Greta Garbo stars in one of her greatest roles, as the 17th century Swedish queen fiercely devoted to her country who fights at the head of her army like a man but who loves like a woman–Queen Christina. Crowned queen when she was five years old, the beautiful Christina (Garbo) leads a sexually ambiguous life as she fights to defend her Protestant country against the Counterreformation, dressing as a man and vowing to live as a bachelor. Christina has built her country into a formidable military power, defeating the armies of the Vatican and threatening Russia, and she has agreed to wed the King of Spain–not for love, but to guarantee her country’s peace and security. But Christina loses her heart to the King’s ambassador (John Gilbert)–and she must choose between her duty to her country and the man she loves. Directed with his own unique style by Rouben Mamoulian, this M-G-M classic endures as a masterpiece of classic cinema.
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Video Quality
Queen Christina makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Warner Archive with a brand new 1080p master that manages to put any prior release of the film to shame. Due to the immense popularity of this title back in the day, the Original Camera Negative is long gone. On account of this, the transfer is derived from a 4K scan of a Nitrate Duplicate Negative, whereas previous releases were derived from 4th or 5th generation sources. While there may be some lingering subtle softness due to the source, there is no doubt this upgrade is night and day compared to what came before. Warner Archive always takes great pains to bring the best experience for each feature.
The black-and-white photography courtesy of William H. Daniels sparkles in high definition with natural grain intact. Black levels are deep with no instances of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast holds firm, and there is virtually nothing in the way of print damage to be found. This new transfer shows off a fantastic amount of depth and enhanced detail within the grandiose production design. There is a tremendous amount of detail present with welcome textures on the clothing and within the production design. Warner Archive has delivered their typical A+ work here.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray release comes with a newly restored DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that brings this movie to life admirably. The score from Herbert Stothart complements the story well with a robust sound that maintains its fidelity. The exchanges of dialogue come through clearly throughout the duration without much distortion. There does not appear to be much in the way of damage or age related wear and tear to the track outside of the occasional harsher inflection. The environmental effects and the music never overpowers the dialogue on this release. This audio presentation holds up as well as the source will allow. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles available on the disc.
Special Features
- MGM Parade – Episode 31: A nearly 30-minute program is provided here which highlights the career of Greta Garbo as hosted by Walter Pidgeon. This is much more formal and a bit stilted compared to some modern specials, but it is really cool to witness this assortment of clips, interviews with Hollywood bigwigs and even old school commercials.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Queen Christina is a well mounted period melodrama which puts a romantic bent on history. The plot is simplified to satisfy Hollywood studio ambitions, but it succeeds in entertaining enough for what it is. Greta Garbo is the draw here with her fine performance, but the romantic chemistry she has with John Gilbert does not feel as palpable as it should. The film is not overly long, but the pacing can be a bit sluggish. The film seems more suited for the more fiercely devoted fans of the Hollywood period melodrama. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a standout A/V presentation and a nifty supplemental featurette. This release should not be missed if you are a fan. Recommended
Queen Christina can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or through various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.