Assigned Film for 6 March 2009

THE SCARLET EMPRESS
6 March 2009

Josef von Sternberg (the "von" was not a title but given him by a Hollywood studio) is one of the few Holllywood directors who was undeniably an "auteur," that is, author of his films as distinct from a mere director of someone else's film.
     Especially his seven films with the legendary actress, Marlene Dietrich (in Germany and the US) are considered classics of the cinema. The Scarlet Empress (1934) is typical of Sternberg's baroque cinema based on elaborate soft focus shots and cluttered framing (the opposite of Wyler's directorial style based on deep focus compositions).