles the country as the new empress. It was slightly better than I expected, but it let me down in the end.

• Cindy I

  
  A film I've wanted to see for ages and, while it was worth seeing, didn't quite hold up to my expectations. Don't know how historically accurate it is, and I guess that doesn't really matter. I did think it was kinda funny that the last scene was of Catherine with… More
  A film I've wanted to see for ages and, while it was worth seeing, didn't quite hold up to my expectations. Don't know how historically accurate it is, and I guess that doesn't really matter. I did think it was kinda funny that the last scene was of Catherine with her horse inside the castle, hinting at the urban legend of how she died (not going to go into that...look it up). I can say that Dietrich was breathtaking as Catherine. But also worth watching was Sam Jaffe as the mentally off King. The film is definitely a feast for the eyes. All in all, a good but not great film.

• Jennifer X

  
  I have never really quite seen a movie as sumptuous as this before. Josef von Sternberg really goes all out with the creepy Russian decorations and the luscious fur-trimmed costumes. Marlene Dietrich is one of the only women in these older movies who I actually enjoy the ACTING of,… More
  I have never really quite seen a movie as sumptuous as this before. Josef von Sternberg really goes all out with the creepy Russian decorations and the luscious fur-trimmed costumes. Marlene Dietrich is one of the only women in these older movies who I actually enjoy the ACTING of, and not just the screen personality. The historical narrative is quite heavy-handed, but in a good way - in an old-time, silent movie kind of way.

• Veronique K

  
  another dietrich/sternberg collaboration which highly emphasizes the supreme feminism through emanicipated sex charisma as means to dominate over men, maybe over the entire russian nation deflected upon the lens of a promiscuous historical woman figure "catherine the great"… More
  another dietrich/sternberg collaboration which highly emphasizes the supreme feminism through emanicipated sex charisma as means to dominate over men, maybe over the entire russian nation deflected upon the lens of a promiscuous historical woman figure "catherine the great" who has been re-incarnated by the husky deviously attractive marlene dietrich. the flamboyant visuality of bizarre architectures and palace inner embellishment is amazingly inked with the signature of the usual sternberg's pompously lushness, particularly the ancient russia backset relentlessly provides sternberg with grand material to carve incisively with raw exotica. maybe the pace of this story is a bit protracted with too many passages on catherine's loss of puberty innocence. as you observe upon an inadequate marlene dietrich with girlish curly bang over her forehead, swiving pupils with lips ajar, sighing over the irreversiblility of her youthful rosy dreaminess. could you imagine that? the akwardness declines as dietrich reappears as her usual luscious self who lays her eyes to select her liason candidates among juicy young soldiers, dressed in warrior armour with big furry beret conquering russia with her military worshippers, exuberating sensuality even thru masculine outfits, no other woman could have that sort of luring duplicity interwoven with ambundant individuality to accomplish such task as dietrich. you could parellel "scarlett empress" with greta garbo's "queen christina" exemplified as feministic assertions. that sort of connived appreciation over female aggression might only be reserved in an ambiguous decade like 30s with conservative audience simmered with lecherous smolder underneath. as dietrich chooses riding on the horse to wave the mass in celebration of her successful domination, garbo's queen christina would rather denunciate her crown for private liberaty(she just wants to be alone! left alone!). both cases also reflect the living attitude of this two legendarily adrogynous actresses.

• Eric B

  
  The story of Catherine the Great's rise to power in 18th-century Russia seemed unlikely to snare me, but the combination of flamboyant set design, Josef von Sternberg's elegant direction and Marlene Dietrich's charismatic performance make this film fascinating. Add Sam… More
  The story of Catherine the Great's rise to power in 18th-century Russia seemed unlikely to snare me, but the combination of flamboyant set design, Josef von Sternberg's elegant direction and Marlene Dietrich's charismatic performance make this film fascinating. Add Sam Jaffe's goofy turn as the demented Peter III -- weirdly reminiscent of Harpo Marx -- and "The Scarlet Empress" becomes a can't-miss historical epic. The twisted stone gargoyles incorporated into the walls and chairs of the royal palace are so remarkable that they deserve their own movie. Von Sternberg's loving, soft-focus devotion to Dietrich's face is legendary, and this film captures her beauty in so many ways -- shadows, light and gauzy veils all contribute to the portrait. Meanwhile, Dietrich handles the role's early ingenue phase better than expected (she's all wide eyes and open mouth -- it's like watching Anna Faris's grandmother), though her later transformation to sexual vixen and shrewd leader is somewhat abrupt. One flaw: Von Sternberg's decision to use title cards as transitions seems stale and outdated -- apparently, his mind hadn't entirely left the silent era.

• Patrick D

  
  Historical melodrama, with sets that punch you in the face. This film has a big German Expressionist hangover but it just adds to make it really visually stunning, and effective. It's hard to pass up a chance to stare at Marlene Dietrich, but this experiment by Sternberg is one… More
  Historical melodrama, with sets that punch you in the face. This film has a big German Expressionist hangover but it just adds to make it really visually stunning, and effective. It's hard to pass up a chance to stare at Marlene Dietrich, but this experiment by Sternberg is one of the better, and more dark ways to do so.

• Linda K

  
  The power which Dietrich's character projects on screen feels so real that it could be haunting for a patriarchy society.

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