Marlene

MARLENE (1984) is a documentary of one of the 20th cetury's most alluring women.

As I write this (late Oct, '11), we've just had the passing of APPLE CEO, Steve Jobs, and, these 2 different people have a lot in common:

They both were very controlling of their image.

Marlene was discovered, molded by director Josef von Sternberg. As the world, and media were quite different, Marlene was molded in different ways. Everything - from (supposedly) having her back molars removed, to the way she was lit - EVERYTHING was tightly controlled.

I say this, because when MARLENE's director (and one-time Dietrich co-star) Maximillian Schell approached Dietrich, she said yes (Ms. Dietrich had for the past 20 years, had become a virtual recluse - her only prior screen appearance - JUST A GIGOLO, had featured Ms. Dietrich behind both gauze, and diffusion filters on the lens - he felt he would 'direct.'

However, one of Ms. Dietrich's stipulations, was that she not be filmed - only allowing her voice to be recorded.

I can understand both Mr. Schell's disappointment with this arrangement, but, I also understand Ms. Dietrich's urge to control her image.

She wanted to till be perceived by her fans as she once was.

It's apparent to the viewer that Ms. Dietrich felt that at this point (1984) her life was, in essence - over.

Whether you agree or not, bear in mind that this is the view of a woman, who, from her teen years onward, hab been so controlled, that, as the years had passed, she was at a point in her life where (she felt) she could no longer 'create' the illusion of 'Marlene Dietrich.'

Let me give a quick background;

When film work became scarce, Marlene moved to the stage, where she did her incredible stage shows, but, even then - everything the public saw, was heavily controlled: lighting, the clothing (heavy under-boning, built in, to give Ms. Dietrich a 'va-va-voom' look.

I can't recall who said it, but, someone had seen one of her stage performances, where she appeared (well in to her 60's!) as the eternally gorgeous Marlene Dietrich.

He went backstage, and said he saw an 'old woman - ironing.'

That was Ms. Dietrich, sans the lighting, the makeup, the beautifully constructed gowns.

So, it is with bearing this in mind, that, by '84, Ms. Dietrich had long ago retired, from 'life,' - the artificially created, maintained 'Marlene Dietrich,' only allowing those most intimate to see her.

Having said this, I can understand both Mr. Schell's disappointment with this arrangement, but, I also understand Ms. Dietrich's urge to control her image.

She wanted to till be perceived by her fans as she once was.

What the end result is, is a dialogue between Ms. Dietrich and, Mr.Schell - as the two watch Marlene's films, and comment on them.

'Shhmutz,' (a German word meaning dirt) as well as 'kitsch' (tasteless), are two words that Ms. Dietrich uses to describe many of her best-loved, classic films.

I think a large part of this film is what's NOT seen - NOT heard.

The voice - still strong - is that of a woman, who sees herself, her life, as being one big performance, and, sadly, doesn't see the love, and adulation, but can only view her 'professional' self, and all it's imperfections, with a cold, clinical eye.

Mr. Schell, who is obviously a fan, as well as an actor/director - tries though MARLENE to subtly get Ms. Dietrich to open up, and see the love, but, sadly, that never happens.

As a fan of hers, I could laugh at her jokes, but, I still felt melancholic.

You wish: 'if only she knew.'

If only.

On very few occasions did Marlene Dietrich drop the well-constructed mask of her eternal beauty. She was the daughter of a soldier, and very rarely showed (real) emotions. Max Shell was able to give us a glimpse of the woman behind the facade in this breathtaking documentary (even though Marlene did not allow their conversations to be filmed, a sound-recording is all we get from the 83 year old legend). It is certainly not a flattering portrait. Marlene is rude and impatient, and she tells all kinds of lies. But at the end of the documentary there are a few extremely touching moments: Her sudden joy when she sings songs from her ´Berliner Platte´ (the Berlin album), a film-clip from her last movie ´Just a gigolo´ (1978), and her emotional reaction to the favorite poem of her mother, read by the director. When Shell finally breaks her defence mechanism, we hear an old and tired woman, tired of being perfect for more than six decades. And every time it breaks my heart to think how hard it must have been to keep up the facade that was Marlene Dietrich.

