Marlene Dietrich - Her Own Song (2001)

Film goddess. Cabaret chanteuse. Tireless soldier. Immortal icon. Marlene Dietrich endures as one of the most seductive and glamorous personalities in cinematic history. But who was she really? In this fascinating, 'revealing glimpse behind the image (Los Angeles Times) narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis, director J. David Riva pays tribute to his world-renowned grandmother. On screen, she wasa legend. But that was only the beginning. She became the German-born all-American girl, entertaining U.S. troops on the front lines, doing whatever she could for her boys on the battlefield. Rare,never-before-seen footage and candid interviews are featured in this stirring portrait that will have you falling in love again with Marlene!

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A Different Angle

Marlene Dietrich was an interesting woman. She was completely dedicated to her homeland of Germany; she spoke fondly of the culture until her death. She was raised in a priveledged class and was lucky enough to begin her career that brought her to America in The Blue Angel with Josef von Sternberg. She became a huge star in America and never returned to Germany to make another film. When World War II began, Dietrich rallied against her home country and went to extremes to encourage the moral of the American troops. She even became a citizen of the country.

Dietrich's war efforts have not been explored in the past the way this documentary does. Made by much of her family including her grandson and with interviews from her daughter, this documentary provides a personal view as well as a scholarly one. The war changed this exotic performer, and this DVD shows the world why and how.

As a big fan of Dietrich, I have never admired her as much as I do now after seeing this documentary. May 29, 2006

Giving Dietrich's Legendary Life Meaning in Refreshing Documentary

Not as enigmatic as Garbo but arguably more relevant, Marlene Dietrich continues to fascinate with her life story. Although she passed away in 1992 at age 90, there are facets of her life and career that still seem fresh and surprising. This 2001 documentary directed by her grandson David Riva takes a different approach than Maximilian Schell's more famous whipping-boy interview with an aging, off-screen Dietrich in his documentary, 1984's "Marlene". Riva has culled rare home movies and concert footage while de-emphasizing film clips from her remarkable career.

The most intriguing aspect is how Riva chooses to focus much of the running time to her WWII years. What comes across clearly is how giving and concerned a person Dietrich was as she became an American citizen yet conflicted about the pride she held of her German identity, especially since her beloved mother remained in Berlin during the war. Her hatred of the Nazis drove her, often at her own peril, to spend much of that time vouching for European Jews and courageously entertaining troops on the front line. Riva was even able to secure a recording of Dietrich's first brief phone conversation with her mother, after liberation. She couldn't go to Russian-held Berlin herself, but they were allowed to talk, in English only. In a voice much higher pitched than her film roles, Dietrich heartbreakingly exposes her soul in just a couple of minutes.

Just as poignant is Dietrich onstage. Obviously not a great technical singer, she compensates with the bravura of her hard-earned emotionalism, especially during her first performance in Israel when she sang Pete Seeger's anti-war "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" in forbidden German. Other aspects of her life are interesting as well, in particular, her failed affair with French actor Jean Gabin ("La Grande Illusion") and her later, and more personally relevant film work such as Stanley Kramer's "Judgment at Nuremberg". I wish there was a way for Riva to include a more comprehensive overview of her impressive film career as her amazing performances in Orson Welles's "Touch of Evil" and Billy Wilder's "Witness for the Prosecution" are ignored here.

Several interviews are interspersed, most notably with Dietrich's daughter Maria Riva, but also with colleagues and admirers such as actress Hildegard Knef, director Volker Schlöndorff, close friend Rosemary Clooney (who duetted with Dietrich on the comical song, "Too Old to Cut the Mustard" - a personal favorite of mine), and Burt Bacharach, who was her musical director in the 1960's while he was churning out the century's best pop tunes. Jamie Lee Curtis narrates unobtrusively, and there is even a Dietrich vocal impersonator who reads personal correspondence. Even if you feel you know who Dietrich was, this lovingly done documentary is certainly unique and personal enough to make your viewing a worthwhile experience. January 15, 2006

"She was a prototype."

