5/5 Finally
  by Denise R. Christie (Albuquerque, NM)
I was so happy to find this movie! The disk was in excellent condition even though it was used. Would definately order through this company again.

4/5 a flawed masterpiece
  by Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood)
Arguably the most extravagent, audacious collaboration between Marlene Dietrich and her mentor, director Josef von Sternberg, THE SCARLET EMPRESS brings to life a colourful chapter in Russian history. Watering down the truth in favour of lavish pageantry and unexpected moments of high-flown comedy, this movie is a complete trip from beginning to end. Some of it's striking imagery will stay in your imagination for years.

Dietrich glows as Princess Sophia Frederica, a young girl who is whisked away from her family in Germany to be the bride of Russia's heir apparent, Grand Duke Peter (a brilliantly-cast Sam Jaffe) who turns out to be nothing short of a grinning lunatic. Re-christened Catherine, the young girl is told in no uncertain terms by her shrill mother-in-law, Empress Elizabeth (Louise Dresser) that the only reason she arranged the marriage was to ensure a male heir for the Russian throne. Love is out of the question, especially since the Duke keeps his own company with sultry Countess Lizzie (Ruthelma Stevens). So Catherine takes matters into her own hands...or bed...and falls into a dalliance with Count Alexei (John Lodge), the emissary who first accompanied Catherine from her homeland. He's destined to be merely the first of many conquests for Catherine, the scarlet empress...

Those still under the false impression that Marlene Dietrich couldn't act should take another look at THE SCARLET EMPRESS, where Dietrich provides a strong performance, believably taking the character of Catherine from naive little innocent to sexual temptress. She's surrounded by a dream cast, not the least of which the incredible Sam Jaffe who turns the awkward role of the Grand Duke into a frightening, unsettling portrait of power literally gone mad. Jaffe is still best remembered for his understated performance as the Grand High Lama in Frank Capra's original "Lost Horizon". Louise Dresser adds a touch of screwball comedy to the proceedings as an uncouth, downright common Empress (I think Josef von Sternberg was trying to make a stinging attack on the European royalty by casting Dresser in this role).

For a glimpse of Dietrich at the top of her form, it's definitely THE SCARLET EMPRESS.

3/5 Ok
  by Alexander Mendez (South Pasadena, CA United States)
I had great expectations for Scarlet Empress, but I found myself skipping forward in the movie. There were too many grand scenes that were very long and lacked dialogue...church scenes, of young ladies running here and there, of horsemen and travel, much of these scenes punctuated by very bombastic adaptations of Tchaikovsky, the Russian national hymn, and Wagner. The scenes of Russia were really fake. The setting didn't look like Moscow at all and it appeared to be more of a scene from some German fairy tale with weird Gothic furniture and, for some reason, all of the rooms in the palace have humongous doors that no one can seem to open very well.
Dietrich is not a convincing young girl, but she does get to shine in her role as the empress. Still, I found that even in her role as an obedient young girl you can imagine a more complex character than is actually presented. Same Jaffe was great, but his character did not get the treatment that it deserved. You sort of have to fill in the blanks yourself. So, the strength of the movie is in the actors, although the characters are not dealt with as well as I would have hoped.
I noticed the quality was not perfect, but, then again, if you go to a theater to watch a real print then that is what you get. The quality was not even that bad. It didn't bother me even a little as I watched.

