Rating: 
Summary: Soldier's Daughter Never Cries: Unbalanced, But Interesting
Review: About this cultural icon Marlene Dietrich, we have already a great documentary film "Marlene" by Maximillian Schell. Now here is a question: do we need another? Apparently, the answer is yes, as far as "Marlene Dietrich -- Her Own Song" is concerned, for it is directed by her own grandson J. David Riva.But don't expect the film to be about her as actress. As the title of the film suggest, "Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song" uses its considerable time to describe her war-time activity. As you know, she travelled all around the world during the WW2, and sang her songs before the cheering soldiers, and the film shows how she did the work, even risking her own life. No wonder we associate her image with the song "Lili Marleen," (which is, incidentally, not her song at first -- it was first sung by Lala Anderson). The film covers the aspect of Dietrich as actress, but the part is not what we can call in-depth study. In this film, her acting career means "The Blue Angel" "Morocco" and many others which are touched rather superficially. When Billy Wilder is mentioned, the film quoted is NOT "Witness for the Prosecution" but "A Foreign Affair." Strangely, the first one is never talked about, the decision no serious film critic would take. The most memorable part of the new documentary is its materials which only the people close to Marlene Dietrich can obtain. The home video part (8 mm films) is fascinating, capturing the Marlene Dietrich enjoying herself in holiday (some shots in swimming suit), and incredibly, they are mostly in color (remember, it's around the 1930-40s). And the brief reunion conversation between Marlene (who left Germany) and her mother (who stayed in Berlin during the war) recorded by US military is very touching. The interviewees include: Burt Bacharach, Rosemary Clooney, Maria Riva (the director's mother, and Marlene Dietrich's daughter), Volker Schlondorff, and many others. Narration by Jamie Lee Curtis, and Marlene's voice provided by Nina Franoszek. Not an incisive study of Marlene Dietrich, I admit, and some part looks whitewashed. (The existence of Marlene's elder sister is virtually ignored.) However, the materials used here are rare and quite interesting to see, and for that only it deserves to be seen. But of course, you should watch sexy and seductive Dietrich in "Morocco" first, and how she sings there, throwing a flower to Gary Cooper. It's a must.
Rating:
Summary: Soldier's Daughter Never Cries: Unbalanced, But Interesting
Review: About this cultural icon Marlene Dietrich, we have already a great documentary film "Marlene" by Maximillian Schell. Now here is a question: do we need another? Apparently, the answer is yes, as far as "Marlene Dietrich -- Her Own Song" is concerned, for it is directed by her own grandson J. David Riva. But don't expect the film to be about her as actress. As the title of the film suggest, "Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song" uses its considerable time to describe her war-time activity. As you know, she travelled all around the world during the WW2, and sang her songs before the cheering soldiers, and the film shows how she did the work, even risking her own life. No wonder we associate her image with the song "Lili Marleen," (which is, incidentally, not her song at first -- it was first sung by Lala Anderson). The film covers the aspect of Dietrich as actress, but the part is not what we can call in-depth study. In this film, her acting career means "The Blue Angel" "Morocco" and many others which are touched rather superficially. When Billy Wilder is mentioned, the film quoted is NOT "Witness for the Prosecution" but "A Foreign Affair." Strangely, the first one is never talked about, the decision no serious film critic would take. The most memorable part of the new documentary is its materials which only the people close to Marlene Dietrich can obtain. The home video part (8 mm films) is fascinating, capturing the Marlene Dietrich enjoying herself in holiday (some shots in swimming suit), and incredibly, they are mostly in color (remember, it's around the 1930-40s). And the brief reunion conversation between Marlene (who left Germany) and her mother (who stayed in Berlin during the war) recorded by US military is very touching. The interviewees include: Burt Bacharach, Rosemary Clooney, Maria Riva (the director's mother, and Marlene Dietrich's daughter), Volker Schlondorff, and many others. Narration by Jamie Lee Curtis, and Marlene's voice provided by Nina Franoszek. Not an incisive study of Marlene Dietrich, I admit, and some part looks whitewashed. (The existence of Marlene's elder sister is virtually ignored.) However, the materials used here are rare and quite interesting to see, and for that only it deserves to be seen. But of course, you should watch sexy and seductive Dietrich in "Morocco" first, and how she sings there, throwing a flower to Gary Cooper. It's a must.
