Thank god for TCM! This movie was, in short, amazing. This was the first Greta Garbo movie I ever saw, too...she was perfect for the role. All of the cast was perfect, really...it made me cry at the end. For some reason, too, I loved the part when Baron and Marguerite were at the piano and the doorbell rang...the camera zooming around them as they laughed was just...perfect!
formerly known as XxrandomxX
I had the great honor of meeting George Cukor at a Lincoln Center gala in his honor in 1979. When I told him how many times I had seen Camille, fourteen (at that time), he said, "That's too much. Too much." A modest comment really. I think the relaxed, unguarded nature of Garbo's fantastic performance is attributable to Cukor's direction.
May I praise MGM's art direction in creating the detailed sense of mise-en-scene. No studio at that time could approach them, except perhaps Paramount.
It was very well made, with excellent performances! But, the melodrama. :-) As someone who's probably seen WAY too many operas, you can see the tragic ending coming miles and miles away! So, watching it, I'm thinking, "She's toast." And, she is, with the "reason" given way too paper thin, even by operatic standards.
shareThe book is 1000X more melodramatic, especially in the original.
shareWow! That's a LOT! :-)
sharehahaha! OK, I’m remembering the part where he’s exhumed her body so he can hold her one more time.. Well, maybe not 1000X 🤣
shareAlso, in the book - and I found this funny- Dumas fils has Marguerite carry red camellias for one week out of every month which meant don't come a knockin'. ;j
shareI liked Olympe and the fat lady.
shareDo you like silent cinema? Why not check out Camille with whatshername and Valentino. Boosted his career big time and the sets are outrageously gorgeous Art Deco. Nazimova was Camille..
shareNope, THIS is the best movie version of the story! It cannot be beat!
I've also seen about ten versions of the opera. This movie is more affecting than any of them, even with the enchanting music the opera offers.
OT, are you ever very emotionally moved by opera performances? As you said, the music is enchanting, but as far as the story goes do you feel for the characters?
I love opera but I never got that out of a live performance but I haven't seen a ton and maybe nothing great.
Yes, I have been moved by an opera, and moved by feelings for a person rather than just by the music. Not every opera, because face it some are extremely silly even if the music is great, but there are a few operas that work as dramas as well as music (or camp). The best example I can think of is "Tosca", which is fast-paced, dramatic, and exciting by the standards of opera. In the hero sings "E lucevan le stelle" as he waits to be executed, and it's not just a beautiful piece of music, every time I see it my heart wrenches with emotion because here's this guy facing an unjust death and his heart is filled with love rather than bitterness... okay, I'm playing a video in another window and tearing up!
Quite frankly I've never felt that way about "Traviata", but my best opera buddy does. It's her favorite show.
Tosca sounds great! So do you speak Italian or do you just know it that well?
I like the Camille/Traviata story alright but it has been played to death. The hooker with the heart of gold who sacrifices herself on the altar of true love. 😆
The San Francisco Opera plays "supertitles", a light plays English translations of whatever's being sung on a board above the stage. As my grasp of languages is as weak as the typical American's, I find it enhances my enjoyment of the opera.
Especially the Ring Cycle! Which is SO freaking long, I find it really REALLY helps to know what they're all going on about hour after hour, in fact there's genuine dramatic tension once you know what's happening in every moment! If SFOpera puts their 20th century production on again, I highly recommend it to any opera fan who can tolerate Wagner.
I’d see that, thanks!
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