5/5 The Criterion disc is the one to get
  by ymmv (Amsterdam)
Mayerling has been released a number of times by crummy companies specializing in PD movies. That's why the AV quality has always been awful. The recent rerelease by Criterion in 2009 is an official one and this the quality is great. So buy that one. If you see bad reviews, the buyer got one of the substandard prints of this movie.

3/5 not very satisified with purchase
  by Vdtraynier
this cassettee was not clear and sharp as i was led to belive citing a "new video of mayerling " this copy is no better than one i bought a few years ago from notorious "e bay "
sub titles sink below the television picture so losing a lot of story line . so in all, very disapointed
sorryto have to state this but you asked my opinion

4/5 mayerling
  by Guni Martin
I know the film is from a not to good copy, but it was all reight

1/5 A great movie, But an AWFUL transfer
  by R Atherton (Frostbite Falls, MN)
Mayerling doesn't deserve this treatment. Boyer (who I'm not a big fan of) is in his element as the domineering, passionate prince. Darrieux is exquisite as his lover. And the director Litvak does a stunning creative job of placing the camera just so, whether at an intimate beergarden or the royal opera. But...the transfer to this VHS tape is awful. Long sections are out of focus, the whole film is muddy and scratched, and half of the subtitles are below the screen. A great film, but please do not buy the wretched copy offered here.

5/5 A TRAGIC ROMANCE SET IN AUSTRIA.
  by (GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA)
One of the greatest love stories ever to grace the screen, a bittersweet and poignant romance between a star-crossed Austrian Prince and his adoring mistress. MAYERLING is a touching masterpiece; a poetically tragic romance, the kind of which seem obsolete in movies anymore. Only Boyer could have played the doomed Rudolph so expertly and with such incisive understanding: he becomes the part and gives a majestic portrayal. Darrieux is tender and electric as the sad young woman who chooses death to be with the man she loves. The success of the film lies in its manner, not its matter. There have been many recognition-scenes, such as the one at the ballet where Danielle Darrieux as Marie Vetsera becomes aware that the prince in the royal box is indeed the young man of yesterday's carnival! It was a compliment on Miss Darrieux's acting to remember more scenes involving her than anyone else; her American debut was certainly promising. This in no way detracted from Boyer's brilliant performance as the temptestuous Rudolph which, it suffices to say, is a finished job. The completely excellent cast included Suzy Prim (!)as the comic Countess Larisch, Jean Dax as the glazed-eyed Emperor, Marthe Regnier as the conventional and unsuspecting mother and Debucourt as the implacable spy-director. Directed beautifully by Anatole Litvak.