Nakis

Hello everyone Some news regarding this event (you have probably seen the wonderful catalogue available in Enlgish as well which came out a few months ago). Regarding the exhibition, here is some information (on the Garbo official website) giving us fresh hope that more and more people will get a chance to see it in other countries around the world in the future (nothing definite yet, but I guess something must come up soon). http://www.gretagarbo.com/Offical_Websi ... VENTS.html

The exhibition on Garbo ended in Milan (where I had the chance to go and see it), but next stop will be Florence at the Ferragamo Museum which organises the exhibition. On the web site of the Museum they say that the Museum is closed until May 13th in order to rearrange their space for the Garbo exhibition which will last until September. I will let you know if there is anything new about the exhibition (whether they will present it in the US or elsewhere). Also just for your information, the International Film Festival of La Rochelle in France is paying tribute to the silent Garbo (July 2-11) and the list of films which will be screened is established on their webside. I will attend the Fetsival since i live in France, and I will share my impressions with you. The films screened will be "Goesta Berling's Saga", "The street of Sorrow", "Flesh and the Devil", "Love", "The mysterious Lady", "Woman of Affairs", "The kiss" and Kevin Brownlow's documentary on Garbo (he will be there to present it I believe). I also think they will show the extract from"The Divine Woman". Quite impressive and Vive la Divine. http://www.festival-larochelle.org/festival-2010/programme

Yes, very true what you say. And there was this dignity which forces us to respect them. Lynn fought her illness with dignity and courage without ever complaining and she was on stage, despite her problems and suffering, almost up to the end. A very great lady.

This is absolutely terrible. So many tragedies have struck the Redgrave family over the past year or so. The tragic death of Natasha Richardson, about a year ago, then just a couple of weeks ago the death of Corin Redgrave (Vanessa's and Lynn's brother) and now Lynn. My heart really goes to the family. I have seen the Redgraves several times on stage and off (I am a huge admirer of Vanessa especially) and all I can say is that they were all (I have met Vanessa, Lynn, Corin and Natasha) marvellous and utterly human both on and off stage. I remember spending a Christmas in London back in 1990 when Lynn was appearing with her sister Vanessa and Jemma Redgrave on the stage in "The Three sisters". After the show, my friend and I were invited in the Redgrave's dressing room and I clearly remember Lynn and Vanessa, so gracious and kind, asking me all sorts of different questions, very down to earth, absolutely charming, simple and very human. Lynn was a wonderful actress and a marvellous human being.I will always remember her with love and respect.

Hello Thank you so much for your kind words. I absolutely understand your love for Garbo. For my part, although I knew some of her films and appreciated her before, it was at the time of her death in 1990 when I was a student in the US that I really got to know and love Garbo?s filmography and became passionate with her and that passion has never left me since. Quite to the contrary! Regarding the exhibition I do hope that it will travel elsewhere but it seems that for the time being there are no further plans after it ends in Florence in September. Some years ago the Ferragamo Museum did an exhibition on Audrey Hepburn which did get to travel on several locations around the world, so we can be hopeful with Garbo. You may want to check on the Museum?s website as well as the official Greta Garbo website on the section events and of course the wonderful website Garboforever. And I promise that if I hear anything on that I will let you know. I got to see the exhibition since I live in France, at Annecy on the French Alps which is near Geneva and the Italian border, so I was lucky enough to see it. Here is also a video on the exhibition which will give you a clearer picture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gOD4PyKWsg http://www.museoferragamo.it/en/index.php http://www.gretagarbo.com/gretagarbo.com/EVENTS.html http://www.garboforever.com/

