Queen Christina (released in 1933) - Starring Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith and Lewis Stone

This movie is loosely based on the life and times of the Swedish queen Christina. It was an American precode film staring Greta Garbo, John Gilbert and is directed by Edward Mamoulian.
After her father King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is killed in battle, six year old Christina enters the throne. She accepts the throne as a king of Sweden and is guided by chancellor Oxenstierna. Although in her younger days she support the war efforts, she soon estranges herself from the courtiers by denouncing the war effort. She tells everybody her decision to negotiate peace for her people. Chancellor Oxenstierna exhorts her to marry the war hero prince Palatine Charles Gustavus and do her royal duty of producing an heir. But Christina refuses to marry without love. She flirts with Count Magnus, her handsome treasury secretary. Magnus is ambitious and jealously guards her affections. Soon tiring out of Magnus's possessive nature Christina rides out disguised as a man to the countryside.
Here she encounters an overturned carriage of the Spanish ambassador, Antonio and she helps them to move the carriage. Antonio takes her to be a country man and coolly murmurs his thanks and rides off. But they meet again at the inn and still mistaking her for a man, Antonio engages her in a lively discussion.



Amused by her intelligence and wit Antonio offers to share his room and Christina accepts. But in the confines of the room Christina reveals her true self and Antonio takes her in to his arms. Soon the lovers spend a gay weekend at the inn immersed in themselves and Antonio returns to court after promising his return to the inn.
Christina also returns to court and is confronted by a jealous Magnus. But she rebuffs him and dresses herself as an angel for the presentation ceremony by the Spanish Ambassador. Antonio is surprised to see her as the queen and accuses her of playing with his emotions. But he presents her with his kings portrait and a marriage proposal which she accepts. She spends time with Antonio which enrages Magnus. He spreads rumors of her scandalous conduct and is confronted by an angry mob. After ordering Antonio back to Spain she confronts Magnus and dismisses him off her affections.
She calls on Oxenstierna to confer about her future and informs the heart broken court of her decision to abdicate. She installs another king and plans to meet Antonio at their inn. But Magnus challenges Antonio to a duel and fatally wounds him by treachery. When Christina reaches him, Antonio dies in her arms. Even in her grief Christina realizes that she had found love and resolves to sail to Spain to see her beloveds castle by the sea.
This movie had won the Mussolini cup at he Venice film festival and marks Greta Garbo's return to cinema after a eighteen month long hiatus. The film was well received by all the contemporary film critics. The highlight of the film is its direction where light and shadow is used to create each frame, a work of art. The last scene of Christina returning home is one of the most beautiful movie frames in the history of cinema. Even though a fictionalized account, this movie is a well made film with believable characters.

The Three Musketeers (released in 1948) - Starring Gene Kelly and Lana Turner, based on the book

The Three Musketeers is a fantasy action film adapted from the Alexander Dumas's novel of the same name. Many versions of this tale has been tried out in Hollywood and has been the favorite period drama adapted by the film industry.
D'Artagnan is a superb swordsman who leaves for Paris to join the famous Musketeers and carry a recommendation letter to De Treville, the commander of the Musketeers. On his way he is assaulted by a lady's guard and his letter is also burnt. Artagnan reaches De Treville who recognizes the assailant and allows him to train for the esteemed position. While on the street Artagnan sees his assailant and tries to duel him enraging the Three musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Artagnan challenges them to a duel and while this happens Richelieu's men try to arrest them Artagnan joins forces with the Musketeers and foils the arrest. This act of valor earns him the respect of the musketeers who take him in to their fold.
That night a chance meeting with Constance Bonacieux, the lady in waiting for the queen Anne leaves Artagnan deeply in love. His feelings are reciprocated by Constance. But trouble is brewing as Queen Anne has a lover in the British Duke, Buckingham. King Louis XIII of France presents his wife Anne, a magnificent pair of earrings which she gives to Buckingham as a token of her love.



