1/5 Stop with the "flippers"
  by Timothy Ramzyk (Milwaukee, WI United States)
Once again Universal is short-changing their classics by cramming them onto double-sided, dual layer DVDs in order offer them at sell-through prices.

What's wrong with this? This format (called DVD 18s) are very susceptible to random playback defects because too much info is being compressed into too small of a space. Their recent Abbot & Costello, Hammer Horror, and Night Stalker, and Bela Lugosi sets were notorious for freezing up during playback.

I have no issue with streamlining packaging, but who cares if the disk won't play through? Most other studios who released to this format have already abandoned the practice for this very reason. Come on Universal, stop releasing inferior mechandise.

4/5 No worries; the prints are very good!
  by Joan Crawford (Lansing, MI USA)
When you are buying classic movies on DVD, your main concern probably is the quality of the film transfers. Who wants to watch grainy, unrestored black-and-white films when such beautiful transfers of other films have been released (Now Voyager or Mildred Pierce, for example)? My point is all classic films deserve first-rate dvd transfers.

I am happy to report that the films in Universal's Marlene Dietrich collection all look very good. The transfers are not perfect, and quite possibly could have been restored to a greater extent. However, the transfers look just as good as anything WB has been releasing lately. The transfers are about on par with titles from the Greta Garbo or Joan Crawford collections from WB; not perfect, but very nice.

My main complaint is there were not more Dietrich films in this collection. I would love to also have Shanghai Express, The Scarlet Empress, Desire, Angel, Dishonored, and A Foreign Affair. Hopefully, Universal will release a second volume with these titles.

Athough the packaging is attractive, it is cheap. The movies are crammed on two-sided DVDs. It's mystifying why Universal saw fit to cram four titles on one double-sided DVD and one title (Golden Earrings) on one side of the other double-sided DVD (leaving a complete side with nothing on it). It seems a waste of DVD space to me; why not put three more titles in the set with that extra space? Or, for better picture quality, put one title on three DVD sides, and two on one side? My guess is they were in a big, careless hurry.

Luckilly, this is not that big of a deal. The films are here, they look good, and the price is a bargain! In these days, who can afford to spend all their money on movies? WB may be charging the cost of this set for one movie alone, and with about the same transfer quality. At least Universal gives us five films for the cost of one WB title!


3/5 5 stars for films, 1 for packaging
  by C. Tolley (hampton, tn United States)
Marlene Dietrich was one of the greatest stars the movies ever produced. That said, she deserved better treatment for her films than this. I have no objections to the films presented here. None of th five films were available on DVD before, and their release in this format was way overdue. However, the packaging was negligible. Five films on two discs, divided this way: four films on one disc, with one film on the other. No liner notes of any kind, and practically no extras whatsoever. A still gallery of any sort would have great here, as well as any kind of Dietrich documentary, which was notably absent. The films themselves look fine, and the addition of a subtitle option was very welcome. I've viewed each film, and they look fine to me. I have these movies on video, and they all look better in this set. The pricing was very fair, as there is nothing extra added to drive up the price. One would think Universal would come up with something better to honor such a legendary star. Just look at the Greta Garbo Collection which is out now. One disc per film(except for the silent films), plus a documentary. Dietrich in her day was Garbo's main rival, and just as popular. Her films have aged much better than Garbo's, and her influence on culture and fashion continues to this day. I hope that sometime in the future, we'll be treated to a true Dietrich collection, done correctly, with the films given the whole archival treatment they deserve.

4/5 GLAMOUR , YES.....
  by Mark Norvell (HOUSTON)
...but that's about it. While this hotly awaited (at least by me) collection contains three of Dietrich's Josef von Sternberg films ("Morrocco", "Blonde Venus" and "The Devil is A Woman") and one by Rene' Clair ("Flame of New Orleans") it , alas, does not contain Dietrich and von Sternberg's "Shanghai Express" which it could have sorely used. The 5th film "Golden Earrings" is not one I would have chosen. And the packaging here is less than appetizing. Very cheaply done. Although the films look OK, cramming them onto 2 discs does not give them the respect they are due. They should have been individually packaged with their original poster art, etc. This would have made a fine collector's item. Dietrich (and esp. von Sternberg) were unique, even for their era. Watch "Devil is A Woman" for example. The Travis Banton costumes, the setting of Carnivale in Spain during the 1800's, Dietrich's slightly over the top performance as a femme fatale---all beautifully and baroquely realized by von Sterberg. Quite unlike anything else from the 1930's. But for fans , this is it and I guess we should be grateful they're even out at all in watchable prints. Still, it's sad that this set could've been done so differently...for the better that is.

4/5 Great Movies, So-So Treatment!
  by Moviefanatic (Chicago, Il)
I can understand Edward Coogan's frustration about Marlene's movies availability in NTSC region 1 and their quality. I would like to point out that Universal in France (PAL, region 2) has recently released 12 glorious DVDs with Marlene's movies on 12 glorious DVDs (one movie per DVD) including all the titles from the upcoming 'Glamor' release plus A Foreign Affair (B. Wilder), Dishonored (Sternberg), and The Song of Songs (Mamoulian). Great movies and DVD quality. There are also Knight without Armor released in Austaria (PAL, region 4) and Shanghai Express (PAL, region 5) reseased in Russia by Film Prestige. Maybe it's time to think about investing about $30 on a region-free DVD player and enjoy these phenomenal classics. Just a thought...