Yet, HERE! Perhaps the most intimate documentary ever filmed.

An 82-year old legend who refuses to be photographed, yet whose voice alone raises hackles, cackles and longing over a brilliant assemblage of stock and custom footage.

As much as anything, "Marlene" is a film about trying to film somebody: trying to know somebody.

"Nein, nein, nein," it begins. "No, no no," Marlene instantly dismisses us and this documentary.

Its last word, from Dietrich's own lips, finally resigned, crying softly, is, "Maybe." One of the most haunting, heartbreaking films ever made.

Never has there been as deep a glance into any other screen Goddess' life as this.

Ironic. The most private, iconic of early screen actresses, extends her career for nearly sixty years -- including live performances around the world (unlike, say, Greta Garbo) and culminates in one of the more enigmatic yet fulfilling performances of the century with her voice alone in "Marlene." Thanks solely to Maximillian Schell, whose genius as a film maker rose to Dietrich's genius as a tart risen to lady and finally to goddess.

"Maybe." Indeed.

I've seen another documentary on Marlene Dietrich and also read her daughter's book. I was interested in this one for a bizarre reason- I once sat on the New York subway next to someone who had the script of this documentary with him. Being a big fan of Maximilian Schell's, I wanted to see it.

Schell, who appeared with Dietrich in "Judgment at Nuremberg," was able to convince the actress to do this documentary, but she would not permit herself to be shown on camera.

She was last seen in the 1978 film Just a Gigolo, heavily made up and behind a veil, but still looking mighty good to me. But if one reads her daughter's book, it's easy to see that as she aged, she became a little eccentric. She spent the last 11 years of her life bedridden and allowed very few people to see her.

So the famous Dietrich voice supplies a narration of sorts to the glorious film clips, clips of her in newsreels, and film of her doing her one-woman show. It is all glorious, showing how she evolved over the years, her excellent acting in films like "Judgment at Nuremberg," "Witness for the Prosecution," and "Touch of Evil," and the incredible charisma and beauty she shared with the audience in her show.

At one point, Schell offends her and she lays into him. making a remark about him being a "Swiss", and telling him she'd sat at tables with politicians and dignitaries and no one had ever spoken to her like that. She went on for a while. Schell punctuates her words with images of flying film strips and a whizzing, distorted background.

She could be abrupt, but also emotional as she recites a favorite poem of her mother's.

Dietrich talks like she hated making movies, didn't do much to get into a role, her private life was private. It's hard to say now. One thing that wasn't gone into was her passion for Jean Gabin, nor was much of the documentary focused on her war work.

Marlene Dietrich was a magical personality, an exotic beauty, a wonderful actress, and a magnificent performer. This documentary gives us plenty of examples of her magic and, if you don't appreciate her now, you will after seeing this.

She was the kind of star we won't see again - androgynous, earthy, and very much of her time. In her eighties when this was made, her attitude is very much like her final words in Touch of Evil: "What does it matter what you say about people?"

Highlights of this brilliant documentary film must include Deitrich's opinions of directors she worked with. For example Orson Welles was a genius (`Cross yourself before you mention his name'!) She appeared in `Touch of Evil' without a fee when Welles couldn't raise finance. Von Sternberg always made things difficult for her so that she would use her brain and learn something whereas Fritz Lang was a `monster' who had her marks chalked on the floor when she arrived on set but his stride was much longer than hers. Then there's the controversy of Billy Wilder denying Marlene an Oscar opportunity for her superb performance in `Witness for the Prosecution'

`Marlene' includes generous extracts from many of her movies from the silent era in Germany to her final role in `Just a Gigolo' with many gems in between. Deitrich claims never to have watched her own films but director Schell runs excerpts on a video machine and gets her comments.

She also talks about her contribution to the Allied war effort, the desire of the German people for strong leadership and her contempt for Hitler.

Schell & Deitrich, who appeared together in ` Judgement at Nuremberg' often disagree sharply, and listening to Marlene hold her end up in the exchanges it's easy to forget that she was 82 years old when this documentary was made in 1983.

Summing up, `Marlene' is a must-see for anyone interested in older movies and her rendition of `See what the boys in the back-room will have' from `Destry Rides Again' alone is worth the money.