The running time is Various.
Lately I have had the pleasure of reviewing collections from the likes of Errol Flynn, Steve McQueen, James Dean and Alfred Hitchcock, so when the chance to preview the work of Greta Garbo who was I to say no? With films spanning all the way back to the silent era Garbo is certainly one of the most radiant movie stars the ‘30s had to offer and I quickly realized that after I first popped in Best Picture winner Grand Hotel, but what I came to learn is that it didn't stop there.
Packed with 10 of Garbo's greatest films this collection is being released in celebration of her 100th birthday and also includes a feature length documentary titled Garbo, which aired on TCM the same day as this set hit the shelves.
Of the 10 films in the set three of them are her silent films Flesh and the Devil, The Temptress and Mysterious Lady. These three films also boast the only audio commentaries found throughout the collection as Garbo film historians sit down to chat up the queen of the silent films.
Beyond those three the seven other films include the previously released Grand Hotel as well as six new to DVD titles including Camille, Queen Christina, Ninotchka, Anna Christie, Anna Karenina and Mata Hari and while they may not come with audio commentaries Warner has done its best to include special features to keep the nostalgia fans happy.
As if it wasn't enough to relive the first moment Greta's voice is heard on film 16-minutes into Anna Christie the disc also offers up the German version of the film, which was shot immediately following the English-language production, a version Garbo reportedly preferred as the better of the two.
While the primary feature on each disc is the theatrical trailer everything is made up for with the documentary "Garbo", the previously mentioned feature length documentary by the well-respected documentarians Kevin Brownlow and Christopher Bird. The documentary delves into all aspects of Garbo's life and career giving fans more than enough dirt on the woman that only “wanted to be alone.” This doc is just as fascinating as those before it including the ones I found so intriguing on the recently released box sets for Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Garbo was yet again one of the queens of Hollywood and she seemed to fall into as many traps as those before and after her, yet she seemed to be the one instigating her fall as she slid into seclusion. It is just as fascinating as it is tragic as the final test footage Garbo ever sat for is shown in the doc, but the movie she was prepping for never came to be. It would be the final time Greta would willingly sit before a camera.
On top of that you will be able to watch a nine-minute excerpt from Garbo's lost silent The Divine Woman. While this isn't a piece of extraordinary significance you begin to feel as if you are enjoying Garbo for the first time with several others as the footage has not been seen in some time.
Overall this is a film lover's dream. Movies like these and performances like Garbo's are not seen anymore. Considering the filmmaking techniques back then are in no means as sophisticated as they are now, these features read more like stage plays than gigantic feature films, but there isn't really anything wrong with that. Instead of allowing special effects and massive explosions to tell the story it is strictly plot and character driven, and fans that pick up this set will see that Garbo was quite a character.