Customer Reviews

The Garden of Eden (Deluxe Edition)

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When I mentioned a friend that I had ordered through Amazon.com, Corinne Griffith's DVD of "The Garden of Eden" (1928-United Artists), the only of her movies available on the market, on any "format" (VHS/DVD/Laserdisc too?)...and one of the few chances to watch this silent legend in her glory (TCM is the only channel? which airs sometimes, two of her films: Frank Lloyd's "The Divine Lady" and "Back Pay"?), she went in awe, I think she said she was going to buy it or rent it right away!!

Well, I have seen the DVD in its entirety, and Silent Film Lovers, this is a Gem, a "Fabergé Egg".

This Comedy-Drama is truly highly enjoyable, It made smile & laugh lots of times, it's charming, cute, elegant, I don't know..I haven't seen too many silent films, but I feel this one belongs to the "superior" category. It has sort of a kind of "Lubistch's" touch...Lewis Milestone's direction is deft.

Corinne's interpretation of a viennesse ingenue who travels to Budapest to become an Opera Star is so good! I didn't expect that much....The Cast is great: Lowell Sherman as a lecherous Rich Man, Marvellous Louise Dresser as the heroine's sort of "surrogate" mother, Charles Ray as her love interest, Edward Martindel (great as Charles Ray's Uncle)....Maude George...Won't tell you anymore about the plot, don't want to give away its surprises.

The Bonuses are a topic apart. Never had seen so much "worthwhile" bonuses: extensive text excerpts, lobby cards, memorabilia, promotional stuff, from the original press book of the film, etc. Contemporary (1928) biographies of all the six principal players. Lots of info!!!

The digitally recorded score by the composer Robert Israel, is grandiose...excellent, what a joy to watch this film with such a "right" score, which also "sounds" so well.

The print is in-all very good, there are some portions which are more damaged, but in the whole, it's greatly restored. I'd say the quality of the copy, surpasses what they did with "Sunrise"...It's quality is similar to "Evangeline's" (1929-Image), perhaps a little inferior, but I repeat, in the whole great.

There are also original promotional photographs and production stills from the state of Lewis Milestone.

Furthermore, there's a lost bi-color technicolor dream sequence of Corinne, when she's travelling by train (where she imagines herself as a "Prima Donna"), which is thoroughly analyzed in an "exploration", which contains still photos, original press book excerpts and promotional images.

And if all this wasn't enough, you get two shorts, one filmed in early bi-color technicolor...a charming cutie called "The Toy Shop", a tale made by Tiffany-Stahl Studios (of Poverty Row) and another one, sort of a "documentary" of architectural styles & "pop culture" in 1927 Hollywood & L.A. (B&W or sepia toned) called "Hollywood The Unusual", a sort of travelogue of a lost era!

In all a experience not to be missed! Really, this time when you read on the cover of the DVD: "DeLuxe DVD Edition", it is true as it is stated!

A must!!

From the first frame, I loved GARDEN OF EDEN (Flicker Alley).

This fabulous silent comedy plays like vintage jazz from the Roaring 20s, always engaging, witty and full of surprises.

Sheltered but with a diploma in opera, Toni LeBrun (Corrine Griffith) leaves the Vienna bakery of her aunt and uncle ("I could never be satisfied making pretzels all my life") and gets a job in a dubious cabaret in Budapest. Naively hoping to practice her craft, she's unaware that she has in fact been hired as a chorus dancer at the Palais de Paris by the deliciously mannish and menacing Madame Bauer (Maude George). Toni escapes to Monte Carlo's fancy Hotel Eden where sophisticated slapstick ensues as Toni gets embroiled in wanted and unwanted suitors and tires to keep from being exposed beofere the right guy asks for her hand.

This is the most complete version of Garden of Eden with a fine new score by silent film specialist Robert Isreal.

The Garden of Eden was produced entirely on the United Artist lot in late 1927, which at the time was located along Santa Monica Blvd in what is now West Hollywood.

Besides extensive texts, lobby cards, production stills and period press books, extras include two short films from the era: Hollywood The Unusual, a previously unknown travelogue that looks at LA's fantastic vernacular architecture; and The Toy Shoppe, a rare two-color technicolor short photographed by renowned cinematographer Ray Rennahan.

Highly recommended.

