Marie Antoinette

Some of the reviewers have already amply demonstrated the qualities of the film and of the principal actors. Thus, I would only add a few comments: first, while many would have preferred to see this film in color, I believe its validity is actually enhanced in black and white. As a historian but without serious knowledge of the particular period, I can say that the film is an amazing example of what it very well must have been like in fact; any historical inaccuracies do not in any way disturb the quality of the narrative and are incidental only to movie making and not to reality. The principal actors, especially Shearer and Morley, are so astonishingly convincing that one hardly doubts that they are in fact the King and Queen of France. Because this is so, and despite whatever historical facts may exist to the contrary, there is legitimate reason to sympathize with their fate and the viewer is numbed by the dignity with which these helpless people live it out. If there is any weakness, I would have to say it lies with Tyrone Power, whose handsome and youthful good looks clash with the somewhat wooden dialogue and his often inept articulation of it. Finally, for 180 minutes, the film seems like seconds from the intial scenes before the Austrian Empress to the denoument in the holding cell. It is more than an extravaganza, it is breathtaking in both its scope and detail and is a film I would want to see many, many times over. While the outcome is well known, still it leaves the viewer stunned and silent for days to come. For as long as people are able to see this film, it will remain an undisturbed classic, perhaps one of the best of all time.

J.H. Cohen, J.D., Ph.D.
NYC

Norma Shearer's Marie Antoinette embraces all that is spectacular, pageant, and tragic. I first saw this movie as a little girl and it inspired a lifelong interest and sympathy for the last Queen of France. Shearer and Morley not only resemble the fallen monararchs but their portrayals bring to life an uncanny accuracy to the French Revolution. Having studied the French revolution this film has captured details and characterizations of the royal family depicted in many historical document.

The history encapsuled in this epic is one of many delicacies in store for the viewer. Tyrone Power is always food for the senses. Robert Morley is outstanding. Joseph Schildkraut's Duc d'Orleans is treachery and greed at its most distastful. This should have won Oscars across the board. There is more than a revolution going on in this film and it is a must see for every, every, every fashion design student. The costume design has never been surpassed!

I saw this film as a child, never forgot it, taped it, lost it, never saw it again on television, and recently purchased it. It has its share of the melodramatic, typical of its era, but once you see it, you'll never forget it.

I have used this video in my French I classes since 1985 as a look at the French Revelolution from the royals point of view. Six weeks later I follow it up with The Scarlet Pimpernel, giving the point of view from the aristocracy who were innocent of any wrong-doing. At the end of the semester, I show a Tale of Two Cities to show another point of view.

When I take my students to Versailles, they are so well versed in French history that they can really enjoy the things that they see, and are in awe that they are walking where she walked, and are seeing the same things that she saw.

Marie Antoinette may not be as accurate as some would like, but if more research were done, I feel that they would see that Norma Shearer beautifully portrayed Marie Antoinette in all her excesses and pathos. In fact, many of my "sports hunks" descretely wipe away their tears at the end. Also, Axel Ferson refused to marry and wore the ring that she gave him until he died. This is not only a story about history--it's a great love story!

Many of my students have so enjoyed this video that they have convinced their parents to add it to their home collections.
I enjoy watching them view this movie in class. They even discuss the color of Marie's clothing -- and it's in black and white. In their minds, they see it in living color.