3 out of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Enjoyable
Emma Welsby from Liverpool, UK,
30th April, 2006
This is the story of Catherine the Great of Russia; it's strange, however, that despite being named 'The Scarlet Empress', it never actually shows her reign, ending just as she seizes power. Catherine is portrayed as an innocent girl, thrust into a new life, her dreams of a handsome prince swept away when she meets her 'half-wit' future husband. Unlike most portrays of the monarch, she is not shown as a seductress, but rather she initially clings onto beliefs in fidelity in marriage, having an affair only out of desperation for affection. The transition from innocent girl to absolute monarch is unconvincing at best, and I have to object to showing Catherine wearing trousers during the final scenes - presumably to show her masculinity in taking control of the country, but hardly historically accurate. The gothic imagery of the palace seems just plain ugly to me, and I also have complaints about the length of some of the scenes - there were times when I just wanted to yell at the screen and say 'get on with it'. However, despite these criticisms it is still well worth a watch, if only because it is based on such a fabulous historical figure, and starring the lovely Marlene Dietrich.
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