A decorated, aristocratic Czarist General is reduced to penury after the collapse of Imperial Russia. An old adversary, now a successful director hires the general to re-enact the revolution which deposed him.Written by
W. Louis <wlouis@ego.psych.mcgill.ca>
Assuming its copyright has not lapsed already, this film and all others produced in 1928 enter the U.S. public domain in 2024. See more »
Goofs
[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]
See more »
Quotes
Member of General Staff:
[Listening at the door to what he perceives to be the Duke's seduction of Natali]
That sort of thing should always be done after caviar.
See more »
Alternate Versions
In 1985 German composer Siegfried Franz reconstructed the original musical score of the film. A version of the film with this score was released in life performances in theaters and shown on television in the eighties. See more »
Josef Von Sternberg directs this magnificent silent film about silent Hollywood and the former Imperial General to the Czar of Russia who has found himself there. Emil Jannings won a well-deserved Oscar, in part, for his role as the general who ironically is cast in a bit part in a silent picture as a Russian general. The movie flashes back to his days in Russia leading up to the country's fall to revolutionaries. William Powell makes his big screen debut as the Hollywood director who casts Jannings in his film. The film serves as an interesting look at the fall of Russia and at an imitation of behind-the-scenes Tinseltown in the early days. Von Sternberg delivers yet another classic, and one that is filled with the great elements of romance, intrigue, and tragedy.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Josef Von Sternberg directs this magnificent silent film about silent Hollywood and the former Imperial General to the Czar of Russia who has found himself there. Emil Jannings won a well-deserved Oscar, in part, for his role as the general who ironically is cast in a bit part in a silent picture as a Russian general. The movie flashes back to his days in Russia leading up to the country's fall to revolutionaries. William Powell makes his big screen debut as the Hollywood director who casts Jannings in his film. The film serves as an interesting look at the fall of Russia and at an imitation of behind-the-scenes Tinseltown in the early days. Von Sternberg delivers yet another classic, and one that is filled with the great elements of romance, intrigue, and tragedy.