Marie Antoinette, Before and After
Filed under: Classics, Drama, New Releases
Royal biopics are a tricky thing to pull off. Rarely, if ever, do they tell us anything about the person behind the crown. And let's face it, with Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette just around the corner, it serves to reminds us that royals are very well-trodden ground. W.S. Van Dyke's 1938 extravaganza, Marie Antoinette, has just been released on DVD. The film was one of the most expensive costume/period pictures made during the studio days, coming in around seven figures ... gasp! (I know, but it was the 1930's). The movie was a bit over-dramatic and had Hollywood glamor dripping from the lens. Frankly it was more than a little boring, but it was 1938, so what do I know. Maybe for audiences back then, it was the height of excitement. Starring Norma Shearer as Marie Antoinette and John Barrymore as Louis XVI, the film covers the familiar points of her life: Lonely Austrian princess isolated by the crown, unloved and misunderstood, and so on and so forth. This film was a romantic tragedy about the love between Marie Antoinette and her childhood friend (played by Tyrone Power) and how the once-tender princess was ruined by power. Now fast-forward almost 20 years -- the Queen is dead! Long Live the Queen!
Not much has changed, because we're about to get the next installment of "Tragic Princesses and the Peasants Who Hate Them." Coppola's Marie Antoinette has received a pretty cold reception; the film got middling reviews, and was booed at Cannes. Even Coppola's defense of the film was a little timid: "Hopefully some people will enjoy it -- it is not for everybody." This film takes a more liberal attempt at a portrait of a royal, trying to draw comparisons between royals and celebrities and the isolation that the lifestyles of the rich and famous create. It's a fine line between showing us shallow and vapid and being shallow and vapid so here's hoping Coppola can pull it off -- I have my fingers crossed on this one.
Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette opens Oct. 20 in most cites. If you can't wait to get your fix of the teen queen, you can check out the 1938 version mentioned above, or perhaps David Grubin's PBS documentary.
[via Yahoo! Movies]
_thumbnail.jpg)
Fan Made: Steampunk 'Return of the Jedi' Figures_thumbnail.jpg)
Exclusive: 'A Christmas Tale' Poster Premiere_thumbnail.jpg)
Cinematical's Fourth Annual Halloween Costume Contest is Coming!
Netflix Unleashes Another Batch of "Forgotten" Flicks
Geek Daily: Wolverine, 'Batman 3', 'Punisher' and 'Kick-Ass'
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg){kind=spacer}
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-13-2006 @ 4:48PM
karina said...
I LOVE Marie Antoinette. Love it love it love it. I wish Sofia wasn't so shy and was able to speak articulately about it, because she's made a beautiful film and she's doing it a disservice with her, "Oh well, maybe it's not for everybody" schtick. I can understand her wanting the film to speak for itself - and it's confidently enough made that it should - but she may actually be getting in its way with her demurrals.
Jess:It would be nice to see a little more passion in her defence wouldn't it?
Reply
10-13-2006 @ 5:36PM
Cath said...
For whatever its faults, The Affair of the Necklace did a fine job showing the inside machinations of her court. Not an inherently likeable character even at the best of times, but I suppose she ought to resonate with a few mall rats.
Jess:What made me shudder just a little was the "based on a true story" line in the advertising, at first I thought they were being ironic, now I'm not so sure
Reply
10-13-2006 @ 6:18PM
Maria said...
I love the 1938 "Marie Antoinette" and am so glad it's now out on DVD. It's one of my favorite films. Tyrone Power was to die for, sparking the Barbara Cartland quote, "We didn't need sex. We had Tyrone Power." But he didn't play Marie's childhood friend; Axel didn't know Marie in childhood. The costumes by Adrian were incredible. Norma did a good job, but granted it was a movie star performance and the film was skewed to make Marie look like a heroine. However, it was pretty accurate.
I like Coppola's ideas for her film - haven't seen it yet, but I think it's a great concept, and again, the costumes are great in the photos I've seen.
Jess: Well I guess my memory was a little fuzzy on that one! the costumes do look spectacular, on a side note all of the footwear for the film was designed by Manolo Blahnik - now that's attention to detail.
Reply
10-17-2006 @ 7:44PM
karen said...
I just want to say I have never seen such bueatifulclothes, and the horses..where does one learn about fabric from that time the history behind the movie, and of course the horses,,,,,,,,,,,wish I could have one where does one find ones that were used in film.thanks a life gone by how unfortunate.
Jess: I think most critics agreed that the film looked great but that it was missing substance and just to play devil's advocate I'm sure the peasants don't miss it all.
Reply