Customer Reviews

Garbo: Portraits from Her Private Collection

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The pictures are excellent in quality, and there are even some candid pictures of not just Greta, but her little known sister Alva. Alva died in her early 20's so it was nice to see some good pictures of her. She looked much like her sister, but she had darker hair.

I also enjoyed Scott Reisfield's account of his great-aunt Garbo. I found it interesting that this woman, who he fondly referred to as "Kata" (nickname), didn't allow it to be known that she was Garbo until he was a teenager. She even kept herself a secret from her own relatives!!

However, the true value in this book are the wonderfully reproduced pictures. If you're a Garbo fan, this is a must-have.

What a beautiful book this is, when I realised that they were releasing yet another 2 coffeee table books on Greta Garbo (GG.), I was a little apprehensive about buying them as I already own most of the published books on her and most have been rather overall a let down, full of the same quotes and background stuff, I thought that her life story before, during, and after her acting career was over had been fully explored. But I ordered them anyway, and I have to say this is a keeper.Its not too heavy on the bio side but has been published by the Reisfields ( her family) so it is the nearest to the real GG were ever going to find. And the rest of the book is simply STUNNING is full off quality photos of GG throughout her life, nearly all never released before, and some are quite breathtaking, I have been collecting GG stuff for years and have to say that this is the best book I have ever seen on her.BUY THIS BOOK YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED, its massive and very heavy ( God, I love super-saver as would have cost a fortune for this to be delivered from U.S.)and is now the gem of my collection.I am away to buy a spare as, no doubt this will be out of print soon, and will have to remorgage to buy it again, trust me its that good.

This is a truly beautiful book, the nicest I've seen on Garbo thus far. There's a nice combination of photos I've never seen before along with some old favorites exquisitely presented one to a page in beautiful sepia tones. The overall production values for this are exactly up to the standards you'd expect from Rizzoli. At a glace, the text doesn't seem to offer much insight, but that's not why you want this on your shelf, the pictures say far more than anything that can be written about the Garbo allure.

64 years after her last movie, Greta Garbo is ranked highly among the top 100 movie stars of all time. Once voted the most beautiful woman who ever lived by the Guinness Book of World Records. Sometimes nicknamed The Face.

This book is a compilation of photographs from her private collection. While the dates all of the pictures were taken is not given, they appear to be from about 1923 to perhaps the late 40's or early 50's. The pictures were saved by Garbo and shared with her family.

Now as a celebration of the centinnial of her birth these have been collected together and mixed with short articles about her life. The articles are not the important part of this book. It is the photographs. Even across 80 years she comes across as beautiful and sexy. The do not have the look of so many pictures of that time. Here the hair style, the clothing, the photographic style is timeless. The quality of the printing of the photographs is absolutely first rate. This is a beautiful book.

Bottom line: I was disappointed.

I am a huge Garbo fan and looked forward to owning this book as soon as the public announcements came out - over 4000 photographs that Garbo personally kept. What pictures did she think enough to keep for herself?

One publicity blurb touting the book was accompanied by a candid photo of Garbo on the set of 'Two-Faced Woman' peering into a hand mirror while patting her hair into place - if that was an example of what the book had to offer, I DEFINITELY wanted it. That photo is not in the book.

There are over 200 photographs, and all of them except two I have seen before and are in print in other Garbo books I own. All of the photos have been 'antiqued' in burnished duo-tone, that I personally did not care for - I would have preferred the sharp black and white contrast of her MGM films.

Because all but two of the photos are unknown to me (and most likely you) and because they were printed in duo-tone I did not give the book five stars - only because it was Garbo did it get three. As a fan I am glad I own the book; as a general photography book of a classic Hollywood star, I own superior books, with superior photos of Garbo.

If you love the Garbo mystique, this is the book for you. These photographs of the star, collected by Garbo during her career, are amazing! Rizzoli's has created an excellent book and should be commended for bringing this book to press.