This exchange reaches the ear of the wicked Richelieu who plots the overthrow of the King. To precipitate the war between England and France to fulfill his nefarious designs he asks the King to have the queen wear the beautiful diamonds for the grand ball. A panic stricken Queen confides in Constance who enlist the support of the musketeers. But Richlieu sends a Femme fatale Milady de Winter to appropriate the jewel from Buckingham.
As the Musketeers battle Richelieu's men to reach the duke, de Winter gets the earrings. But Artagnan who reaches the goal makes a similar copy, thus helping the Queen to avoid a scandal. Richlieu again asks de Winter to seduce Artagnan to enlist him in his force. Athos reveals that de Winter is his evil wife who is a common murderess thus earning her wrath. Richelieu then kidnaps Constance to force Artagnan's hand. But the queen frees her and send her to Buckingham. De Winter reaches there and is promptly captured, but manages to murder Constance.
A heart broken Artagnan gets an incriminating letter delivered by de Winter to Buckingham in which Richelieu had asked for a partnership. He unmasks Richelieu during the grand ball and has him captured. He also captures de winter who begs for mercy and send her to the guillotine.
This movie has Gene Kelly playing the title role of de Artagnan and Lana Turner the femme fatale de Winter. This movie has June Allyson, John Sutton and Angela Lansbury in key roles. MGM to avoid a confrontation with the Roman Catholic Church, omitted the reference of Cardinal Richelieu from the movie. This movie is one of the successful movies of that year and is a good watch.

El Cid (1961) - The story of a hero

El Cid, the legendary hero of Spain was a real person named Don Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar ((c. 1040, Vivar, near Burgos – July 10, 1099, Valencia)). He lived around 1035 A.D. Although he spent much of his time fighting on the side of the Moors, he became identified as the best incarnation of the true Castilian Christian spirit. His name came from the Arabic "sayyid" meaning "lord" or "chief." He was a nobleman, who was educated in the royal court of Castile, and was one of the leading warriors of Alfonso VI against the Moors. He is considered the national hero of Spain.
As is expected, a movie made on such a hero is always made more romantic than reality, with acts of heroism and valor magnified, and when the movie has such actors such as Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren, the movie seems much more romanticized than the original. The movie was released in 1961 and earned 3 Oscar nominations, but was unable to win any Oscars.



The movie was directed by Anthony Mann, and was shot primarily on location in Spain (including the historic castles of Belmonte (Cuenca) and Peñíscola (Castellón)), with a smaller number of scenes being shot in Rome. The movie used real swords during the shooting, so you would expect that the action scenes needed a much better control and thorough safety measures.
El Cid was part of an aristocratic family, but not very powerful or high in the Spanish royal court. However, he became famous as a man who was a warrior at the same time as he was a peacemaker, willing to spare enemies if they swore their allegiance to his king. This was a time when there were many royals, with many of these royals fighting for power, and fighting for the throne. And this was also a time when the Moors were fighting for gaining space in Spain, in their quest to introduce the power of Islam inside Spain.
He was to fight back charges of treason, and eventually loses favor at the royal court, becoming a mercenary when his king Alfonso abandons him. He even fights on the side of the Moors, but eventually comes back to support his king when he is called back. He also came to command much more influence among the common people, earning their respect, and forming his own army composed of both Christians and Moors, forming his own fiefdom comprising the city of Valencia and its neighboring regions.
The book had some great scenes, such as the fight between two single warriors to get control of the city, which was a great fight. Shooting on location imparted some incredible majesty and splendor to the movie.

