Eclipse Series 8 - Lubitsch Musicals (1930)

Lubitsch musicals

For anyone who likes movie musicals, these are wonderful. Despite low-fi audio, Jeannette MacDonald is fabulous! June 1, 2008

Lubitsch Musicals

Eclipse Series 8 - Lubitsch Musicals (The Love Parade / The Smiling Lieutenant / One Hour with You / Monte Carlo) (Criterion Collection).

These DVDS give an insight into the development of the Musical in the 1930's. The technological improvements are quite noticeable as are the changes in acting techniques.

Good performances and great songs. Quite enjoyable. April 8, 2008

Four Lubitsch films.

"Smiling lieutenant" is a masterwork (10/10),a film at the same level than "Trouble in paradise", "Heaven can wait" or "Cluny Brown". These are my favourite Lubitsch.
"One hour with you" is perhaps not at the same level, but also very good (9/10).
The other two films in the pack are minor ("Love parade") or very minor ("Montecarlo") Lubitsch.
March 31, 2008

Naughty innuendo, skimpy lingerie and lots of bedrooms. These four Lubitsch films are a delight

"Shall I see you again?" asks Lieutenant Niki von Preyn (Maurice Chevalier).
"Oh, I hope so," says Franzi (Claudette Colbert), the luscious and liberated young violinist and leader of an all-girl orchestra in Vienna. Niki met her an hour or so ago at an outdoor biergarten.
"When"
"Well, perhaps tomorrow night. We could have dinner together," she says
"Ohhh...don't make me wait 24 hours. I'm so hungry!"
"Well then...perhaps we could have tea...tomorrow afternoon."
"Why not breakfast...tomorrow morning?" Niki suggests with a pleading smile.
"No, no. First tea...then dinner...then...maybe...breakfast."
The scene fades out with a kiss...and the next scene opens with a shot the next morning of two frying eggs.

This opening to The Smiling Lieutenant is one good example of how sly, charming, efficient and light-hearted Ernst Lubitsch could be. I'm not sure what all the hullabaloo concerning "The Lubitsch Touch" is all about, but I do know that The Smiling Lieutenant, The Love Parade, Monte Carlo and One Hour with You are among the most sophisticated paeans to the pleasures of mutual pleasure we're likely to see. They were made before the Code slammed down on Hollywood. Here, with Lubitsch, sex is as much a part of love as a kiss or a wink. You might have one without the other, but it wouldn't be half as much fun.

And what is there about Lubitsch endings? They're as clever as his beginnings. In Monte Carlo, for instance, we're in the Monte Carlo opera house watching two people as they watch the end of the operetta, Monsieur Beaucaire. In one box is the handsome and debonair Count Rudolph Falliere (Jack Buchanan). In another box is the beautiful and sad Countess Helene Mara (Jeanette MacDonald). Monsieur Beaucaire is all about a nobleman who pretends to be a hairdresser so he can be close to and woo a noblewoman. Lubitsch's Monte Carlo is all about...well, a nobleman who pretends to be a hairdresser so he can woo a noblewoman. The situation as it plays out for us observers is amusing, clever and sophisticated. When the curtains come down on Monsieur Beaucaire, so do the curtains on Monte Carlo. We wind up thinking, because we know what's going on, that perhaps we're as amusing, clever and sophisticated as Falliere and Helene Mara. It's a wonderful way to end the movie.

Or The Love Parade, where the ending reverses the beginning of the meeting between the Queen (MacDonald) and the Count (Chevalier). When we realize how Lubitsch is resolving the plot, using almost the same exact dialogue, the moment becomes so charming we can't keep from smiling.

Maurice Chevalier stars in three of the films. Chevalier in his prime shows us why he became such an international star. The man is sexy, charming and worldly in an oddly straightforward way. He has a self-deprecating sense of humor and loves the ladies. Chevalier doesn't just love them and leave them, he loves them and leaves them smiling, as satisfied as he is.

Jeannette MacDonald stars in three and is a revelation for those most familiar with her trilling a stately song in duet with the wooden Nelson Eddy. She's sexy, luscious and does justice to all the skimpy lingerie she wears. She's quite good as a light comedienne and manages to keep Chevalier from overshadowing her.

Among the other stars and supporting players, the standout for me is Miriam Hopkins. She just about steals The Smiling Lieutenant. She's innocent and sly, spoiled and naive and somehow is able to be all at the same time. Her line delivery is a work of art. Hopkins had an unsatisfactory career in Hollywood, and it's our loss. Enjoy her skill and style in Trouble in Paradise and Design for Living, both directed by Lubitsch. They were at the top of their game, both of them, and that's saying a lot.

The four films -- The Love Parade, Monte Carlo, The Smiling Lieutenant and One Hour with You -- are such good company they're not to be missed. You'd have to have a severely ingrown toenail not to watch them with a smile. March 26, 2008

Good to have!

It's great to own these immortal classics! Nevertheless it is a pity that there are no bonus materials. I am sure there are some outtakes or the French language versions in the Paramount vaults. But to own and study the films itself is a wonderful thing. I am desperately waiting for a release of "Paramount On Parade"!!! To present "The Merry Widow" including the French version (!) would be a great gift to all Lubitsch fans and film historians!!! "If I Had a Million" and A Royal Scandal" are at least released in France on DVD.
Thanks in advance to the distributors!

News!!! "Broken Lullaby" is released in France too. Fine print but french subtitles which are not removable. Just a film historians commentary in french as bonus on the DVD, but nevertheless - great to have! It's a "Royal Scandal" that is not released in the US yet. "That Lady in Ermine" is out in Germany - fine print that one. March 23, 2008

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