I am second to none in my admiration for Corinne Griffith, the exquisitely beautiful actress who was probably one of the ten leading female stars of the American silent screen. She was also widley considered to be the most beautiful star of the silent screen. Sadly, only a handful of her films are known to survive and only two or three get any sort of circulation at all (THE DIVINE LADY and BACK PAY are shown on Turner Classic Movies about once every other year). So needless to say I rejoice that one of Corinne's greatest triumphs, the 1928 comedy THE GARDEN OF EDEN has been released on DVD with a nice print. Corinne plays a destitute showgirl who passes herself off as royalty. This movie is so charming, the finest romantic comedy ever made during the silent years. Corinne's leading men are two big stars from the era also unjustly underrated: Charles Ray and Lowell Sherman. If you love the Claudette Colbert and Carole Lombard comedies of the 1930's, you will be surprised to see how much they owe to this underrated gem.

One not so little quibble. The star's name is CORINNE Griffith not CORRINE Griffith as listed on the DVD. This error happens quite often in film histories. (Corinne is in at least great company; Katharine Hepburn thoroughout her legendary career had people mispelling her name as "Katherine".) It's also good to see a silent movie on DVD that is not overpriced yet still is given a class production.

While he made many earlier films, GARDEN OF EDEN is the earliest of director Lewis Milestone's works to survive. I have been waiting for a properly restored version of this movie ever since I saw an abridged version of it on VHS as part of Paul Killiam's SILENTS PLEASE series. Milestone, whose career spanned 40 years from the silent era to the original OCEAN'S ELEVEN and Brando's MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, was a top notch visual stylist whose best movies remain as interesting today as when they first appeared. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, THE FRONT PAGE, and RAIN are all part of a remarkable run of films that began with GARDEN OF EDEN.

The film was made as a star vehicle for Corrinne Griffith who was then at the height of her fame. She is perfect as the naive young romantic who believes that talent is all she needs to succeed as a singer only to find out that most people are interested in something else. Louise Dresser (Catherine The Great in Valentino's THE EAGLE) is Rosa the wardrobe mistress who may not be everything she seems, an unlikely fairy godmother to Griffith's modern day Cinderella. Charles Ray, another popular star from the silent era, makes a charming Prince Charming while Lowell Sherman (the villian in WAY DOWN EAST) is his usual lecherous self. Within this basic story Milestone weaves a magic spell through the use of mood enhancing lighting, polished editing, and his trademark sophisticated camerawork. The sets are fantastic too.

GARDEN OF EDEN is not a great film but it is a highly entertaining one even more so in this splendid transfer to DVD from Flicker Alley. Robert Israel's accompaniment is first rate as usual and the DVD has a number of special features including two short subjects (one of them in Technicolor!). Yet another treat for the silent film enthusiast. It just gets better and better.

This beautifully produced and sophisticated film starring the lovely Corinne Griffith made in that period just before sound pictures would overtake silent art remains as fresh and entertaining today as it was when introduced to the moviegoing public of the age.

Lewis Milestone, like King Vidor, Frank Borzage, Cecil B DeMille, and Allan Dwan, would bridge that gap between silent and sound film and be successful at both. Perhaps best remembered today by noir buffs for "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" and film buffs in general for "All Quiet On the Western Front," he should also be remembered for "The Garden of Eden."

A lovely score which is integral rather than distracting and some stunningly stylish art direction from the great William Cameron Menzies add just the perfect touch to the duo of Corinne Griffith and Louise Dresser. The film very much has the look of those glossy Paramount productions from the early 1930's when it ruled Hollywood.

Toni LeBrun (Corinne Griffith) is shocked when she shows up at a Paris cabaret for what she thinks is a job singing opera. Her first shock will come when she meets Madame Bauer, a woman who dresses more like the other gender. She bills Toni as the "pleasant embarrassment" for her decadent male patrons. A trick with the lighting will show off Toni's beautiful legs but prove the last straw for Toni and Madame Bauer's assistant, played winningly by Louise Dresser.

Dresser is actually a Baroness with a pension who only works at the cabaret in Paris so she can travel to Monte Carlo for two weeks of the year and live like royalty at The Garden of Eden Hotel. She will take Toni under her wing as a mother would which brings about some funny and romantic complications in Monte Carlo.

To reveal more would not be prudent but suffice it to say many sophisticated comedies of the 1930's owe a great deal to "The Garden of Eden." Milestone's direction is flawless and Corinne Griffith is as well. Her performance is quite natural and full of humor and honesty. She is both sweet and hilarious, and a truly great star.

This was one of the great silents and deserves to be remembered. Milestone's film is itself a milestone for many such films of the sound era which would follow in its wake. A must see for true film buffs.

I was going title my review "A Sheer Delight," but in another critique listed here Graceann beat me to it! So I can only second that assessment!

I recently attended a library-sponsored film series, where the speaker said he hadn't programmed comedies because they don't age well and he doesn't find them funny. Well, that film expert hasn't seen *Garden of Eden* (nor, apparently *Gold Diggers of 1935*).

