Garbo

2005

Biography / Documentary

1
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 88%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 88% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 8.0/10 10 449 449

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Plot summary

An original documentary from Turner Classic Movies, Garbo offers an intimate look at the life and career of the movies' most luminous, reclusive and mystifying star. A portrait of Garbo the woman is drawn through interviews with biographers and admirers, plus many of the friends, relatives and associates who came closest to penetrating the lonely star's veil of solitude.

Director

Top cast

Charles Bickford as Matt Burke
Lionel Barrymore as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Robert Taylor as Armand Duval
Julie Christie as Narrator
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
958.02 MB
1280*694
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 44 min
Seeds 2
1.74 GB
1920*1040
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 44 min
Seeds 7

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by notmicro 7 / 10

The legendary screen-tests

Obviously this documentary is essential viewing for anyone with an interest in Garbo. It presents amazing clips from the legendary long-lost 1949 screen-tests for "La Duchess de Langeais" which of course was never made. These clips show a noticeably mature, radiant, slightly more human 43-year-old Garbo - although to me she almost always has the feeling of an ethereal creature who has time-warped in from some higher plane to mingle for a while with mere mortals.The reality, as she herself knew better than anyone, was that she was extremely mortal, earth-bound, and was aging fast (heavy smoking and too much sun). The fact that she could no longer maintain the illusion of youth was one of the main reasons why she didn't want to work again, in addition to the fact that she mostly hated making films anyhow, and had become rich and did not have to ever work again. Note that "Two-Faced Woman" was not nearly the disaster legend makes it out to be; in spite its being such a mess, of the bad reviews, and the loss of the European market, it grossed quite well and almost broke even financially - a strong indication of the public's continued interest in her. Also note that MGM had dumped pretty much all of their female stars from the silent era by 1942 (i.e Shearer, Crawford et al); Garbo went down in good company, as generational tastes shifted to pin-ups of Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable. Personally, I've always wished that she had ended up making films in Swedish with Ingmar Bergman in the 1950s-60s. She could have done something completely different and quite stunning under his direction, however it appears that no one in the industry - Bergman and Garbo included - was able to conceive of her appearing as a decidedly middle-aged character.This documentary is also extremely defensive about Garbo's famous reclusiveness and focuses a lot of time and energy on it. However this was only true rather late in her life; for much of her life she was actually somewhat active and social, but in private and very much out of the public eye, as she circulated in an international A-list jet-set.
Reviewed by mossgrymk 9 / 10

garbo

Very well done doc that does a good job of de-mystifying its subject, especially her decision to leave Hollywood and films for New York and privacy. The simple and, to me, utterly convincing explanation put forward by Kevin Brownlow and Christopher Bird in this film is that of a talented actress who simply could not endure being a Star, especially the non stop attention. That this, of course, puts her at odds with about 99.9% of those in her profession who make it big is an irony to be savored along with that other Garbo irony that this dramatic actress' best film, by far, is her only comedy.I also like that she didn't take any crap from Louis B. Mayer. A minus.
Reviewed by bkoganbing 8 / 10

Her mystique intact

I don't think any film star so totally dictated the term's of their career than Greta Garbo. Once she obtained international stardom after the film Torrent the direction she moved was determined by her and her alone. Even Louis B. Mayer the autocratic boss of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a wide berth and treated her as an equal. And when she left the screen abruptly in 1941 she made her retirement stick.Her mystique was intact and stayed intact. I recall several stars in their retirement years like Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, James Cagney, Randolph Scott who quit the field on top. Occasionally you would read small items about them, a stray photograph or two would appear. They would say thanks, but I'm enjoying my leisure. Of the four I mentioned only Cagney made a comeback and I think it was a mistake.Garbo whose image was one of aloofness never looked back. Instead we looked for her if our travels took us to the island of Manhattan. She'd walk around Manhattan doing her window shopping, avoiding stares and cameras and we gave her a wide berth.One of the best tributes I ever read about her came from one of her co-stars Robert Taylor. He had never even spoken to her on the lot before Taylor was cast as Armand in Camille. He was in awe of her, but she put him at ease and worked with him ceaselessly. She demanded excellence in herself more than any director could demand. She made him and others around her better performers, reaching for depths of emotion they never thought they possessed.After the film was over she was aloof again. But Taylor in appreciation for what she did for him just gave Garbo her space and never thought of her as snobbish in any way. It was her way to be alone and he like so many of the public as well as her fellow players gave her what she wanted.Kevin Brownlow did a wonderful assembling the film and the interviews to capture the aloof spirit that was Greta Garbo. From 1941 until 1990 she held us fascinated right up to when she died. That's quite an impression she made.
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