Mata Hari
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DVD Cover Information Actor: C. Henry Gordon, Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone, Lionel Barrymore, Ramon Novarro Director: George Fitzmaurice Brand: GARBO,GRETA Cinematographer: William H. Daniels Producer: George Fitzmaurice Producer: Irving Thalberg Writer: Benjamin Glazer Writer: Doris Anderson Writer: Gilbert Emery Writer: Leo Birinsky DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 89 minutes DVD Release Date: 2005-09-06 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Warner Home Video |
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Movie Reviews of Mata Hari
Movie Review: "A spy in love is a tool that has outlived its usefulness"
Summary: 4 Stars
Garbo spoke in 1930's "Anna Christie"....but no-one was prepared for the frenzy that would be unleashed the following year, when she took on the exotic character of MATA HARI. As the notorious WW1 lady spy, Garbo romances a sorely-miscast Ramon Novarro (more about him later) and slithers her way across the screen in a dance sequence that almost ended up on the cutting-room floor.
Garbo enchants as Mata Hari, the sensation of the Paris nightclub set, and also a powerful weapon in Europe's spy ring. She knows her job all-too-well, and carefully manouvers herself around the tricky subject of love...which could prove her undoing when she meets young Russian airman Lt. Alexis Rosanoff (Ramon Novarro). Spies don't have room in their lives for such bothersome things as lovers, and, as Mata realises thanks to some wise words from her superior Andriani (Lewis Stone), "the only way to resign from our profession is to die". As Mata's affair spins wildly out of control and her interest in spying reaches carelessless, will she wind up in front of the firing squad?
Greta Garbo alone is why 1931's MATA HARI is still such a devilish good time. She's wildly campy (and doesn't take herself too seriously) in the dance sequence; whilst the scenes with Novarro are handled very professionally. Ramon Novarro does seem hopelessly miscast as the Russian airman. He's very awkward in his love scenes with Garbo (which are written in a style that's much too sentimental to begin with), and he doesn't seem to carry much in the way of a true feeling for the part. Karen Morley has a fascinating supporting role as a fellow female spy; and Lionel Barrymore plays another of Mata's government supporters.
There was almost a case of the "Battling Mata's", when Paramount discovered MGM's plans to showcase Garbo as the lady spy. They quickly rushed into release the Marlene Dietrich picture "Dishonored", in which Dietrich starred as a Mata Hari-esque spy who too becomes unraveled by love. Just like Garbo, Dietrich had to cope with an ungainly, dead-weight leading man (Victor McLaglen), but in many aspects "Dishonored" is the superior film of the two.
The DVD of MATA HARI is bare-bones except for the trailer.