The Scarlet Empress is basically a gothic fever dream

Is it worth your time?

If you have a thing for black-and-white cinema that looks like it was shot inside a jewelry box, yes. Watch it. If you need your movies to have a coherent, logical pace or if you find 1930s acting a bit too much to handle, skip it. You will probably find it exhausting.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Scarlet Empress (1934) through its definitive frames.

Honestly, watching The Scarlet Empress feels less like watching a movie and more like staring into a very expensive, very haunted snow globe. Marlene Dietrich is just everywhere. She occupies the frame with this strange, heavy energy that makes everyone else look like cardboard cutouts.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Scarlet Empress (1934) through its definitive frames.

The sets are ridiculous. There are statues in every corner, giant candles that never seem to melt, and shadows that feel like they’re trying to swallow the actors whole. Sometimes it’s too much. Like, do we really need a gargoyle in every single transition shot? Maybe not. But the movie doesn't care.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Scarlet Empress (1934) through its definitive frames.

Sam Jaffe as the Grand Duke Peter is… well, he’s deeply, profoundly irritating. You’re supposed to hate him, I guess, but I mostly just wanted him to stop twitching. He plays the unstable heir with this manic intensity that makes the scenes between him and Dietrich feel like they’re happening in two different movies.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Scarlet Empress (1934) through its definitive frames.

There’s this one sequence where she’s walking through the palace, and the camera just follows her forever. It’s not moving the plot forward. It’s just showing us how many creepy dolls and metal sculptures they could pack into one hallway. It’s hypnotic, but also kind of funny in a weird way.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Scarlet Empress (1934) through its definitive frames.

Some thoughts while watching:

• The wedding scene is just pure chaos. It’s loud, it’s crowded, and everyone looks like they’re about to faint.
• The costumes are so heavy they look like they’re made of sheet metal. I don't know how she moved in those dresses.
• I kept thinking about Nanook of the North for no reason, maybe because the cold in this movie feels so artificial compared to that one.
• The ending is abrupt. It feels like someone just pulled the plug on the projector.

People usually talk about this one as a masterpiece, but it’s honestly just a bit bizarre. It’s not trying to be real. It’s trying to be a mood. If you don’t buy into the mood, the whole thing just feels like a collection of pretty postcards stitched together with a very thin thread of a story.

Still, you haven't seen anything until you've seen Dietrich stare down a room full of Russian aristocrats like she’s already figured out how to kill them all. It’s a vibe. 🥂