Hello everyone I just wanted to share something with you regarding the great Greta Garbo which may be of interest to everyone who loves this extraordinary actress. On Eastern weekend I was in Milan, Italy where I attended a magnificent exhibition on Garbo at the Triennale. The exhibition ended but it will move to Florence from May to September at the Ferragamo Museum. There is also a magnificent catalogue (in Italian for the moment, but it will also be published in English next September and will be available through amazon). Here is an article I prepared on this event and I hope you will enjoy it. Greta Garbo : timeless film and fashion icon An exhibition which will take place from May to September 2010 at the Ferragamo Museum in Florence reveals for the first time to the public the private wardrobe of the Divine. It was already presented in Milan at the Triennale. Garbo the Divine. An actress of genius and the ultimate cinematic myth. She was as Federico Fellini stated at the time of her death in 1990: ? The founder of a religious order called cinema ?. But she was also a timeless icon of fashion, without doubt the most influential of all the great Hollywood stars. The classical structure of the Face with the thin eyebrows, the long eyelashes, the trench, the slouch hat, the flat shoes, the elegant and simple sportive style with trousers and beret, all these things that we sometimes take for granted have been successfully adapted to mass appeal into popular culture thanks to Garbo? and much, much more. A magnificent exhibition entitled ? Greta Garbo il mistero dello stille ? (? Greta Grabo the mystery of style) which was already presented until beginnings of April at the Triennale of Milan in Italy will be hosted from May to September at the Ferragamo Museum in Florence. An event which reminds us of Garbo?s continuous impact on fashion and popular culture. This is the first time that the private wardrobe and accessories of the actress meticulously kept by her family (the Reisfields) are exposed to the public. A meeting which took place in Florence two years ago between Craig Reisfield, Garbo's great-nephew, and Stephania Ricci director of the Ferragamo Museum laid the background for the exhibition. One also has to bear in mind that the links between the Divine and Ferragamo date back at the end of the 1920s in Hollywood when Garbo was the undisputed queen of the movies. Then at the end of the 1940s a few years after the Divine said her goodbyes to the cinema she walked into Ferragamo?s store in Florence and with her deep, weary voice asked him to make shoes for her so she could walk. For indeed, Garbo faithful to her legend walks a lot, and not always alone (contrary to the legend). It appears that she left Ferragamo?s store with about 70 pairs. A gigantic photo of Garbo at the time when she was making the film ? As you desire me ? in 1932 welcomes the visitor of the exhibition. Then we enter a hall dedicated to the Divine of our cinematic dreams. A few wonderful costumes from her films are on display. A dark velvet gown from Garbo?s first important film in Sweden ?The Saga of Goesta Berling? directed by her mentor Mauritz Stiller, the splendid dark gown and the black cape from the opening scenes of ?Inspiration? (1931), the beige coat she wears in the final scene in ?Conquest? with Charles Boyer, the velvet gown of the opening scenes in ?Anna Karenina?, as well as a magnificent green velvet gown in her trademark role ?Queen Christina?. Above giant screens show scenes from most of Garbo?s films, silent and talkies. Garbo in tragic mood, but also laughing, smiling, flirting. Funny, tragic, childish and femme fatale, feminine and androgynous. One and multiple at the same time. The summary of all women or rather all human beings fused into one. Garbo laughing in ?Ninotschka?, but also in ? Queen Christina ?. A modern woman wearing sailor trousers and bathing carefree in the south-east seas with her lover in ? The single standard ? The ultimate romantic, tragic heroine in scenes from ?Camille?, ?Anna Karenina? and ?Conquest?. Garbo?s inimitable style and presence light up the screen. A style which owes a lot, it must be said to the fruitful collaboration between the Divine and Adrian who designed most of her costumes at MGM. Garbo and Adrian. The muse and the creator. But who created who ? Garbo the pioneer in fashion was probably as indebted to Adrian as he was to her. Garbo et Adrian. Well before Travin Banton and Dietrich or Yves Saint Lauren and Deneuve. An ideal symbiosis between two unique and extraordinary artistic personalities. That style, that allure which which has so much enchanted us on films, is also unmistakably present as we continue to the next hall of the exhibition dedicated to the private wardrobe of the Divine. A large collection of gowns (designed by, among others, Valentina, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent etc) as well as accessories reveal to us an independent and modern woman both simple, assertive confident and elegant in her style. Velvet dark coats, gowns by Valentina or Christian Dior, impaccably matched by gloves, berets, hats or the celebrated trench (yes, Garbo was the first on the screen who made it hugely popular for women) in the unjustly neglected film ? Woman of Affairs ? directed by Clarence Brown and where she worked for the first time with Adrian. Garbo succeeded in imposing a style which owed nothing to the standards of fashion at the time. It sprang mostly from her own personality, her independence, instinct and her research for simplicity and a sort of practical elegance. Even though this style cannot be defined easily it remains, nevertheless inimitable and timeless. Twenty years have passed since Garbo?s death in 1990 and around 70 years after her last screen appearance the Divine continues to haunt our dreams and imagination. This Summer (2-11 July) the International Film festival of La Rochelle in France will pay tribute to Garbo?s silent films. So why talk more about Garbo ? Simply because she was and remains the greatest ever. For more information on the exhibition in Florence: http://www.museoferragamo.it/en/mostre-incorso.php?id=24 Exhibition catalogue in Italian : ? GRETA GARBO il mistero dello stile ?, MUSEO SALVATORE FERRAGAMO, a cura Stefania Ricci, 2010 Skira editore (available in English next September through Amazon as well ): http://www.amazon.com/Greta-Garbo-Mystery-Stefania-Ricci/dp/8857205800/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272288040&sr=1-3

