Powerful acting and much more emotional. I felt her pain
shareWell I actually didn't (regarding the new version) so it is a matter of opinion I suppose. I personally found that the 1934 film with Garbo has more charm and the characters (especially hers and Herbert Marshall's) were extremely human and warm. I did like the new version as well, but there is no point in comparing them since the context of each film is very different.
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I agree
Garbo gave an extraordinary performance and Marshall was simply marvellous, I love his scenes with Garbo as they are filled with humour, charm, great warmth and amazing depths of feeling. Their reconciliation scene (over coffee) at Mei Tan Fu is one of the most extraordinary and moving scenes I have ever seen on film. The relationship between the couple is on the whole better explored in the 1934 film as we trully see their interaction and appreciation of each other at the early scenes (when they meet at Graz) as well as the distance that gradually grows between the two after their arrival in China and their progressive march towards reconciliation. And who could forget the astonishing visual impact of Garbo in this film (yes the scene with the white ruban is quite simply divine) as well as those amazing close-ups of her as she contemplates her loneliness with the reflection of her face on the window, thanks notably to William Daniels' brilliant cinematography.
I agree with the person who wrote that a truly great version of The Painted Veil has not been done yet. But to me, both the Garbo film and the Naomi Watts film are very good, very enjoyable. The Garbo version strays far from the book, but Garbo and the rest of the cast do an excellent job with the script. The Naomi Watts version is slightly closer to the book (though even a modern film maker was not brave enough to tackle the unromantic feminist ending Maugham gave his story) and I thought she and Edward Norton were excellent, too. In short, why not appreciate both versions?
shareI liked the 2006 version as well. I will have to check out Garbo's someday.
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