Product Description Garbo: The Signature Collection (DVD)Includes the best known films from a timeless and alluring actress of the 1920s and 1930s whose enigmatic beauty in a series of MGM silent films catapulted her to international movie stardom.]]> .com Who was Greta Garbo? For a while the greatest of all movie stars, then a celebrated recluse, always "the mysterious lady," Garbo purred, "I want to be alone," and people took her at her word. Of course, the real Garbo is actually the "reel" Garbo, the silvery, suffering creature on the movie screen--the way the light caught her eyes, and the way she slithered around in silk. There are other Garbo films to be seen, but Garbo: The Signature Collection is the essential Garbo, the alpha and omega for fans and beginners. This 10-disc package collects seven of her MGM sound pictures, three silents, and the Turner Classic Movies documentary Garbo, which gives a good career overview and warm testimony from friends and relatives (although more critical perspective on her talent would have been welcome). Some extras and commentaries are mixed in. The Garbo Silents disc features Flesh and the Devil, one of her sizzling box-office duets with John Gilbert; The Temptress, a wild number with Garbo as a man-killer who follows Antonio Moreno to the plains of Argentina; and The Mysterious Lady, a tight spy picture with Garbo as a Russian agent seducing the susceptible Conrad Nagel. When Garbo finally talked it was headline news, and if Anna Christie has aged a bit, the star's sultry enunciation of "Gimme a visky" retains its historic punch. (The disc includes a German-language version of the film shot at the same time.) Mata Hari continues the exotic storytelling of Garbo's silent years, as she does an eye-popping turn as the famous German spy. Grand Hotel casts her as a tired, tired ballet dancer, in a star-studded MGM project that played on her public image as aloof and mysterious. The movie was a box-office smash and took the Best Picture Oscar for 1932, and still stands as a glittery gem of the studio system. Under the sympathetic direction of Rouben Mamoulian in Queen Christina, Garbo flourishes in a tale of a Swedish royal who escapes the grind by disguising herself as a boy. She insisted that John Gilbert--his career in tatters and his life near its end--be her leading man. Garbo rarely seemed more spot-on, and the film's final grand adoration of her is justifiably famous. Anna Karenina is Garbo's second crack at the Tolstoy heroine, after the silent Love. It's a throbbing performance, even if the movie itself is one of those MGM productions that seems to doze under all its finery and respectability. Camille is scrumptious costume tragedy, with Robert Taylor as co-star and George Cukor as director. Finally, Ernst Lubitsch's Ninotchka (you know--"Garbo Laughs") is a bubbly comedy of frosty Sovietism meeting the champagne pleasures of Paris. Garbo retired two years, ending her reign but keeping the enigma intact. --Robert Horton
J**L
Garbo LAUGHS!
As a long time Garbo fan, this set is worth the wait.The documentary is excellent, and the features are everything you could want. I was particularly interested and impressed with the silents, having seen only two, and them only once. "Camille" is my all time favorite movie. That's it. My favorite. The story is a timeless love story set against the accepted mores of society. There is the wonderful addition on the Camille DVD of the rarely seen (non-Garbo) silent version with Valentino as Gaston. This silent version is often referred to in movie retrospectives for it's unusual and artistic sets in high Deco style. "Anna Karenina" is another classic of Garbo's and one of my favorites of her films - I've watched it at least 20 times. It remains one of the best adaptations of this story to film. The 2000 version with Sophie Morceau is a really wonderful pairing/contrast with this version.... shifting focus and social concerns, and adding color, but this black and white Garbo version remains equal to it. Tarzan's Jane shows her real talent playing "Kitty" with lightness and vulnerability. "Anna Christie" is a stage classic that was altered very little for the film. It was the perfect choice to introduce Garbo to the world, and is the heartwrenching story of a woman who wants to forget her past and just live a simple life. In retrospect, this is also what Garbo wanted for her own life, and that dimension only adds to the levels. This one also includes the German version made with Garbo and her good friend and mentor in the Marie Dressler role. "Ninotchka" is Garbo's memorable comedy, later made into the musical Silk Stockings. She makes fun of the serious impervious image created by some of her other films, and it is a perfect foil for the overall serious tone of this set. "Mata Hari" is easy to dismiss as too camp, too melodrama, but it is beautiful to look at, both in its glitz, and its more severe moments. We should all look so beautiful in prison when we are about to die. It is a quintessential blending of Garbo's silent work and her early sound work. "Queen Christina" is probably her best work, with some interesting direction, with moments of eloquent silence that Hitchock began to move to in his later work. One classic moment is referenced in many other movies. Often said to be one of her own favorites, it has many moments of playful sexual ambiguity... and has been the springboard for the highly imaginative rumors of her "lesbianism". Her nephew puts it best in the documentary. She has a history of long and very open and public relationships with men; anything different from that is conjecture. I'll add that having read almost every Garbo bio, the only person who difinitively states he knows she had a lesbian affair is a spurned lover who has a reputation for trying to spread untrue rumors about many of the legendary people he knew. He simply is not a reliable source. I saved "Grand Hotel" for last. Garbo herself knew she was miscast as a ballerina, and while it loks like her worst, most overwrought work, her flair as a silent actress was useful in the role of the overdramatic diva. Prima ballerina's are actually more dramatic than this, so it is only her stature that makes this really laughable. Still, it is a jewel. It was the very first film to feature stars in every major role, and Joan Crawford shines. Grand Hotel has the best work of several of it's stars, and it is eminantly watchable and enjoyable. Just a wonderful box set. It makes one long to be alone... to watch these DVDs again and again! The quality of the prints is great. I rate this set much HIGHER than 5 stars. For one supersized, undimmable star!