The Battleship Potemkin (1925)

The Battleship Potemkin is a classic Russian movie, released in 1925. It is a silent movie, also known by another name 'he Battleship Potyomkin' as well as by the Russian name of 'Bronyenosyets Potyomkin'. The movie was directed by Sergei Eisenstein, and was based on the real life story of the actual crew of the Russian naval ship of the same name during 1905, oppressed by the naval officers of the Tsarist regime that was ruling Russia around that time.
The movie has been so famous that the history of the ship is defined more by the movie rather than by history books. The movie was famous also for its graphic violence (not seen in movies of that time) as well as to be a propaganda movie to get sympathy for the crew of the ship. This attempt worked so well on viewers that the Nazi propaganda spinner, Joseph Goebbels, was very admiring of the movie for its attempt to sell a political story in a simple yet powerful way.



The zeal of the movie director to sway audiences imparted a revolutionary approach that caused the movie to run afoul of sensors in many countries, with the movie either banned or scenes cut; it was only over a period of time that the movie was restored with cut sections to audiences all over. The movie had some classic scenes, but the most striking was the scene of the Czar's Cossack soldiers marching down steps (the Odessa steps) and firing into the crowd of civilians who had come to watch the ship arrive.
The movie takes the true story of the rebellion on board the Russian naval ship Battleship Potemkin in the year 2005. There was discontent against the oppressive officers of the Tzar, and there was a plan to have an uprising. However, the uprising was started earlier on the battle-ship when the sailors protested against having to eat maggot infested meat that the ship's officers and doctor had certified as being fit for human consumption. This was the first element of the movie, with the movie being essentially divided into 5 parts:
1. Men and maggots
2. Drama at the harbour: The sailors rise up and their leader, Vakulynchuk, is killed
3. A dead man calls for Justice: The civilians at Odessa mourn the dead
4. The massacre of civilians at Odessa where the Czar's soldiers kill the civilians on the steps
5. "The Rendez-Vous with a Squadron where the squadron joins the sailors instead of crushing them
After the mutiny, the sailors go different ways. The ones who returned or were induced to return were executed or jailed, and the others went to different countries such as Romania, Argentina and Ireland.

The Last Emperor (1987)

The Last Emperor was a major award winning epic movie, released in 1987, and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, and written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. The movie had some unique distinctions - the Chinese Government allowed shooting in the Forbidden City and gave him unprecedented access (to the extent that when the British Queen visited Beijing, the movie got precedence in The Forbidden City). This was also because the movie mirrored the history of China during the earlier half of the century, and in a form that did not go the vision of history as per the Communist rulers. And the movie cleaned up at the Oscars, being nominated for 9 awards and winning all 9 of them (if that is not a clean sweep :-), then what is ?)



The movie is indeed about the Last Emperor in China, who lived a sheltered life in the Forbidden City, but who also experience the tumultuous years of Chinese history, including the occupation by the Japanese and the atrocities committed in Manchuria, and then moving forward to the Cultural Revolution in the 1960's, finally terminating at a time when western tourists are free to visit Beijing (symbolizing China's opening to the World).
The movie starts with the time when the Emperor, Puyi, is returning to China after 5 years of captivity by the Soviet Union (held in the gulag, and as a prisoner after a trial by the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal; the movie is totally silent about this time). He was convicted for complicity in the Japanese War Crimes in the Chinese region of Manchuria after being arrested by the Red Army. Given that there was solidarity among the Communist Governments in the beginning, Stalin decided to hand Puyi back to China after it was taken over by the Communists in 1949 (even though Puyi wrote to Stalin pleading not to be sent back).
Once he reaches back to China, Puyi attempts suicide, and in this state, the movie shows his initial history; his sheltered life in the Forbidden City including his marriage and other incidents, and moves onto his prison camp where he learns the extent of Japanese atrocities and accepts responsibility for his complicity in these war crimes. The movie then moves onto the Cultural Revolution of the 60's where Puyi is now a normal citizen, a gardener (also showing the happenings of that time where people could be condemned as not being part of the revolution, and in which many of China's intellectuals suffered). The movie moves on further, showing Puyi now visiting the Forbidden City as a tourist, watching the throne on which he used to sit once, until finally the movie ends with a scene where western tourists are displayed the same scene, and in that sequence, the death of the Emperor is also mentioned.

