Customer Reviews

The Kiss

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

 

 

This movie is the last silent film MGM made. I do not think it is a "mediocre" Garbo vehicle in anyway. The cinematography in this film for it's time is very well done, intriguing concepts of "flashbacks" during the story and how they are expressed with this early film technology make it very worthwhile. A classic example of how something extremely innocent one minute can turn into a crime the next. Garbo's acting is very fine.

This isn't the best Garbo silent ever made, but it was the last, and it was also the final silent film made by MGM. It's only a little over an hour long, and supposedly was originally 90 minutes long. What makes this film good is the combination of Garbo's acting and the cinematography here. Movies like this and Sunrise make me somewhat sad that the silent film era ended, because what could be done creatively with the camera was lost from this point until the early 30's once the problems of the static camera got worked out and the novelty of sound at the expense of everything else wore off. Garbo convincingly plays the sympathetic yet no-longer-in-love wife when in the presence of her husband (Anders Randolf), the longing lover who wishes to defy convention and just leave her marriage behind regardless of the consequences when with André Dubail (Conrad Nagel), and the knowledgable "older" woman who is enjoying the attention she is getting when with the very young and naive Pierre Lassalle (Lew Ayres). Whenever she is alone she has no trouble conveying which of these three moods she is in. The story is a very good tale of tortured romance with a little bit of mystery thrown in towards the end, but the main attraction is the romance and the beautiful and creative shots. The only thing really annoying is the original Vitaphone score that went along with the movie. With all of the other subtle expression going on in this film, the choice of the theme song from "Romeo and Juliet" to convey the feelings between Garbo and Nagel every time they shared a scene just seemed a bit over the top.

There are still quite a few Garbo silents such as this that are very worthwhile and are not yet on DVD. TCM should do a volume two of their "Garbo Silents" and at least include this film, "The Single Standard", "A Woman of Affairs", and "Love". "Love" is a very good film and isn't even on VHS.

When I watch this film, I just completely turn off the soundtrack -- which is nothing more than a potboiler of mediocre recordings of classical warhorses -- and soak in the incredible images. The visual compositions! The use of light and dark! The incredible portraiture! Garbo's amazing use of eyes and gestures -- yes, somewhat exaggerated but perfectly suitable for the silent medium and for the zeitgeist! The plot is fine, but if you're like me, in a really great movie, the plot is more of an excuse for visual poetry. So many silent films, though made so relatively quickly, were so much more visually thoughtful than the average stuff we see today....not to mention the current spate of movies, both popular and artsy, that look like they were photographed by a six-year-old! I assume the reason for that old-time general (though not universal) high quality was that many of the directors were simply more steeped in art and artistic principles than most (though not all) of today's mob. If, like me, you just enjoy looking at film as an art, this is a movie for you!

I have had this picture for years; My original reason for getting it was to see a young Lew Ayres (he was indeed dashing!) but I have treasured it all this time because of its vintage, Garbo, the story and of course, Mr. Ayres. I love the look, the sound and the story of it. In fact, I can't find anything wrong wtih it at all. Of course, this is my taste, but if you are a devotee of any of the performers, the era or silent films, this one must be in your collection. Thoroughly recommended!

The Kiss is a great film. Well worth seeing even for non Garbo Fans.

According to the Barry Paris bio of Garbo, a line from this film is the first occurance on film or in writing of a phrase that has become a universally recognized and unending cliche. It is spoken by her co-star, Conrad Nagel, near the beginning of the movie, when Conrad and Garbo first meet, he says, "Irene, we must stop meeting like this". It started here.

Certainly this movie stands out in her stellar career as one of the best, most entertaining. Garbo had this magical way of making the most mundane and uninteresting material fascinating - she usually overcame the inadequacies of her script just by her extraordinary looks and cinematic appeal. Apparently one encounters such a being quite rarely as there aren't any of her sort around today. I recommend this and most other Garbo movies. Enjoy!

I strongly urge all to experience this movie. At a time when silents were just about over in favor of talking Pictures, Garbo remained silent and ever so popular. This was one of the highest grossing films of the year 1929.
It would be Garbo's last silent. The story is full of romance and intrigue and tainted love. Beautifully photographed, with sets and costumes to compliment. This movie introduced Lew Ayers, who would become a matinee idol and lead actor throughout the coming decade. But again the movie belongs to Greta Garbo. The moods, the emotions, the kissing, the forced laughs, gestures. Its Garbo. The actress, the enigma and the legend. Experience, The Kiss.

Sorry, but I can't figure out any other way to correct a mistake on Lawrence M. Burnabo's otherwise excellent National Film Registry lists. The title may be the same, but "The Kiss" that's on the NFR is Edison's 1896 kinetoscope film, not this Garbo silent.