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Who was Greta Garbo? For a while the greatest of all movie stars, then a celebrated recluse, always "the mysterious lady," Garbo purred, "I want to be alone," and people took her at her word. Of course, the real Garbo is actually the "reel" Garbo, the silvery, suffering creature on the movie screen--the way the light caught her eyes, and the way she slithered around in silk. There are other Garbo films to be seen, but Garbo: The Signature Collection is the essential Garbo, the alpha and omega for fans and beginners. This 10-disc package collects seven of her MGM sound pictures, three silents, and the Turner Classic Movies documentary Garbo, which gives a good career overview and warm testimony from friends and relatives (although more critical perspective on her talent would have been welcome). Some extras and commentaries are mixed in.
The Garbo Silents disc features Flesh and the Devil, one of her sizzling box-office duets with John Gilbert; The Temptress, a wild number with Garbo as a man-killer who follows Antonio Moreno to the plains of Argentina; and The Mysterious Lady, a tight spy picture with Garbo as a Russian agent seducing the susceptible Conrad Nagel. When Garbo finally talked it was headline news, and if Anna Christie has aged a bit, the star's sultry enunciation of "Gimme a visky" retains its historic punch. (The disc includes a German-language version of the film shot at the same time.)
Mata Hari continues the exotic storytelling of Garbo's silent years, as she does an eye-popping turn as the famous German spy. Grand Hotel casts her as a tired, tired ballet dancer, in a star-studded MGM project that played on her public image as aloof and mysterious. The movie was a box-office smash and took the Best Picture Oscar for 1932, and still stands as a glittery gem of the studio system. Under the sympathetic direction of Rouben Mamoulian in Queen Christina, Garbo flourishes in a tale of a Swedish royal who escapes the grind by disguising herself as a boy. She insisted that John Gilbert--his career in tatters and his life near its end--be her leading man. Garbo rarely seemed more spot-on, and the film's final grand adoration of her is justifiably famous.
Anna Karenina is Garbo's second crack at the Tolstoy heroine, after the silent Love. It's a throbbing performance, even if the movie itself is one of those MGM productions that seems to doze under all its finery and respectability. Camille is scrumptious costume tragedy, with Robert Taylor as co-star and George Cukor as director. Finally, Ernst Lubitsch's Ninotchka (you know--"Garbo Laughs") is a bubbly comedy of frosty Sovietism meeting the champagne pleasures of Paris. Garbo retired two years, ending her reign but keeping the enigma intact. --Robert Horton
Description
Includes the best known films from a timeless and alluring actress of the 1920s and 1930s whose enigmatic beauty in a series of MGM silent films catapulted her to international movie stardom.
DVD Features:
Additional Scenes:THE DIVINE WOMAN: Surviving 9-Minute Excerpt of This Lost 1928 Silent
Alternate endings:Alternate Ending on The Temptress
Audio Commentary:Commentary on Flesh and the Devil by Garbo Author Barry Paris; The Temptress by Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy Author Mark A. Vieira; Mysterious Lady by Film Historians Tony Maietta and Jeffrey Vance
Documentaries:TCM ARCHIVES: GARBO - New Feature-Length Documentary Exclusive to This Set!
Featurette:SETTLING THE SCORE - Goes Behind the Scenes of the TCM Young Film Composers Competition and the Scoring of Notable Silent Movies
Photo gallery:Garbo's Silent Years at MGM
Theatrical Trailer
Customer Reviews:
Good collection but spotty extras and some poor prints.......2007-09-08
This collection of Garbo films is a more economical of obtaining these films if you want them but it is a little disappointing as a package. The positives are obvious - a good selection of Garbo's best films, a good documentary about her career and some excellent commentaries on the Silents. The disappointing aspect is that so many of the prints, especially the talkies, are poor. "Queen Christina", "Camille" and "Ninotchka", maybe her best films, warrant restoration. "Anna Karenina" does not even contain a complete print. There are no commentaries for the talkies either, just some theatrical trailers.
big collection but a lot of unnecessary shelf space.......2007-07-23
This is an impressive set, by far the most economical way to get all of these movies in one place. Since Garbo made so few films in her career, this is an excellent way to get a survey of her filmography, from her first silent MGM films to her later talkies.