In my mind, there is no way Garbo would lose her mystery with or without sound. That woman could very well be the very definition of the word mystery in its truest and most poetical sense. "True, there is a mystery in you", says a perplexed John Gilbert after Garbo's immortal scene memorizing the room where she has spent the night with her lover. Her voice is mysterious, her whole being is mysterious. True, she is different in talkies than in silents (in silents she was more openly sensual and physical), whereas in her talkies more spiritual I would say and more androynous which is part of her charm. The big mystery to me is how did she get to "release" her soul each time she performed in front of the camera whether in silents or talkies. How does she manage to express all those feeling and sensatins as she memorises the room in "Queen Christina". What is really going on in her mind at the last Mona-Lisa shot in "Queen Christina". The way she kisses Taylor all over the face without physical contact with ehr hands in "Camille" Her perplexed innocent sensuality in her early scenes with Gable in "Susan Lennox".

It is a wonderful film, more realistic I would say than the Clarence Brown version (which I also enjoy) and it seems that Garbo herself preferred by far the Jacques Feyder film and her performance in it. It is amazing how she tones down the character compared to the American version, she plays it with more subtlety and precision and her German is absolutely beautiful. Her entrance scene at the bar where she is to meet her father and Marthy is a masterwork of great screen acting. Look at how tough and bitter she looks at a point at her monologue when she teels Marthy about her rape by one of her cousins and how she became a prostitute and then at the generosity, vulnerability and gentleness she conveys as she first sees her father. She builds her character with great precision and she looks radiant and beautiful beyond words of description proving once more that she is a truly great and diversified actress capable of inhabiting various parts from realistic characters as Anna Christie, demi mondaines like Camille, or androgynous Queens as in "Queen Christina" etc. And she does not need fancy clothes or anything like that to look Divine. The proof is this version of "Anna Christie" which Grabo made not after her first talkie 'the american "Anna Christie") btu right after her second one "Romance".

Yes, which is unfair. He also did a solid job in directing another great Charles Laughton as Javert in his adaptation of "Les Mis?rables" and died unexpectedly in 1937 while filming "The end of Mrs Cheney" with Joan Crawford (a film which I also enjoyed).

Thank you for all the information regarding the Jeanne Eagles verison of "The letter". I managed to locate the film and will hopefully receive the DVD in the next few days. Look forward to see this film. To go back to the Garbo version of "The painted veil" some credit must also be given to the director of the film Richard Boleslawski a great believer in actors and acting based on one's emotional experiences and feelings (sounds like the Method acting before its time). Boleswlawski who came from Russia (The Stanislavski method) was in awe of Garbo and her total immersion to the part as well as her great professionalism. He said at an interview that she reminded him of Eleanor Duse the great Italian stage actress (interestingly enough an actress renowned like Grabo in films to be a pioneer in subdued interiorized acting being able to suggest the maximun with a minimum of gestures and facial expressions).

