Product Details

• Actors: Brigitte Helm, John Stuart, Jean Angelo, Gibb McLaughlin
• Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Alpha Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: April 28, 2009
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0025X4PH4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,937 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

MISTRESS OF ATLANTIS - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unusual, intriguing, fascinating and unpredictable, June 26, 2009

By 

Barbara (Burkowsky) Underwood (Tumut, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mistress of Atlantis (DVD)

This forgotten film of the early sound era was directed by G.W. Pabst, who is considered by many to be the greatest director of German cinema in his time, namely from the 1920s to mid `50s. His most famous contributions to the silent era of films were making Greta Garbo famous by directing her in "Joyless Street" and Louise Brooks in "Pandora's Box" and "Diary of a Lost Girl". With such outstanding classics of the 1920s to his name, one might have grand expectations of this 1932 sound film starring one of Germany's most stunning and mysterious actresses, Brigitte Helm. Yet the advent of sound brought other changes in movies besides an audible dialogue. A whole new structure and way of presenting a story had to be developed all over again, resulting in many films of the 1930s appearing to falter and stumble, especially when compared with the smooth and sophisticated films which reached its pinnacle of expressive beauty and artistry at the end of the silent era in 1929. Taking this into consideration, "The Mistress of Atlantis" feels more like what we today would call a B-Grade movie, but even as such it is still quite entertaining and offers several features that make this film well worth viewing.

First of all, it is actually a remake of an outstanding silent film made in 1921 called "Queen of Atlantis", directed by Jacques Feyder, the `French Film Master' (available from amazon.com in a set of three Feyder films entitled "Rediscover Jacques Feyder"). The film is based on a French novel which must be quite long and involving, as Feyder's version of "Queen of Atlantis" is nearly three hours long! This compact early sound film, however, is less than 90 minutes in length, although it does seems to leap over pivotal points in the plot, leaving the uninitiated viewer somewhat dazed and perplexed. Even so, it is an entertaining ride through the Sahara Desert where an officer of the French Foreign Legion awakens to find himself in a bizarre world of tunnels and mazes hidden somewhere in the desert. Legend has it that this is the lost city of Atlantis; a topic that was widely discussed a century ago with many suggestions and theories, placing the city in many places all over the world, including the mysterious Sahara Desert. Queen of this strange world is the exotic Antinea, played by Brigitte Helm who first came to fame in the classic German silent film, "Metropolis". Her striking features make her the perfect choice for the alluring and enigmatic Mistress of Atlantis, and even though her role is relatively small, she exudes a presence and power which make up for any of the film's shortcomings. Other aspects that are worth seeing are the unusual sets and an authentic-looking Saharan village. Interestingly, Pabst directed three versions of this film; German, French and English, in anticipation of international success, and this English version is in very good condition with only the usual background noise common in early sound films.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Mill Creek Has Better Picture Quality, December 21, 2010

By 

G. Ratcheson (Washington) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mistress of Atlantis (DVD)

I'm a big Brigitte Helm fan, & for those of us who don't speak German, this is one of the few films available to us. While it's not quite in the "classic" category, it's ok; the creepy atmosphere reminds me of Carl TH Dreyer's Vampyr with perhaps a bit of Ed Wood thrown in for good (bad?) measure & was directed by the legendary GW Pabst. This early "talky" edition was actually shot 3 times: in German, English & French with 3 totally different casts other then Helm who stars in all 3.

I recently had the chance to compare this dvd with the print on Nightmare Worlds 50 Movie Pack Collection.

While both were obviously sourced from copies of the same (likely 16 mm) somewhat deteriorated print, the version on the Nightmare Worlds box appears to be a couple generations closer to the actual print & also has better audio, so I would recommend buying that version instead of this. To be clear the picture quality isn't great on that edition either, but it's better then this one, & it does have 49 additional films for just a few dollars more.

Hopefully we'll get a restored official edition one of these days.

This review is of the Alpha edition.

1.0 out of 5 stars "Mistress of Atlantis" - This Video Version is a Definite Miss!, June 3, 2011

By 

J. Dixon (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mistress of Atlantis (DVD)

Do not waste your money on this Alpha Video version: The transfer is so bad that the only equivalent I have seen is an equally bad transfer of "Love From a Stranger", another movie which has been done a major disservice by a bad transfer.

I would like to think that some more discerning studio will take pity on the general public and release good versions of these movies, as I feel they both deserve a wider viewing by the general public. However, the current versions for sale of "Mistress" and "Stranger" are a nighmare to view and take totally away from the actors and plot line.