R**R
Book is based on fact
Book was clean and complete. Author is scholarly and writes from fact
S**D
An exquisite DVD for a beautiful lady
I feel like a kid in a candy store as I gaze with anticipation at an expensive DVD boxed set I just bought from Amazon: GRETA GARBO-THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION. Manufactured by Warner Home Video, this is a good purchase for vintage film lovers and a younger generation who maybe wants to just see some compelling and mesmerizing silent and sound romance. I believe Amazon is selling the set for $70, but we are talking about ELEVEN MOVIES on ten disks that individually sell for $15-$20.It is not Garbo's entire film output-another disk could be filled with what is missing. But it has her finest films, like QUEEN CHRISTINA (1933), CAMILLE (1937), and NINOTCHKA (1939). Also included are both the English-language and rare German-language versions of ANNA CHRISTIE (both 1930-and Garbo spoke fluent German), MATA HARI (1931), the Best Picture Oscar winner GRAND HOTEL (1932), and ANNA KARENINA (1935). All of the sound films here at least include a theatrical trailer-it is fun to see how MGM promoted a given movie. GRAND HOTEL includes a new documentary, a premiere newsreel, a vintage musical short, and trailers for both this and the WEEKEND AT THE WALDORF (1945) remake. And CAMILLE includes the 1921 silent version starring Nazimova and Rudolph Valentino, a "Leo is on the Air" radio bonus, and the 1936 theatrical trailer.As if all this were not enough for $70 (or even the $100 suggested price), we have three of the eight or so silent romantic classics Garbo made: FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1927), THE MYSTERIOUS LADY (1928), and THE TEMPTRESS (1926). Quoting from the DVD box since I have not seen these silent films recently, FLESH co-stars John Gilbert, who was Garbo's lover at the time; their love scenes, ravishingly shot in luscious B&W by William Daniels, have an awesome sexual potency. Garbo plays a woman who comes between two friends. LADY has her as a Russian spy who seduces her victims. The earliest of this trio, THE TEMPTRESS stars Garbo as a vanp who destroys men. I am not sure whether she does this intentionally, or whether men cannot resist her charms. These three silent films are studio prints with new music scores and audio commentaries by Greta Garbo biographers and/or scholars. Also included on this dual-disk are alternate endings, photo montages for all three films, and the surviving 9 minutes of the "lost" THE DIVINE WOMAN (1928).Finally, this magnificent-looking Warner Home Video treasure (I expect nothing less from them) has a brand-new 90 minute documentary called GARBO, by British film scholar and ace restorer Kevin Brownlow. The film is narrated by Julie Christie, beautiful in her own right. GRETA GARBO: THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION, sight-unseen, belongs in the library of everyone who has fallen under the divine Garbo's elegant and mesmerizing spell-or is about to. I can't wait to watch this set, and I envy a younger generation about to discover Greta Garbo for the first time.
M**L
A Great Introductory "SIGNATURE COLLECTION" of Greta Garbo!
Even If you're not (or even if you are!) a Greta Garbo fan, this is a great introduction to her most seminal works! I had only seen glimpses of Greta Garbo prior to seeing a mini-documentary on "TV Movies Network" TV channel. So, I ordered this Signature Collection and am I glad I did!! I watched them ALL in one continuous afternoon and evening! Such a great treat from an old-time Great! The acting is superb in the context of the stories/plots of the various films. One that surprised me so much was the Eugene O'Neill play/ movie called, "Anna Christie!" What a study in the Nrw York longshoresmen dialectal language skills from the supporting actors! Before I ordered this DVD set, I read ALL the other reviews of this "Signature Collection" and they ALL say everything I am thinking in such great detail,... And so much better! So, turn to them, if you need more than my review-recommendation! And,... Enjoy this great collection of 7 films, 1 full-length documentary, and a bunch of Greta Garbo's early "Silent Films!" (The very latter "Silent Films" is not one of my favorites, but they are especially interesting as historical development of her acting ability.)
M**G
wonderful collection!
If there are more movies it would be better.
T**.
A FACE FOR THE AGES
What can be said the great Greta Garbo? There is not enough that can be said of this iconic screen goddess. Her icy stare, high eyebrows, and sharp profile give Garbo tremendous visual presence. But it's her voice, that deep silky voice that wraps around you and draws you in. We watch her performances, hanging on every word and struck by every gesture, firmly enthralled by her. This is a most satisfying collection of Garbo's classic films. My favourite remains the very funny "Ninotchka". Garbo's flare for comedy is sheer genius. Like Marlene Dietrich, Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis, Garbo has no equal, now and forever.
A**R
Garbo
Garbo is one of the best ever actresses.
D**Y
Five Stars
she was so gorgeous love her!!!!!
G**I
Four Stars
t.k.
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