Grand Hotel (Snap case)
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Movie Reviews of Grand Hotel (Snap case)
Movie Review: Nothing ever happens...
Summary: 4 Stars
Grand Hotel was a pretty revolutionary concept in 1932. A film of seemingly unrelated multiple plotlines in which all or most of the main characters are played by established movie stars is nothing new to today's audience, but in 1932 it was groundbreaking and resulted in critical and commercial success, as well as an Academy Award for Best Picture - the only category it was nominated in.
The film is not just pushed by the sheer star power of its cast, possibly the greatest ever assembled on film, but the grand soap opera plot of love, deceit, sex, and murder makes it a classic with great rewatachability.
Warner Bros. has assembled a nice DVD edition of the film. The transfer has very little in the way of digital artifacting, but the source quality is not as clean and pristine as that of many films Warner Bros. has put onto DVD. There's minor warping at one point in the film, and the print is a bit grainier than one would desire. However, this is still quite possibly the best the film has ever looked or sounded, so I have no major complaints.
The DVD boasts a nice selection of bonus materials. A short 10-minute making-of documentary never really goes too in-depth, but still provides a nice glimpse of the making of the film. There's trailers for Grand Hotel and its remake, Weekend At The Waldorf, plus the short film Nothing Ever Happens, which was a parody of Grand Hotel. But the nicest bonus is the premiere footage. There's also a theater announcement for the film at Grauman's Chinese Theater.
To sum everything up, this DVD edition of Grand Hotel is about as good as it gets. I recommend this film for fans of classic cinema and fans of the cast. The print quality leaves a bit to be desired, but it still looks pretty good and a nice handful of bonus materials provide great entertainment value as well.
Movie Review: "I want to be alone."
Summary: 4 Stars
What can one say? The acting is terrible, the script a bomb - yet it's one of the best of the old Hollywood "star" vehicles, and the predecessor of a thousand immitations. Garbo is the dancer who has "never been so tired" in her life; John Barrymore the good-hearted baron desperate for money who falls in love with her; Lionel Barrymore the dying man splurging on his last go-round; Joan Crawford the stenographer and worldly woman; and Wallace Beery the industrial magnate. Their lives intermingle for one day and night at the Grand Hotel in Berlin, with tragic results for Garbo, John Barrymore, and Beery, and reprieve for Lionel Barrymore and Crawford.
The acting (especially Garbo) is so heavy-handed and stiff it's almost a parody of itself, although the lines the actors are forced to speak don't help much. Movie acting, now that sound had been added, hadn't gained the naturalness (unstageyness) yet that would come shortly, and in that regard it's extremely old-fashioned. Beery in his oily role is the most interesting to watch, with Lionel Barrymore a close second. Garbo, though she can be vibrant, even electrifying in her expressions of love and happiness for John Barrymore, would fare much better in later movies. Without a doubt it's a very influential picture, but it's a plush, old dinosaur.
Movie Review: Best cast selection I've ever seen!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a very memorable movie that you can feel and even touch it. imagine that you are going to a vacation. 1 week to a hotel. you may probably find some friends there. a week of peace or adventure. and after it's over, all people go their ways. but the memories remain. for example after 2 or 3 years you come back to the same place, you'll not enjoy again. memories bothering you! and that's exactly what happened to me when I whatch 1945 remake! it was in no way could be compare with magnificent 1932 original movie! grand hotel had one of the best cast selection I've ever seen. Actings were awsome! and the atmosphere of the movie was magnificent. hope the story was more sophisticated and the if movie could last one more hour! this movie really needs a good remake. not only a remake! a good one! with accurate cast selection and more sophisticated story. anyway I admire it and love it! Quality of the DVD was magnifecent too! very bright sound and picture quality for a 73 years old movie! I loved it! Really loved it!Movie Review: Grand Melodrama
Summary: 4 Stars
Lets face it, "Grand Hotel" is essentially a soap opera, albeit an entertaining one, with ornate trappings. What distinguishes this film from the mundane is it's incredible cast(Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery) who breathe life into otherwise ordinary material. I would recommend this film to anyone who want to see these screen legends in an ensemble setting. That said, a better film of this type is "Dinner at Eight". Not only does that film include the Barrymores and Beery but also a simply dazzling Jean Harlowe performance.Movie Review: GRAND HOTEL IN LESS THAN GRAND TRANSFER
Summary: 3 Stars
"Grand Hotel" concerns guests staying at Berlin's Grand Hotel. There's the high strung, tempermental ballerina (Greta Garbo), the sassy vamp-like stenographer (Joan Crawford), the boorish industrialist (Wallace Beery), the stricken labourer (Lionel Barrymore)and the devilishly handsome baron (John Barrymore). These seemingly separate lives cross over - some happily so, others with tragic circumstances - all thoroughly absorbing and brilliantly performed. At the time of its release "Grand Hotel" was the first movie to feature more than one star above the title credits.TRANSFER: After years of looking as though the camera negative had been fed through a meat grinder, this DVD digital remastering is a considerable improvement. Having said that, a lot of work is still needed to get this one looking up to par. Solid blacks are about the best thing on this DVD. Contrast levels appear too low in many of the scenes. There are a considerable number of age related artifacts and quite a bit of film grain present on this 70 plus year old classic. The audio has been extensively cleaned up but continues to exhibit considerable hiss. Truly, if this is a special edition it's one of the poorest I've seen.
EXTRAS: Some featurettes that round out the history - if too briefly, of this classic film.
BOTTOM LINE: "Grand Hotel" is undeniably engrossing and a brilliant Oscar winner that is sure to enthrall for decades to come! For the film and NOT the transfer, this is an absolute must for your film library!!!