My only real complaint is that he contents are not as filling as the overwhelming size of this giant cube of a package would imply. Aside from the movies, we only get commentaries on the silent films; on Camille, we get the original silent version starring Nazimova and Valentino; Anna Christie includes the German language version, and Grand Hotel has the most extras on a disc. Queen Christina, Anna Karenina, Mata Hari, and Ninotchka have nothing more than a trailer for extra features, and the Garbo documentary takes up a whole disc by itself. Not that I expect Warner to load each DVD with unrelated content (although i have no objections to their "night at the movies" features), but what's really surprising is what's missing from each DVD that could have been included. After all, it's not like Garbo hadn't already made a silent version of Anna Karenina with John Gilbert called Love that could have been included on that disc.
In summary, the movies and features just seem to be spread thin across 9 discs, the result is a set that takes up more space than is really necessary. To put into perspective, the TCM Lon Chaney Collection also included 3 films with commentaries, as well as a documentary; this set could have easily consolidated those discs just the same.
With no other historical context, it would not be recommended to buy these DVDs separate from this set, especially if one was unfamiliar with Greta Garbo.
Garbo movie collection.......2007-07-19
It was a present for my wife who just loved the gift. What more can I say. The shipping was fast and it arrived in perfect condition.
at last.... here she is - in full splendour:-).......2007-02-18
I`ve grown up with Garbo... Ever since I was a child, Swedish television has indeed appreciated her legacy and I`ve witnessed all the sound films mentioned here:
To my mind, what makes Garbo great is her wonderful sphinx face... and her melancholy, sad remarks... When called upon hysterics and outburts, she is painfully amateurish...
That goes for ANNA CHRISTIE, GRAND HOTEL, CONQUEST, AS YOU DESIRE ME.... In CAMILLE, NINOTCHKA and TWO-FACED WOMAN she shows us the actress, a girl who DID posseess nuances... method acting....
And never more so that in the silent FLESH AND THE DEVIL 1926.
In it she is a man-eater, a sultress, a she-devil and she she in only limited when call upon a confrontation scene with Lars Hanson`s sister...
The film has wonderful closeups of its three stars and the subject remains as fresh as it did in 1926. The scenes in the snow and how she seduces John Gilbert is quite good and I must say - FLESH AND THE DEVIL is still quite watchable even today.
To me the friendship between Gilbert and Hanson is a homosexual one and when Garbo falls through the ice - the men are seen embracing each other - and free of that devil Felicitas.
Their intense friendship fools no one in 2007, but 80 years ago it must have...
Garbo is only 21 in the film, but shows a mature display of acting and womanhood - no wonder the world fell for her and the same goes for the sound MATA HARI...
Garbo is the face!!! The face is the place!!!.......2007-01-27
Magnificent set with a lot of extras. The silent films have commentaries and this whole set is a great tribute to (THE FACE). Garbo is so magnetic on the screen. I was just so astounded by her beauty and her acting ability. I bought it because I saw The Temptress on TCM. After seeing it I had to see more. There is just something about Garbo that words cannot say. The TCM disc about her life was so good. It's hard to believe,however understandable, that she just walked away. What a loss to the screen. Barry Paris and Mark Veira have wonderful biographies available which explain her life story. I was just blown away like never before by the silents Temptress,Flesh and the Devil and Mysterious Lady. Camille is the story of Verdi's La Traviata. Anna Karenina is a period piece film of a Russian. Anna Christie is Garbo's first talkie. It takes 16 minutes before you hear the first ever line from her(Give me a Visky). Grand Hotel is loaded with stars such as the Barrymores and Joan Crawford in what may be her first movie. Mata Hari the spy and Ninotchka the Russian diplomat. You just can't get enough of Garbo and you will never get tired of watching her. Buy it before it goes out of print.
Average customer rating:
- There is a better way to combine these individual sets.
