Product Details

• Actors: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore
• Directors: Edmund Goulding, Ernst Lubitsch, George Cukor
• Writers: Alexandre Dumas fils, Billy Wilder, Béla Balázs, Charles Brackett, Frances Marion
• Format: Box set, Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 3
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: December 23, 1993
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 6302484774
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,077 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The Greta Garbo Collection contains the following:

"Camille"

"Ninotchka", and

"Grand Hotel"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Trace of Garbo, June 21, 2010

By 

Bobby Underwood "starlighthotel" (Manly NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greta Garbo Gift Set [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If you own a combo player, as most classic film fans do, and don't own these three films, and perhaps not even seen them, this is a thrifty way to get a true bargain. Some of these are listed as new, and the print quality of these three studio releases is excellent. Two of them rank as Garbo's best sound films, and another boasts a sterling 1930's cast and all the gloss MGM could muster, which was considerable. The three films here are a lovely way to glimpse the magic Garbo had onscreen, even in sound film.

NINOTCHKA

Ernst Lubitsch brings an easy elegance and fun romanticism to Paris in springtime for Melvyn Douglas and Greta Garbo in this fabulous swipe at communism and propoganda for romance which was to become one of Garbo's finest moments in sound films. An impeccable cast and a hilarious script from Charles Bracket, Billy Wilder, and Walter Reisch are all given the Lubitsch "touch" for a true film classic.

Felix Bressart, Sig Rumann, and Alexander Granach are hilarious as three emissaries from the new Russia trying to pawn the confiscated jewels of former royalty in order to feed the masses. But once in Paris, Kopalski, Buljanoff, and Iranoff are quite quickly corrupted by royal suites, room service and pretty cigarette girls! Once Melvyn Douglas enters the picture as the power of attorney for the former Duchess who claims the jewels are hers, things really get fun.

That's because the new government isn't happy with the reports of the three and sends someone to rein them in and get the job done. That "someone" just happens to be Ninotchka (Greta Garbo) who Leon (Douglas) finds fascinating in her stoic demeanor and high ideals. It's sophisticated fun watching Leon try to wear Ninotchka down with the magic of Paris and the free world. The more she resists, the harder he tries, until he's done the unthinkable and fallen in love.

Garbo's romantic magic, so evident in silent film, finally made it to sound film in of all things, a sophisticated look at romance and communism. The more stoic she tries to appear, the more feminine she seems, her constant glance at a silly Parisian hat the key to the laughter in her heart waiting to be released. Once Leon's heart is captured, he must find a way to bring Ninotchka and her three friends back across the world to him, and change her goat's milk to champagne once again. His letters may be censored, but as Buljanoff tells her, "They can't censor our memories."

Sophistcated and often hilarious, it's biting swipes at communism wrapped in humor, this is a fabulous movie every film buff needs to own. King Vidor's "Comrade X" with Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr uses a lower brow approach for the same subject and has some huge laughs, but there's no denying the class and elegance of Lubitsch's "Ninotchka." Those who've never seen Garbo in a silent film can get at least a glimpse here of why she was and remains one of the great stars of motion pictures.

CAMILLE

Garbo's most delicate and beautiful performance in a sound film gives viewers a glimpse of the magic so clearly evident to moviegoers in the silent era. Her ethereal vision of loveliness haunts every frame, director George Cukor enhancing the Garbo mystique with this romantic and sumptuous MGM production given the finest talent the studio could muster. Beautiful art direction from Cedric Gibbons and lush photography from William Daniels and Karl Freund place Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor in a netherworld of romance sublime, and tragedy supreme. Screenwriters Zoa Akins, Frances Marion, and James Hilton, the author responsible for Mrs. Miniver and Lost Horizon, may give Garbo the words, but it is the magnificent portrait she paints of an ill young woman living life to the fullest before it passes her by completely which is the anchor holding this ornate ship in place. Once we board this vessel, there is no turning back, Garbo entrancing the viewer as the tragic centerpiece from which we can't take our eyes for a single moment.

Marguerite is the life of every party in 1847 Paris. Recovering after an illness she knows will strike her down before her time, she surrounds herself with the shallow denizens who haunt the parties of Paris. Tasting of life's pleasures with carefree abandon by any means necessary, her bills mount. Garbo is humorous and enchanting from the moment she appears, making us believe in spite of Marguerite's outward frivolity that something tragic exists beneath the facade of champagne and laughter. Jessie Ralph gives a lovely performance as her beloved Nanine, watching out for her Camille with a tender affection. When Armand catches her attention momentarily, he falls immediately in love, while she finds a rich benefactor to foot the bill for her spiraling attempt to go out in style. Taylor gives a solid performance despite critics who have written otherwise, and the greatest adversary Sherlock Holmes ever encountered onscreen, Henry Daniell, is the man keeping her moving almost quickly enough to forget.