Very nicely put about the Maugham characters. Not so long ago I did finally get to read "The painted veil" and then I realized that it wasn't easy to adapt his books for the screen. His characters are not heroic, nor romantic which may have made it difficult for his Hollywood adaptations. Still as you have mentionned we have a lot to treasure from the Hollywood films adapted from his work. The actors are certainly extremely important in bringing his characters to life. If you have actors of genious like Garbo, Davis, Eagles you certainly can have no complaints and Herbert Marshall is also an ideal actor for Maugham. I wish I had seen the Jeanne Eagles version of "The letter", they never show it on TCM here (I live in France). I love the 1940 William Wyler version in which Davis gave one of her greatest performances (Marshall was ideally cast as well). To go back to "The painted veil" Warner Bros earned once more a big zero for not including the Grabo version in the DVD of the new version with Naomi Watts (as I believed was originally announced). As a matter of fact they could have included both the Garbo version and the Ealeanor Parker version (an MGM film as well) as extras. It would give us a unique chance to compare and share thoughts on the different adaptations of "the painted veil".

I agree that what is wonderful about a lot of the 1930 films is that they captured perfectly and most movingly the characters motivations with style,artistry, simplicity and charm. I think there are many reasons for that. The studio system of the thirties with the big studios and their favorite stars, the stars of course (Garbo, Davis, Hepburn, Stanwyck, Laughton, Grant, Marshall, Boyer etc), the film directors (Cukor, Mamulian, Lubitsch) as well as great cinematographers (Daniels) and costume designers like Adrian. This is the case with this version of "The painted veil". We know we are not in Austria or in China, yet we are inside the character's soul, we share their intimacy, their joyes, and sorrows which is wonderful. I did see the most recent version of "The painted veil" and I liked it, not as near of course as the Garbo version. I think the latest version came to life towards the end when they move to Mei Tan Fu, there the characters became real and moving. In the Garbo film we see their development from beginning to end and we become part of their emotional journey. True as well, Diana Ring, a magnificent actress whom we should see more in films brought her expertise and warmth in the part of the mother superior in the Wat's version and so did Fran?oise Rosay in the same part in the rarely screened 1957 version in the part of the mother superior. I did see that version and I would say it is interesting but mostly for the secondary parts, besides Rosay there is a wonderful performance by George Sanders in the part of Waddington. Parker is beautiful but emotionally empty in the main character which is a shame. But still, an interesting film to discover.

I am gald so many people liked this film. Unfortunately, many critics or even Garbo admirers tend to dismiss it. Maybe this is so because it was released between two of Garbo'zs best known vehicles ("Queen Christina" and "Anna Karenina") where she played heroic larger than life tragic charcaters. In my humble opinion, it is one of Garbo's most fascinating films and she gives one of greatest and most natural performances. For once, she does not have to play a grand dame or femme fatale or tragic heroine but a young, complex human being and she does that with incomparable grace, charm and warmth. I love the early scenes at Gratz at her sister's wedding, she is so charming and light and her scenes with the wonderful herbert Marshall are filled with humor, warmth and charm. I too was counting the kisses she gave to her sister! Amazing. Even more striking than the kiss a year earlier she gave to Ebba in (the extraordinary) "Queen Christina". Garbo's performance is masterfully developped throughout the film and she is ably supported not only be her partners but also by Adrian's amazing costumes (they tell us much about her character and its developement through the movie), and William Daniel's luminous phoptography. The scenes where she puts her white dress before going to the chinese festival contemplating her loneliness through the window glass are among the most amazing scenes in all the Grabo filmography. And the turban makes us contemplate with awe the Face of the century. There is so much to treasure in "The painted veil". Unforgettable Garbo as she faces fear and loneliness at Mei Tabng Fu, looking with horror at the picture of the deceased doctor and his wife when they arrive at their new Headquarters (where her husband was assigned to fight a colera epidemic). And simply heartbreaking in the reconciliation scene with ehr husband as she makes cofee for Marshall and opens up her soul for her infidelity and guilt. There is a marvellous simplicity and humanity in Garbo's performance and her beauty and charm in this film are beyond words of description. Also agree with Cinemaven, I have never seen anything like the opening titlkes of this film with just the GARBO name dominating the screen. It shows to what extent Garbo was the master of the screen in the 1930s the one and only Divine.

