Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Madame DuBarry Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 14, 2021

Considering what an icon she became on television courtesy of everything from I Love Lucy to The Lucy Show to Here's Lucy, it may be understandable that for some younger fans at least, Lucille Ball’s film career is buried in the mists of time. There’s Mame , of course (for better or worse), Lucy’s final big screen performance, which may be remembered for all the wrong reasons. However, thirty years before that Jerry Herman musical landed with a thud at cineplexes around the world, Ball had one of her signature roles in the film version of a musical featuring songs by another legend who wrote both music and lyrics, Cole Porter, in 1943’s Du Barry Was a Lady. The Du Barry of the title was of course the same character referenced in the title of the film currently under review, a real life woman born with the name of Jeanne Bécu, who (some allege at least) “slept her way” to the top, ultimately becoming the mistress of King Louis XV, and who, along with countless other “elites”, perished in the Reign of Terror. Now, Du Barry Was a Lady trafficked in the same sort of conceit that also informed a famous Mark Twain tale that provided the source for both the Rodgers and Hart classic stage tuner A Connecticut Yankee and the whimsical (unrelated, at least in terms of its song score) film musical A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, wherein a leading character more or less “dreams” of a historical epoch they suddenly find themselves in. And so Ball’s Du Barry in that film version was ultimately the figment of another character’s imagination. The "real" history of Du Barry is ostensibly provided in this interesting if often florid silent film from 1919 which bears the perhaps unlikely imprimatur of director Ernst Lubitsch, and which provided star Pola Negri with one of her signature roles.

In a way, it’s perhaps not so unreasonable to compare Lucy to Pola Negri, at least in terms of the power they wielded at various points in their careers. While arguably never a huge movie star, Lucy certainly worked regularly until she “invaded” the then nascent medium of television, but, along with Desi Arnaz of course, she became a producing force of some renown, to the point that according to her friend Carol Burnett, she heard that men she was supervising had redubbed her surname to be plural (just think about it for a moment). Negri was inarguably one of the biggest stars of the silent era, and in fact once she, along with Lubitsch, matriculated to Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, she was reportedly one of the highest paid actresses of that time period. According to several sources, it was actually Madame DuBarry which alerted Paramount to the allure of Negri, and as a result she was one of the first (some say the first) “imports” from overseas to conquer La-La Land.

Seen now from the vantage point of over a century (!), Negri is perhaps an overly histrionic presence at times, and she may not seem to be "traditionally" attractive, at least in the way that "sex goddesses" or even silent era "vamps" may have tended to be, but she is one of those forces of nature who it's virtually impossible to ignore when she's in frame. Jeanne Vaubernier, as the character is initially called in this version, is shown to be rather coquettish from the get go, and if in Negri's characterization she may not be "seductive" in the same way that, say, Theda Bara or even Clara Bow could be, she's playful and even irrepressible on various occasions, and so it's not that hard to believe that she captures the eye (and maybe other body parts) of King Louis XV (Emil Jannings).

Madame DuBarry Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Madame DuBarry is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment's Masters of Cinema imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Since Eureka! only sent a check disc for purposes of this review, I'm not privy to any information about the provenance of the source element or any restoration or other information that might be imparted in the insert booklet, but if my admittedly spotty German is not too far off the mark, a closing credits roll suggests this stems from a 2001 master. Anyone used to seeing silent films on Blu-ray will have a good idea of what to expect here, as this exhibits many of the same issues vis a vis age related wear and tear that often crop up in high definition presentations of films of this general vintage. As can clearly be seen in several of the screenshots accompanying this review, there are manifest scratches, some rather large and long lasting, and a few so numerous (if less lengthy) that they can actually mask much of the frame. Other blemishes accrue from time to time, but on the whole, and again within the context of silent era films on Blu-ray, this is a rather nice looking transfer that preserves good detail levels while also providing rather lush representations of the film's at times pretty aggressive toning and tinting strategies. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Not really of any importance with regard to the video presentation, but something that struck me as relatively unique is the fact that the intertitles offer both French and German, side by side, as seen in screenshot 19.

Madame DuBarry Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Madame DuBarry features a nice sounding LPCM 2.0 track that offers a new score by Carsten-Stephan Graf von Bothmer. The orchestra sounds nicely full bodied throughout, and the music nicely supports the action without ever overpowering it. Optional English subtitles (for the intertitles and other text seen on screen) are available.

Madame DuBarry Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Als ich tot war (HD; 37:42) is a 1916 silent advertised in Eureka!'s press sheet as being the earliest surviving Lubitsch film. It also has the added attraction in that it features Lubitsch in a starring role as a hapless husband who fakes his own death and then returns to his family in the guise of a butler. The film's title is variously translated as Where is My Treasure? (the way it's listed on the IMDb), Do the Dead Exist? (Wikipedia) and When I Was Dead (the subtitle offered on this particular disc, as well as the way Google translates it). This isn't a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but it's fun to see Lubitsch on screen and the story, while far from believable even as a farce, is generally amusing.

While Eureka only sent a check disc for purposes of this review, the press sheet accompanying the disc states that a 36 page booklet is also included in the final retail version.

Madame DuBarry Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This may not in fact be "real" history, but one assumes it's at least a little closer to the actual events than, say, Du Barry Was a Lady. Negri is a really interesting and at times visceral, if occasionally floridly histrionic, screen presence, and she interacts well with Jannings. The film has a rather resplendent production design, with nice costumes and sets, and the story, while arguably inescapably melodramatic, has definite energy. This is obviously a silent film that is now well over a century old, and so expectations must be tempered about video quality, but having reviewed many silent films by now, this is certainly nowhere near as problematic in terms of damage as some others that have crossed my queue. Recommended.