Armand may be of less privilege but has more class than those with which she has surrounded herself. He is also more sensitive and loyal, as his father (Lionel Barrymore) will point out in a pivotal moment in the tragedy. Pursuing Marguerite with an innocence only real love can give birth to, she begins to love him as well, stopping just long enough to taste true love for the first time. Being a farm girl in reality, she has little trouble adjusting to country life with Armand, finding happiness greater than her heart can bear. Selling off her jewels unbeknownst to Armand to keep up with debts, he requests his inheritance so they can extend their month of bliss to forever, even if it is not a properly ordained union. A visit from his father will bring about a change in Marguerite he cannot understand. Barrymore is excellent here, making his plea for his son's future a sympathetic one, despite the grave implications to the viewer, who has seen the real love of Marguerite and Armand. Garbo is equally marvelous, as we can almost see and hear her heart breaking when she pushes Armand away and takes a walk up the hill borne of love and sacrifice.

Rex O'Malley has a few very nice moments with Garbo as the sympathetic pal of both she and Armand, Gaston. The final scene of this romantic masterpiece is wildly famous, so it is no spoiler to discuss the magical brush strokes Garbo uses to finish the portrait of a girl hanging on to happiness in its final moments. Her breathless whispers to Nanine and Gaston convey effort and pain in just speaking so realistic, one believes with their heart they are watching the final moments of a life, rather than a film. The joy on Garbo's face when she discovers Armand is outside, waiting to see her, is beautiful. And when she gathers strength so he can remember her as she was, it is heartbreaking. Tender and moving, this story of a girl living what life she has for love and pleasure, and in the process, nearly letting real love pass her by, is Garbo's finest moment on films with sound. Perhaps it is because Garbo's performance is so extraordinary, it is all one remembers, often overshadowing what a handsomely mounted film this truly is. A must see film for Garbo fans for certain, but a beautiful film classic for those with a romantic heart.

GRAND HOTEL

"Don't you understand? Don't you?" -- Barrymore telling Garbo he loves her.

Vicki Baum's popular novel was given the MGM treatment for the first time in Grand Hotel. Though it does not hold up as well as its remake, Weekend at the Waldorf, due to the lack of symmetry between a director and one of the stars, the overall impact is not muted in the least. It remains an entertaining time capsule to the early days of sound pictures, when MGM was just starting to roar.

The story of a diverse group of people crossing paths and dramas, forming bonds and loving, probably seems old hat today. But this is where it all began. With names like Greta Garbo, John and Lionel Barrymore, and Wallace Berry, it is really Joan Crawford who emerged the most memorable. Her sparkling performance showed she could not only hold her own among the more heralded prestige stars, but could actually overshadow them with her charisma.

Garbo is a lonely ballerina in need of love; love which jewel thief John Barrymore will unexpectedly and, surprisingly to him, give her, at least until his desperate need for money brings about tragedy. Lionel Barrymore shines as the dying man truly tasting life for the first time. His performance is adorable and the best here sans Crawford, whose worldly but wistful secretary in search of the good life leaves the most lasting mark.

John Barrymore hadn't yet lost his magic and is excellent here, his performance only muted in scenes with Garbo. This can be attributed in whole to the failure of Garbo and director Edmund Goulding to mesh. Garbo gave a silent film performance in a sound film and Goulding allowed her to do so. It doesn't work for the most part, and creates some stilted moments. Only in the moments when she gives in to Barrymore's love for her does her silent radiance appear, her joy afterward and sheer happiness intoxicating to the viewer.

Berry is also good as the heavy, but once again Crawford overshadows him. You simply can't take your eyes off her, her beauty and charisma luminous proof of her star power. William Daniels' photography, gowns by Adrian, and the art direction of Cedric Gibbons all come together to make Grand Hotel one of the spectacular events of early sound film and a must see for Crawford's fans.

Two fabulous Garbo performances, and a star-studded cast of greats in another, featuring a terrific performance from a young Joan Crawford, make for marvelous viewing, and a real bargain if you aren't picky... Read more ›