Oscars won by the movie:
- Best Picture,
- Best Art Direction-Set Decoration,
- Best Cinematography,
- Best Costume Design,
- Best Director,
- Best Film Editing,
- Best Music (Original Score),
- Best Sound and
- Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

Roman Holiday (1953)

Roman Holiday was a movie that brought a major star to American attention. Audrey Hepburn was an almost unknown to the American public at that time; she had appeared on American television in 1952 - a CBS Television Workshop production of Rainy Day in Paradise Junction. However, she was still an unknown, and then here comes this Oscar winning role introducing this great beauty in a role that gave her plenty of screen time. To a large extent, the role is written to allow an actress plenty of freedom, and Audrey Hepburn utilized this role to the maximum possible.
A lot of people know the concept of Cinderella, where a commoner can become like royalty for the night, but then has to get back to being a commoner after a few hours. There is also the reverse story, where royalty wants to get away from it all, and be able to enjoy life like a commoner. Popular imagination has it that being a royal means a life away from stress, but this movie presents a very rigid and structured life as royalty, enough to get people to revolt against this stiff life and want to break free.


The movie was produced and directed by a famous director, William Wyler. Wyler is known for directing a number of movies such as Dodsworth (1936), Jezebel (1938), Wuthering Heights (1939), The Letter (1940), Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), The Heiress (1949), Friendly Persuasion (1956), Ben-Hur (1959) and Funny Girl (1968). Seeing this list, you can get an idea of the variety of movies directed by Wyler.
The combination of royalty, and a light-hearted romance that does not end in the usual marriage, but results in a bond that is not destined to progress beyond each other's heart managed to get a total of 10 Academy Award nominations, out of which it won 3 of these awards.
Won:
1. Best Actress Oscar (Audrey Hepburn)
2. Best Original Story (Ian McLellan Hunter, later in 1982 given to the earlier black-listed Dalton Trumbo)
3. Best B/W Costume Design (Edith Head)
Nominated but did not win:
4. Best Picture
5. Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Albert)
6. Best Director
7. Best Screenplay (Ian McClellan Hunter and John Dighton)
8. Best B/W Cinematography
9. Best B/W Art Direction/Set Decoration
10. Best Film Editing

The movie is essentially about 2 characters, with Audrey Hepburn playing the royal princess of an European country, and Gregory Peck plays a reporter out for a good story, and willing to do what it takes to get the story of the real person behind the process. They meet coincidentally, and slowly fall for each other.
Princess Ann is on a European tour, generating goodwill for her country, meeting people of different countries in Europe, attending different functions, and overall getting very bored with all this. She is hemmed in by officials and her chaperone, not able to do what she wants, being guided on the right things to do. She is chafing at these restrictions, and wants to escape to see what things are really like outside the life that she is forced to live.
She manages to escape her embassy in Rome, and sets out to see the city. However, since she seemed hysterical in the embassy, she is getting drowsy and soon goes off to sleep on a park bench. She is found by reporter Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), who like most reporters will do anything for a story. When he sees a girl sleeping on a bench, he takes her to this apartment, where she promptly sleeps on his bed, leaving him the couch. The next day he discovers from his office that he she is a princess who he was supposed to be covering, and he can visualize a great story where the real interests and feelings of a princess can be uncovered. Towards that end, he arranges to have a cameraman follow them discreetly.
He takes her for a trip around Rome, in a way that she would never have seen. She gets a different haircut, see the fountain, drive on a Vespa and have a lot of fun, including some serious discussions on life. They slowly start falling for each other, even though he still has a cameraman recording her movements. After they are tracked by the agents of her Government and manage to escape, she realizes that her time on the loose is up and she will have to back to her responsibilities.
Joe, his love overcoming his inclination to get the story, resists his editors commands to make a story, and the next day, in her press conference, presents her all the photos on the sly. And then she leaves his life forever, leaving him to wonder at what could have been, but would never happen.