Rating: 
Summary: One for the Hollywod Crowd
Review: At nearly 100 minutes, this extraordinary documentary is sadly too brief. While much of what has been written and told about Marlene seems to wallow around her sex life (the human race has always been somewhat warped), 'Her Own Song' shows the real Marlene. From the early years in Germany, the country of her birth, to her final days of self imposed isolation in Paris, to her return to her beloved Germany and her final resting place, this wonderful film tries, only tries, to give us a glimpse of what made this wonderful lady tick. To turn her back on Hitler, then to be spat upon many years later when she returned to Germany to tour, then to have so many come out to mourn her passing at her funeral in Berlin is something that can't really be explained on film or in print. The crowning moment in the film is truly Marlene asking permission to sing in german in the nation of Israel after being told by the status quo she could not. Because the jewish people had more class than they, she was given permission and the film shows her singing the Seeger classic, 'Where Have all the Flowers Gone' in german. This film should be mandatory viewing for all school children. So much can be learned about real character and real honor. Maybe then, when some hollywood big mouth stands up to stump for the next democratic political candidate, one will be able to compare them and their motives to those of Marlene Dietrich, winner of the American Medal of Freedom. As the film closes, there is a poster, in french, hanging outside a Berlin flat which reads (in english), 'Goodbye Marlene Thank You'.
Rating:
Summary: War heroine?
Review: David Riva, Dietrich's grandson, makes a shallow movie which concentrates on Marlene the war heroine. Surely what she did during WW2 is very important and very admirable. Yet Riva makes it sound like there was nothing more to her. Her sexuality, or actually bi-sexuality, is ignored completly, as if it wasn't a huge if not the most important part of her persona. Nothing about her passion for men's clothing, so recignized with her. Amost nothing proffessional about her as an actress, performer... I only thank God I had the sence to buy Dietrich's daughter's book. As a grandson, Riva could have also talk more about the Marlene he knew, not the gorgeous Dietrich, the star, but the difficult self-centered woman whom all her loved once had to learn handle somehow. The fascinating woman, a mistery, with so many layers to her... This movie would probably make her throw to the air one of her hillarious, sarcastic, mean, yet thruthful remarks. And despite it all, the movie is filled with movie clips, home videos, concert bits, and a lot of very interesting footage I enjoyed immensly while ignoring most of the kitchy things said there.
Rating:
Summary: A Woman we thought we knew - rediscovered
Review: This amazing work was screened first at the Berlin Film Festival last year. All I can say is to tell you that at the end of the screening, two kids - complete with blue mohawks and chains - told the Director that they had wandered into the film because the one they came to see was sold out. They also told him, in front of a moved audience of 800, that he had given them a hero, one they never knew they had. It was an incredible moment of closure for everyone there. The film is not about Lesbian affairs, the numerous hetero affairs or even films and dresses, what it is about is the real woman inside. A character study accomplished better than any in many many years. This is a film that APG, Turner Classic Movies and Marlene herself (if she's listening) should be proud of. Borrow it, buy it, see it. Thanks for listening, you won't be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Dietrich: The War Years
Review: This DVD concentrates mostly on Dietrich's devotion to "her boys" and the US during WW2. It does go through her entire life, as well, however. There is fantastic footage from her silent films, her personal life (some in color!) rare interviews and her later stage shows. It made me realize, as someone who has studied Dietrich the woman, for years, what a shock it was for her to return home after the war. Before the war, she lived for clothes, makeup and lovers. She found real depth as a person, when the war came. She saw real life and participated in it for the first time. She loved being of service to the country, and the contact with everyday beings.
When it was all over, she had to return to clothes, makeup and being merely a "movie star". She was very unhappy. Only the stage shows that she began in the early 50's brought her back to life. The contact with an audience was there, she could sing songs from and about the war, AND look great! That is really the focus of this DVD. I highly recommend this. It is very well done.
Rating:
Summary: Dietrich: The War Years
Review: This DVD concentrates mostly on Dietrich's devotion to "her boys" and the US during WW2. It does go through her entire life, as well, however. There is fantastic footage from her silent films, her personal life (some in color!) rare interviews and her later stage shows. It made me realize, as someone who has studied Dietrich the woman, for years, what a shock it was for her to return home after the war. Before the war, she lived for clothes, makeup and lovers. She found real depth as a person, when the war came. She saw real life and participated in it for the first time. She loved being of service to the country, and the contact with everyday beings.
When it was all over, she had to return to clothes, makeup and being merely a "movie star". She was very unhappy. Only the stage shows that she began in the early 50's brought her back to life. The contact with an audience was there, she could sing songs from and about the war, AND look great! That is really the focus of this DVD. I highly recommend this. It is very well done.
