6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The story of Madame DuBarry, the mistress of Louis XV of France, and her loves in the time of the French revolution.
Starring: Pola Negri, Emil Jannings, Harry Liedtke, Eduard von Winterstein, Reinhold SchünzelForeign | 100% |
Drama | 64% |
Biography | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Music: LPCM 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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.
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 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.
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.
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1957
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2000
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