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Mega Signature Collection
Starring:
Humphrey Bogart ,
Lauren Bacall ,
Cary Grant ,
Elizabeth Taylor , and
Errol Flynn
Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
 General
| Drama
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
All Titles
| Alfred Hitchcock
| Mystery & Suspense Masters
| Mystery & Suspense
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Signature Collections
| Classics
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Bacall, Lauren
| ( B )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Bogart, Humphrey
| ( B )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Flynn, Errol
| ( F )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
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Fonda, Henry
| ( F )
| Actors & Actresses
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| DVD
| Video
Garbo, Greta
| ( G )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
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| Video
Garland, Judy
| ( G )
| Actors & Actresses
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Grant, Cary
| ( G )
| Actors & Actresses
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Hepburn, Katharine
| ( H )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Reagan, Ronald
| ( R )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Stewart, James
| ( S )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Taylor, Elizabeth
| ( T )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
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Tracy, Spencer
| ( T )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Drama
| Warner Home Video
| Studio Specials
| Stores
| DVD
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All Titles
| Warner Home Video
| Studio Specials
| Stores
| DVD
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All Titles
| John Wayne Store
| Stores
| DVD
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( M )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
ASIN: B000JU7KC2
Release Date: 2006-11-07 |
Product description
You know them by just a single name. Hepburn, Tracy, Judy, "Duke", Cary... to name but a few. They are among the greatest stars in the history of Hollywood's golden era, and Warner Home Video has gathered these talents' exceptional works in a series of "SIGNATURE COLLECTIONS" that have become the talk of the video industry. You get beautifully-packaged collections of 10 Hollywood superstars' best films, along with the best of Hollywood's most beloved on-screen (and off-screen partnerships (BOGART AND BACALL, TRACY & HEPBURN). One collection salutes the work of a star who wasn't even an actor....ALFRED HITCHCOCK was the first director to become a box-office drawing card by name, regardless who was in his films. However Warner Home Video's Hitchcock Collection gathers 9 films from the master of suspense, including a special edition of NORTH BY NORTWEST, and a 2 disc Special Edition of STRANGERS ON A TRAIN featuring 2 different cuts of the film. All in all, this is a movie fan's dream!
The Mega Signature Collection contains the Signature Collections of Alfred Hitchcock, Bogie & Bacall, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Errol Flynn, Garbo, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, John Wayne, Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy, and Ronald Reagan.
Customer Reviews:
There is a better way to combine these individual sets........2007-03-02
If you buy all thirteen signature collections individually on this site it only costs twenty dollars more than what this Mega Signature Collection costs, plus there is some overlap within this set and with some other Warner boxed sets that could cause you heartache later. My personal advice is to get the following signature collections individually: Alfred Hitchcock, Bogie & Bacall, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Errol Flynn, Garbo, James Stewart, Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy, and Ronald Reagan.
I deleted Henry Fonda's Signature collection because "The Wrong Man" is also on the Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection, and "Advise and Consent" is also on the "Controversial Classics Collection", which is another excellent boxed set you might want to pick up. I deleted John Wayne's set because the "John Wayne - John Ford Film Collection" is much better. It has Stagecoach and The Searchers on it, plus six more classic films. The total cost of the 11 individual signature collections plus the John Wayne - John Ford Film collection is 510 dollars. Thus for ten dollars more than this pre-packaged set you have a much better collection.
My rating of four stars was arrived at as follows: 5 stars for the sets themselves and three stars for the value of buying the 13 sets together as shown. This averages to four stars.
DVD:
- Gary Cooper MGM Movie Legends Collection (The Cowboy and the Lady / The Real Glory / Vera Cruz / The Winning of Barbara Worth)
- German Silent Masterworks Collection
- Grande Ecole
- Hollywood Screen Tests, Take 1
- Horatio Hornblower Collector's Edition
- Horatio Hornblower - The Complete Adventures
- Horatio Hornblower - The New Adventures (Loyalty / Duty)
- Hotel Rwanda
- John Ford Goes to War
- Le Captain Fracasse
DVD
DVD
Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)
The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 2 (Marked Woman / Jezebel / The Man Who Came to Dinner / Old Acquaintance / What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Two-Disc Special Edition)
Carole Lombard - The Glamour Collection (Hands Across the Table/ Love Before Breakfast/ Man of the World/ The Princess Comes Across/ True Confession/ We're Not Dressing)
Clark Gable - The Signature Collection (Dancing Lady / China Seas / San Francisco / Wife vs. Secretary / Boom Town / Mogambo)
The Bette Davis Collection (The Star / Mr. Skeffington / Dark Victory / Now, Voyager / The Letter)