Reisfield, who is a nephew of Garbo, provide insight into her early years and a glimpse into the woman behind the Garbo name. Robert Dance has written a wonderful essay on the formation of Garbo's image, the film industry and photographers who helped create it.

The book also provides a surprising Film Production History which outlines the who, what, and where of virtually every Garbo photograph. A must for any Garbo connoisseur!

I gave this book as a gift to a good friend. She enjoyed the book's pictures and information very much. The pictures are from one of Garbo's relatives, so these pics are not common. I was looking for a good informative piece with accurate Garbo memories, and I found them in this book. I would suggest this book if you're looking for something for a Garbo fan.

a Garbo book, of her private collection of stills and things. as Jackie Gleason said....How Sweat it Is! i have loved Greta Garbo sense i was in high school...some 30 years ago. She was so magical on screen and i see that it is she who started those Hollywood trend of wearing sunglasses all the time, and she refused to sign autographs and do publicity because when she did do it early in her career, she had to pose next to the lion of MGM... a real lion, how foolish she must have thought. so she gave a great performance and let the world stew for any more from her.... that a girl. Garbo is a real star, not a ding bat blonde of the moment. she has substance. and this big book is her photo collection of herself. Dietrich kept every thing, every feather and photo. Garbo picked these and they are all gems.

As a Garbo fan or really a Ms. G. fan. As she would say there is all the difference. With the thousands of pictures available this selection was o.k., not great. Good quality. Seems they could have been more creative, personal. Got the impression of a clever quick buck. The so called writing? Disappointing. Fluff, lacking detail, personal depth. Makes an attractive decorative addition to book collection.

Garbo - Portraits from her Private Collection

Anatomy is the operative theme in Garbo's story. It has been said she had the ideal facial structure. To me, the most important thing to know about her is her will to excel. And her will to resist being dominated by the male chauvinist pigs who ran the studios of her era. Her story, then, is the anatomy of a woman who left her mark on a generation. Show business chews up those who aren't strong, then spits them out after sucking out their lifeblood. Women get terrible roles in films. Stereotypes. Vamps. Dumb. Home wreckers. Greta Garbo had, within the first few years of starting her career in America, effectively taken control of her films, getting the leading men she wanted, the cinematographers, directors, still photographers, costume designers.

Her films grossed two to three times as much revenue as the average film of her day. She represented about fifteen percent of MGM's revenue at one point. She was unique. She projected a sultry sexuality, an hauteur, a weltschmerz, an intelligence, an ability to resist love - then give in to all its pain. She represented everything men thought they wanted in a women, and represented for women everything they wished they were.

Some of the early still photos from the late 1920's are striking in their revelation of how captivating a woman's face can be. And for years after her film career effectively ended in 1941, the public was occasionally treated to photos which revealed how gracefully she aged from 1950 onward to her death in 1990 at age eighty-five in New York. She is buried in Stockholm, her home. A credit to two nations, she helped British intelligence during world war two by identifying NAZI sympathizers in Sweden.

Her grand-nephew knew her as Kata. The world knew her as Mata Hari, or Queen Christina. It was said she had no enemies in Hollywood. A bold statement about that venomous town. She was professional, dependable. Mayer, the head of MGM, said her word was better than any contract. The last forty years of her life she llived in the anonymity of New York, respected and liked by neighbors, shopkeepers, and her circle of friends.

She was frugal. She invested her money wisely. A good idea for a woman who, around 1935, had the highest salary of anyone in America. She lived her retirement years in comfort. She traveled, hobnobbed with Aristotle Onassis, Jackie Kennedy, John F. Kennedy - who gave her a piece of scrimshaw from his collection as a spontaneous act of appreciation of her. Within ten days, he was dead in Dallas. It was November, 1963, don't you know.

Frankly, most of the photos in the book don't do her justice. But then, she was a living woman. Only cinema could begin to show to advantage the characters she played. Only those who knew her personally could know what a fine, principled, truly lovely individual she was - that's true beauty. That's the real anatomy of a successful life. To be an inspiration to those who love you. Rest in peace, Kata.