I was interested in this film because I'd researched the career of Lewis Milestone years ago, and also because my Amazon travels have introduced me to the hitherto unfamiliar Lowell Sherman--who, when directing himself in one early talkie, seemed a mirror of John Barrymore, only to turn out to be Barrymore's real-life brother-in-law. Sherman is a tad more youthful in this late silent, but his sound films allow him to use his voice to considerable comedic effect.

Watching this silent, I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. And just when it looks like they're about to repeat a joke from an earlier plot segment, they take the story into new territory. I fear I'm of an age and temperament that doesn't equate "film comedy" with the current American trend in bodily function humor. In contrast, this film manages to be just plain funny from start to finish--and risque on its own terms.

If in the future I organize my own library-film-society series on the movie musical, I'll open with *Garden of Eden*--yes, a SILENT musical! Abetted by an excellent music accompaniment on this DVD.

One final observation: contemporary audiences might find the color short subject "The Toy Shop" disturbing, which is more of a commentary on our own "sophisticated decadence" than on the admitted sentimentalism of that earlier time.

this is a high class production of a really fine unseen silent film. The film is surprisingly fun and contemporary. I recommend it to all film lovers.

The Garden of Eden referrs to the outside of a prestigious hotel where most of the action in this film happens. However, in order to get there, we must backtrack. The film begins with Corinne Griffith, a girl named Toni with ambitions to become an opera star. She leaves her family to go to Budapest and is reduced to appearing in a cheap showgirl act. After being fired for being unwilling to comply to a wealthy man's advances, she and seamstress friend Rosa (Louise Dressler) team up together as mother and daughter. It is revealed that Rosa is really a Baroness and the two plan to live a life of luxury for a couple of weeks on her annual pension. In the process, Toni falls in love with an enthusiastic man (Charles Ray). It seems that the story will end there, in a typical halo of happiness, but an unexpected twist continues the story.

This film is a delightful romantic-comedy. What makes it exceptional is the artistic aspects. Lewis Milestone has directed a truly beautiful film here with fun traveling shots, playful use of deep focus, and glorious halos of light around the stars. The print is slightly scratched, but the images are clear and crisp. Griffith does a splendid job in the starring role; her subtle acting style does not degrade the film at all. Robert Israel has composed a fitting music score for this release.

Included are two short subjects. The first is The Toy Shop, a two strip technicolor film about a little girl's dream inside a toy shop on Christmas. The print is fuzzy and it seems it was included because of the lost color dream sequence from The Garden of Eden. The second short is called Hollywood The Unusual, evidence of why Hollywood is so alluring to tourists. It roams over the various styles of buildings ranging from English, French, Spanish, Middle Eastern, Aztec, African, and the Egyptian and Chinese designs for Grauman's famous theaters. The film is clear and beautifully restored.

This DVD is truly worth the money.

This sumptuous release is everything a silent film buff could ask for - lovely restoration, a beautifully appropriate score and a wonderful story. Corrinne Griffith is cute as a button, and Lewis Milestone directs her and the other stars - Louise Dresser, Charles Ray and Lowell Sherman, among others, with a light touch. The Garden of Eden has now joined Show People as a film I screen for friends who think that silents are static and boring. The print is so pristine that it sparkles, and the extras are generous and interesting.

This is a delightful film based upon a play by Avery Hopwood, an adaption of a work by Rudolph Bernauer and Rudolf Oesterreicher, featuring a radiant and vivacious Corinne Griffith as Toni LeBrun, a would-be diva who is adopted as ward by a baroness (Louise Dresser) who takes her to Monte Carlo where romantic adventures then take place. The work is directed by Lewis Milestone, one of the few Americans who may be described as a cinematic auteur, predicated upon his clear stylistic methods, in evidence here in this leisurely paced effort, in particular with clever establishing, long and detail shots used in the seamless decoupage typical of silent filmmaking at its best, and certainly present in this influential picture. The keen expressivity of art director William Cameron Menzies and the technically flawless cinematography of John Arnold are absorbed by Milestone as this trio combine in presenting a stream of interesting imagery, some of which has been copied but not bettered in the sound era. A highly polished supporting cast backs Griffith, notably Charles Ray as her romantic favorite, Lowell Sherman as a knavish would-be nobleman, Maude George, who portrays an androgynous stage manager and Dresser in a typically well-defined performance as Toni's adoptive mother. Rosa Rio, at the Wurlitzer, plays the original score with a great deal of wit and neatly interpretive passage-work; a perfect aural mating with a sublimely visual feast.