Rating:
Summary: Dietrich: The War Years
Review: This DVD concentrates mostly on Dietrich's devotion to "her boys" and the US during WW2. It does go through her entire life, as well, however. There is fantastic footage from her silent films, her personal life (some in color!) rare interviews and her later stage shows. It made me realize, as someone who has studied Dietrich the woman, for years, what a shock it was for her to return home after the war. Before the war, she lived for clothes, makeup and lovers. She found real depth as a person, when the war came. She saw real life and participated in it for the first time. She loved being of service to the country, and the contact with everyday beings.
When it was all over, she had to return to clothes, makeup and being merely a "movie star". She was very unhappy. Only the stage shows that she began in the early 50's brought her back to life. The contact with an audience was there, she could sing songs from and about the war, AND look great! That is really the focus of this DVD. I highly recommend this. It is very well done.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating documentary on the life of a great actress
Review: This is a fascinating documentary about the great screen legend Marlene Dietrich, not the less because of the particular focus on her life it takes. Without much question, Dietrich was one of the more interesting and complex individuals to have a career in Hollywood. Her films are fascinating for the imagery and complex sexuality presented upon the screen, and her life was interesting for many of the same reasons. This documentary leaves large parts of Dietrich's life undiscussed in order to deal more completely with aspects normally neglected. For instance, there is surprisingly little devoted to her actual film career. Many of her greatest film roles are not mentioned at all, such as BLONDE VENUS, THE SCARLET EMPRESS, DESIRE, THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN, the camp classic RANCHO NOTORIOUS, or WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION. Furthermore, very little of her sex life is mentioned, nothing about her long list of male and female lovers (in fact, there is no reference to her bisexuality at all, or her relationship with many of the Kennedy men, except for a very quick and unremarked upon bit of home movie footage of a very young JFK). So, in a way, this is not a balanced documentary on Dietrich's life. On the other hand, we do get a portrait of Dietrich that, in conjunction with the more commonly known side of her, that richly deepens the more common portrait of her. There are many extraordinary early photographs and film footage of the very young Marlene in Germany, a great deal of fascinating home movie footage, and many interviews with family members. In fact, the sections of the documentary dealing with her family relations is among the most interesting. But far and away the most interesting part of the documentary is that dealing with her ardent and passionate work in entertaining American troops on the front lines during WW II. I was aware that she had been unusually active in the USO during WW II, but I did not know the degree to which she was involved. As this film shows, she was probably worked harder to improve the morale of American soldiers than any other actor or actress during the war, often undergoing many of the same physical hardships that they did. As a result, Marlene Dietrich emerges as not merely a sexual and film icon, but as a genuine heroine, someone worthy of the greatest admiration.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating documentary on the life of a great actress
Review: This is a fascinating documentary about the great screen legend Marlene Dietrich, not the less because of the particular focus on her life it takes. Without much question, Dietrich was one of the more interesting and complex individuals to have a career in Hollywood. Her films are fascinating for the imagery and complex sexuality presented upon the screen, and her life was interesting for many of the same reasons. This documentary leaves large parts of Dietrich's life undiscussed in order to deal more completely with aspects normally neglected. For instance, there is surprisingly little devoted to her actual film career. Many of her greatest film roles are not mentioned at all, such as BLONDE VENUS, THE SCARLET EMPRESS, DESIRE, THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN, the camp classic RANCHO NOTORIOUS, or WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION. Furthermore, very little of her sex life is mentioned, nothing about her long list of male and female lovers (in fact, there is no reference to her bisexuality at all, or her relationship with many of the Kennedy men, except for a very quick and unremarked upon bit of home movie footage of a very young JFK). So, in a way, this is not a balanced documentary on Dietrich's life. On the other hand, we do get a portrait of Dietrich that, in conjunction with the more commonly known side of her, that richly deepens the more common portrait of her. There are many extraordinary early photographs and film footage of the very young Marlene in Germany, a great deal of fascinating home movie footage, and many interviews with family members. In fact, the sections of the documentary dealing with her family relations is among the most interesting. But far and away the most interesting part of the documentary is that dealing with her ardent and passionate work in entertaining American troops on the front lines during WW II. I was aware that she had been unusually active in the USO during WW II, but I did not know the degree to which she was involved. As this film shows, she was probably worked harder to improve the morale of American soldiers than any other actor or actress during the war, often undergoing many of the same physical hardships that they did. As a result, Marlene Dietrich emerges as not merely a sexual and film icon, but as a genuine heroine, someone worthy of the greatest admiration.
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