Barnes & Noble

When actor-turned-director Maximilian Schell asks Marlene Dietrich why she refuses to allow herself to be filmed, the aged but still indomitable movie goddess answers, "I've been photographed to death." Turning his subject's lack of cooperation into an asset, Schell combined an informal, taped interview of Dietrich with film clips, old newsreel and TV footage, and photographs to create this unique and moving documentary. To its credit, MARLENE ends up being as much a meditation on both moviemaking and mythmaking as it is the story of a life. Dietrich lies about her past, dismisses her films as "vulgar kitsch," shrugs off praise for taking a stand against Hitler during World War II, and discourses on everything from Josef von Sternberg, the director who made her a star, to feminism and life after death. She deplores sentimentality and nostalgia at every turn yet becomes tearful as she sings songs of her native Berlin. Hidden behind images of her stunning younger self, the real Marlene emerges, unseen yet vivid -- a fascinating, contradictory individual who understood intuitively that elusiveness is the key to glamour. Kryssa Schemmerling

All Movie Guide

The fifth directorial effort of German film star Maximillian Schell, Marlene is an unorthodox documentary of the legendary Marlene Dietrich. After years of resisting Schell's entreaties, Dietrich finally agreed to participate in this project-but refused to appear on camera. Thus, a tape recording of a Dietrich-Schell interview is heard throughout, while the screen is filled with images of Marlene culled from stills, dramatic films (The Blue Angel, Shanghai Express et. al.) and newsreel footage. Still far from cooperative, Dietrich ignores Schell's questions, preferring to spin her own version of the Marlene mystique. Despite her efforts at self-protection, we are left with a fuller and more honest portrait of the actress than might have been possible in a traditional question-and-answer format. Originally released in Europe in 1984, Marlene was given its first wide American distribution in 1987. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 738329065225
• Source: KINO VIDEO
• Editions: Subtitled, Dubbed
• Time: 1:31:00
• Sales Rank: 15,432

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