5/5 The Scarlet Empress (Marlene Dietrich, Josef von Sternberg dir.)
  by James J. Heinis (Tallahassee, FL USA)
The names of Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg (born Jonas Sternberg) are inextricably entertwined. The Scarlet Empress is a classic lighting masterpiece of film noir directed by Josef von Sternberg which was released on September 15, 1934. The major players are Marlene Dietrich as Princess Sophia Frederica, Maria Riva for Princess Sophia as a child, Sam Jaffe in his first major role as the Imbecile Grand Duke Peter (Peter III of Russia), as the John Lodge as the dashing Grand Duke Peter, Louise Dresser as the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

The Story of Catherine the Great has been a favorite subject of film. In 1934, three films were released on her rise: The Scarlet Empress directed by Josef von Sternberg with Sam Jaffee as Grand Duke Peter (Peter III), The Rise of Catherine the Great with Douglas Fairbanks as Grand Duke Peter and, lastly, Trenk - Der Roman einer grossen Liebe directed by Enrnst Neubach and Heinz Paul with Carl Mahnke as Grand Duke Peter. To summarize, Catherine (born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg) was the daughter of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst who was governor of Stettin (Szczein, Poland). She was married to the prospective tsar (Peter of Holstein-Gottorp) in an effort to strengthen the ties between Prussia and Russia and weaken those between Russia and Austria.

The film begins with Catherine (then Sophie) as a child and contrasts her innocence to the cruelty of Russia. The innocent maiden is betrothed by Frederick II of Prussia to Peter of Holstein-Gottorp the heir-presumptive to the throne of Russia. She is under the control of her mother (Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp) who is clever and ambitious Sophia took great pains to be loyal to her new country and do whatever was necessary to ingratiate herself with Tsarina Elizabeth, her future husband and the Russian people by learning the language and adopting its faith. Though she is a wide eyed innocent at first, her eyes soon open to reality. Her husband (later Peter III) does not love her, is shown to impotent and immature and spends much of his time playing soldiers and marching his Holstein grenadiers through the palace.

Sophia prepares for the marriage through it is a loveless one. After the death of the Empress Elizabeth on on 5 January 1762 [O.S. 25 December 1761], Peter succeeded to the throne as Peter III of Russia.

The file is an prime example of film noir. The Russian palace is depicted as a center of nightmare and intrigues with gargoyles and darkeness. She first takes a lover in the form of the charming Count Alexei. He, however, is the lover of husbands's aunt Elizabeth (Louise Dresser) and she begins taking on lovers in the Russian army. A son arrives and she takes advantage of this to gain power in her adopted home Russia. Upon the death of the Empress, Peter accedes to the throne as Peter III and begins a reign of terror and repression. Catherine added the army to her conquests and Alexei reappears. He plays the same role to her new lover as Catherine had when Alexei was lover to Elizabeth (Louise Dresser). The final denoument occurs at a banquet to give alms for the poor: Catherine and her allies give much while Peter III, his mistress and chancellor give little. Catherine is arrested but her allies in the army support a coup. A revolt ensues and Peter III is deposed and ultimately murdered by Alexei Orloff. Bells are a recurrent theme throughout the film first as an instrument of torture though the triumphant peals of the accession of Catherine II. The finale ends with Catherine proclaimed Express to the sounds of Beethoven's 1812 Overture and the peals of joy and peace.

Included in this DVD is a 20 minute 1967 BBC B&W documentary on the film which describes his masterful lighting techniques and stills from the film's 1934 release. For additional details, one recommends Josef von Sternberg's book entitled Fun in a Chinese Laundry. This film is a classic which deserves a place in every film collection.

4/5 very good and strange sternberg/dietrich collaboration
  by Stalwart Kreinblaster (Xanadu)
Sternberg's love affair with dietrich is probably at its zenith with this strange and delightfully over the top version of the story of Catherine the great.. It is a fine piece of direction with a very interesting set featuring gargoyles and secret passages all with the very best sternberg lighting scheme... Dietrich's performance is delightful and funny and as suggestive as ever..

A note on the print of the film... I will probably sound a bit spoiled when I say it was a little hard to watch.. I guess after seeing the great criterion transfers of early films like M, Pandora's Box, or even Kino's excellent transfer of Sternberg's the Blue Angel I had expected something a little bit better... Maybe the film just didn't sit well over time but criterion normally seems to perform miracles on such films.. oh well.. it is still a very nice dvd for your collection..