The documentary "Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song" is directed by grandson David Riva. About halfway into the film I realised I was watching some sort of "authorized/family" version of Dietrich's life. The film chooses to focus on certain parts of Dietrich's life while completely ignoring other substantial portions. The film concentrates on Dietrich's WWII activities, but it includes surprisingly little about her film career--many of her films are not even discussed. There's also very little here about Marlene's personal life--although her marriage to Rudolf Sieber is mentioned. Marlene's love affairs with three members of the Kennedy clan are also not mentioned--one brief clip flashes a very recognizable and young John Kennedy at the camera. The film does, however, chose to pursue the story of Dietrich's love affair with the French actor, Jean Gabin, but there's no mention of her affairs with other women.

The documentary includes information about Dietrich's early acting career, concert footage, and her screen test for "Blue Angel". Various people in the film industry relate their anecdotal memories of Dietrich--including Hildegard Neff, Burt Bacharach, Rosemary Clooney, daughter Maria Riva (the director's mother), and various biographers. There are some fascinating photographs of Marlene Dietrich's WWII involvement--the shows she gave to the troops, etc. The film discusses Dietrich's brave opposition to the Nazi party, Goebbel's attempts to get her back in the German film industry, and how she coped with being a German in wartime. Dietrich's films were eventually banned in her native Germany.

While it's extremely interesting to learn about Marlene's devotion to the troops, and how she suffered for being German, overall, the documentary is a disappointment. It's well made, well organized, coherent, etc., but it hardly gives a full picture of Dietrich's life. The film travels down one road and ignores the rest. I was especially disappointed that the film contained no analysis of Dietrich's relationship with von Sternberg. This one-sided presentation of Dietrich's life removes any possibility of analysis from the viewer and instead, we are spoon fed what is supposed to be the accepted biography. It's not so much that we don't get the dirt--we just don't get the full picture of this fascinating unforgettable, and complicated star. All that said, while this is not a definitive biography by any means, Dietrich fans will still want to seek out the film and absorb the information here. For me, the very best scene was Dietrich singing "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" in German while on tour in Israel. This was extremely moving--displacedhuman July 10, 2005

Soldier's Daughter Never Cries: Unbalanced, But Interesting

About this cultural icon Marlene Dietrich, we have already a great documentary film "Marlene" by Maximillian Schell. Now here is a question: do we need another? Apparently, the answer is yes, as far as "Marlene Dietrich -- Her Own Song" is concerned, for it is directed by her own grandson J. David Riva.

But don't expect the film to be about her as actress. As the title of the film suggest, "Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song" uses its considerable time to describe her war-time activity. As you know, she travelled all around the world during the WW2, and sang her songs before the cheering soldiers, and the film shows how she did the work, even risking her own life. No wonder we associate her image with the song "Lili Marleen," (which is, incidentally, not her song at first -- it was first sung by Lala Anderson).

The film covers the aspect of Dietrich as actress, but the part is not what we can call in-depth study. In this film, her acting career means "The Blue Angel" "Morocco" and many others which are touched rather superficially. When Billy Wilder is mentioned, the film quoted is NOT "Witness for the Prosecution" but "A Foreign Affair." Strangely, the first one is never talked about, the decision no serious film critic would take.

The most memorable part of the new documentary is its materials which only the people close to Marlene Dietrich can obtain. The home video part (8 mm films) is fascinating, capturing the Marlene Dietrich enjoying herself in holiday (some shots in swimming suit), and incredibly, they are mostly in color (remember, it's around the 1930-40s). And the brief reunion conversation between Marlene (who left Germany) and her mother (who stayed in Berlin during the war) recorded by US military is very touching.

The interviewees include: Burt Bacharach, Rosemary Clooney, Maria Riva (the director's mother, and Marlene Dietrich's daughter), Volker Schlondorff, and many others. Narration by Jamie Lee Curtis, and Marlene's voice provided by Nina Franoszek.

Not an incisive study of Marlene Dietrich, I admit, and some part looks whitewashed. (The existence of Marlene's elder sister is virtually ignored.) However, the materials used here are rare and quite interesting to see, and for that only it deserves to be seen. But of course, you should watch sexy and seductive Dietrich in "Morocco" first, and how she sings there, throwing a flower to Gary Cooper. It's a must. April 11, 2004

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