It always depends how one defines beauty, but talking about photography or cinematography both the photographer Clarence Sinclair Bull (who ptotographed Garbo for most of her career at MGM) as well as William Daniels attest to Garbo's extraordinary and perfect beauty. There are also many reports from people who have met Garbo in everyday life (with no make up or any fancy clothes) and report that her beauty was extraordinary (for example Cecil Beaton when he met Garbo again in New York in 1946 says that she was far more beautiful in person than the screen...as if that was possible).

Yes, I have seen that version of "The mysterious Lady" with the Carl Davis score, marvellous. It was shown several years ago on the French-German TV channel Arte (since I live in France I had the chance to watch it). Beautiful score by Carl Davis. Unfortunately it was not released on DVD nor shown again on TV here, although I have seen once on Carl Davis' web site that there was a live performance in Sweden I believe a few years ago where he conducted the orchestra playing his own music score during a screening of "The mysterious Lady". I wish I had been there!

Oh, I know you like Garbo I never thought you were one of her detractors. Interesting that you have mentioned Louise Brooks. In case you get to see "Diary of a lost girl" let me know what you think about it. I personally was far more impressed by this than "Pandora's box" which is her trademark role.

Garbo "lacks personality"? If anything, even her detractors (I understand you are not one and I always enjoy your posts and great knowledge on silent film) who do not like her acting or looks credit her at least as an original for her powerful personality. I know that there was always a debate on Garbo with on one side the Garbomaniacs (like myself) and on the other her detractors who simply do not see what the fuss was and is about. To be honest it took me a few years to warm up and comprehend Garbo's genious and mystique, but even when I had reservations about her, she still impressed me. This was due maybe to the fact that no other actress or actor was ever able to claim the place she occupies in the pantheon of great screen actors and stars. She was and remains the Divine. And when I finally got into her there was no escape. Her genious, her extraordinary beauty, personality and mystique became all of a sudden evident to me and each time I watch her films I still discover with awe new facets in her acting and persona. There is no denial that there was an era on the screen which people called the before and after Garbo in terms of image and screen acting. She changed the standards of acting for the screen thus imposing a more sensual, ethereal and passionate image of woman who would be complex, vulnerable, cynical, generous, simple and yet mythical at the same time. All the great actresses of her time and those who followed were influenced by her style and beauty and sang her praises (among other, Louise Brooks, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Kim Novack, Joan Crawford, Mich?le Morgan, Arletty to name a few). Great film directors like Visconti or Bergman or David Lean, Max Ophuls dreamed of directing her in a film. She became a universal symbol all over the world of beauty in the sense that she was the incarnation of Beauty in its most poetic form. To me, she remains the greatest of all actresses and screen beauties with an incomparable screen presence and a cinematic legacy with no equal up to our days. There will never be another Garbo, never. And if I make her seem like some extraordinary mixture of a Greek and Egyptian goddess, sort of a Mona Lisa of the 20th century, a summary of all women or rather all human things reunited into one, please forgive me...for puting it so mildly, since I always feel and I always blush when I think or speak about Garbo that whatever one has to say about this woman one still..underates her.

There were many great screen beauties which graced the cinema. To my mind Garbo is the supreme beauty, mostly beause she attained the status of what we may call an ideal of beauty. She was not just considered the most beautiful woman of her time (the 1920s and 1930s) but above all she symbolized beauty as an idea and as an ideal. If you look closely you will find numerous articles written by film critics, intelluctuals, poets, philosophers and film lovers in every country of the world paying tribute to Garbo's beauty (her Face as an ideal of beauty) which could touch audiences all over the world. She was Beauty phsysically and metaphorically and her beauty and look had such an impact on movie audiences, as well as her colleagues which was never equalled. I think we can safely say that other actresses with all their extraordinary physical beauty liike Heddy Lamarr never attained that status as a universal status of beauty. Besides what I personally love about Garbo's beauty is thaat it is a beauty which has a soul, an extraordinay spiritual and diversified beauty: sometimes she looks like a beautiful young girl of 18 (as in "The single standard), with an ambiguous masculine touch (as in "Queen Christina"), the ultimate romantic 19th century beauty in "Camille", a modern youthful tragic beauty of the 20s in "Woman of Affairs", an art deco style figure in "The Kiss", a sensuaous femme fatale in "Flesh and the Devil" and I could go on and on. Other people may have their preferences regarding what we may call the greatest screen beauty of all times, but for me at least no one can touch Garbo.

