La reine Élisabeth

Perhaps Sarah Bernhardt was a great theatre actress, but she was an awful film actress. As ignorant are the filmmakers who made this rubbish. Of course, the idea behind these productions from Adolph Zukor's Famous Players in Famous Plays, Pathé film d'art, or spectacles from Italy was to associate the new medium of film with the established art of theatre (often literature, too). The only decent legacy these films have is that they ushered in the age of feature-length films, but stagnating motion pictures to the grammar of the stage was of more consequence. The camera is stationary, the narrative is ridiculous and the acting is artificial and pretentious.

(Note: The version I saw was approximately 50 minutes and appeared to be at proper projection speed.)

A rare screen appearance from the Grand Dame of the French stage, Sarah Bernhardt. Sadly, it's not a particularly impressive showcase for her talents, not only because of the purely functional direction (static camera, no close-ups) but also due to the poor condition of the online print

With this other movie from 1919, i discovered French history with an English production and it was about the favorite girl of a king. Here it's the opposite: it's about the favorite boy of a queen and it's a french production about English history! As i don't know the historical facts, i can't comment the story but there is a great dramatic tension: the love triangle (or even square), the ring artefact. Some find useless the captions that explain the scene BEFORE however for me they were essential and without them i would have been lost in the story. From a production point of view, i'm a bit disappointed: sure the period wardrobe looks cute as well the props but honestly they look like more spanish than british. About the big diva Sara Bernhardt, she left me cold: she was OK with pantomimes but what an awful make-up! her white head with a neck piece looks like she was wearing the Halloween mask, no kidding! And indeed the camera is still and it looks like a taped stage play. In a way, less stupid than King John from 1899 (a silent Shakespeare, appreciate the paradox!) but not a classic as the loves and hates of the mighty bores me ... deeply!

This is a curio, a filmed play which is silent, but retains Miss Bernhardt's bow at the end, a film which tells you what is going to happen in the scene before it does (in case you didn't get it), and which takes enormous liberties with fact as historical films always do. This is the story of Elizabeth and Essex, so those of us who are familiar with Davis and Flynn and their version can have some fun drawing comparisons ... it's not without its unintentionally amusing moments (just how, when Elizabeth visits Essex's body after his execution, has his head been put back on his body without leaving a scar, and why, when Elizabeth dies, does she fall on some conveniently placed cushions?) but these aside its an entertaining 40 minutes, well acted by all concerned and not as stilted as I thought it might be. Miss Bernhardt comes across as something special even in silence and something is better than nothing. If you like silents and can give old ones a chance, you'll probably like this. The picture quality wasn't great on the copy I saw but it is nearly 90 so I think we can make allowances ... one I'll happily watch again.

This 1912 mini-masterpiece laid the groundwork for future feature-length films (even though it wasn't the first). The film will appear to many as just parts of a play that were filmed, which begin and end with intertitles that explain all the action before it happens on the screen. However, unlike future films, this one doesn't have any dialogue on cards. Altogether though, the characters are played well by their actors, Sarah Bernhardt portrays Elizabeth at a high level of supremacy, and this film is short, sweet and very easy to understand. I highly recommend it, but I also guarantee you, that finding it will take some time.