Greta Garbo. She was and remains the Divine. The Face of the century, of any century. A spiritual and sensual beauty at the same time. There will never, ever be another Garbo either as a beauty or actress. Besides the Divine some of the other great screen beauties: Ava Gardner, Vivien Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth.

Yes that is the name of the film. I watched it back in the 1980s and thought it absolutely marvellous. Itw as her last part and was very ill during filming but went through it with great courage and gave one of her best performances.

You are so lucky to have seen her on the stage, I wish I had. She did many plays and loved the stage as well. One of her biggest successes was "A month in the country" which she did in London I think in the 1960s with Michael Redgrave, Vanessa's father.

No fighting just a few words on Ingrid Bergman. She was one of my first idols from classic films. I believe the first film I watched with her was "Anastasia", then "Joan of Arc" and "For whom the bell tolls". True she has a natural and radiant beauty and an unforced and natural way of acting for the camera. Bergman herself was a great Garbo admirer although comparisons between these two great ladies are in my mind superficial and meaningless, since their careers spanned over different periods and contexts and their style and personalities are entirely different. Today in retrospect my favourite films with Ingrid Bergman are the following: Notorious, Casablanca, Gaslight and the TV film she made which was her last on Golda Meier.

Hello Speaking about "Flesh and the Devil" I just found this article and thought it most interesting about a screening of the film as a centerpiece during an evening under the title "A Date with the Devil" and which will take place at a church. Mostly from what one can see from the article is not to depict the film as a religious one, but rather to show that Garbo remains quite simply amazing and one of the most famous actresses of all times: http://www.masslive.com/news/republican/index.ssf?/base/living-2/1207207263200810.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

Yes I do have that three disc silent collection from TCM too. I wished they released the other Garbo silents on DVD soon. I understand that some people prefer Garbo's silents to her talkies, although as I have mentioned before I love her in both. I started watching Garbo films back in the 1980s and the first one was "Camille". But I really got into her when I got to know both her silents and talkies (this happened at the time of her death in 1990). It was then that I really became fascinated with her and realised what an incomparable and diversified artist she was and such a beauty. Watching her in a film like "The single standard" and then seing her as the androgynous Christina or the romantic, tragic "Camille" is an extraordinary experience. I think yes there are differences between her silents and talkies but to me at least her films show her evolution as actress and icon. The androgynous touch definitely came during the talkies. The voice expressed a wealth of feelings and with great beauty. Sometimes the talkies reprise basically the same story as one of her silent films but the treatment is entirely different as well as Garbo's performance in it. One can see the obvious analogies with "Wild Orchids" and the marvellous and underrated "Painted veil" (which in my opinion has much more depth and feeling) or "The mysterious lady" (where Garbo is so extraordinarily sensual and feminine) and "Mata Hari" (where her fascinating androgynous style has taken over with a wonderful spiritual touch when she faces death at the end). There is also "Love" and "Anna Karenina". Same part yet such different way of playing the part. More sensual in the silent film, more open perhaps in her scens with Philippe de Lacy and Gilbert whereas she appears more mature and spiritual I would say in the 1935 version.

I think she identified so completely with the part and gave so much to the character of Marguerite that you are right, there is something extremely painful and moving in every single scene of the film. My little nephew also loves the scene with the father especially the contrast we first see the happy carefree scene in the country with Garbo, Nanine and the other people chasing bees and then that extraordinary tragic confrontation with Armand's father.