I say this because the acting was very bad. It's very obvious that Garbo's acting was very grounded in the realm of silent film. Her mannerisms were that of a silent film actress. The acting of the other players were horrendous. Does anyone actually know half of the things they are saying??? The O'Neil story of a former prostitute seeing her father for the first time is really good. I sincerely hope this movie gets a chance to be remade!
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I totally agree with you! My favorite character in the whole movie, it was "Marthy". The performance by Marie Dressler is absolutely AWESOME! I only knew her from "Dinner At Eight" (where I liked her acting too), and I was so glad of finding her in here again! It is one of the greatest drunk-tramp performances I've EVER seen.
I recently bought the Garbo DVD set as well. To be honest, I was never a huge fan of hers, but '30s is -by far, without a doubt- my favorite decade for movies, and I perfectly can accept she was one of its biggest icons, and also that the atmosphere in her movies was simply fascinating (the lights, the shadows, the mistery, etc.). So, I finally decided to get the box-set. And I'm no regret at all, except for some freezing in the "Camille" and "Anna Karenina" discs (and the poor special features included: no vintage cartoons, no vintage shorts...). But the rest is OK.
I think my favorite among all of them, it was "Mata Hari". In "Anna Christie", "Garbo talks...". In "Mata Hari", Garbo dances! She and Ramon Novarro made a fabulous cinematic couple (although, actually, my favorite Garbo's male co-star, is Melvyn Douglas). "Ninotchka" is probably my second favorite. And my third: "Anna Christie". In it, I also enjoyed the performance by Charles Bickford, as a rude red neck.
Contrary to most opinions, I think the american version is far better than the german one.
Miss Yvonne De Carlo ROCKS!!!
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Hahaha! I think I could agree with you in part. I always thought Garbo was a kind of boring to watch as well, and that all her performances look nearly the same (except in "Ninotchka"). But I gave up, and mainly for curiosity, I wanted to get the collection. And I would dare to say I'm not so disappointed after all!
Her talent was no necessarily big, but just like other '30s icons (whose acting abilities -by the way- were FAR superior: Davis, Dietrich, West, Harlow or Crawford), the lady had a very unique style, and I think it's a great merit that almost anyone of today has.
I already had "Grand Hotel", which I only bought because of Joan Crawford, who simply steals the movies (absolutely amazing performance, for me, even better and prettier than in "Mildred Pierce" and "Humoresque").
Miss Yvonne De Carlo ROCKS!!!
I do not think that Garbo has a limited acting range at all, quite to the contrary in my opinion her acting range is extraordinary far more than all the other actresses mentionned. Her style is unique but she has a way of totally transforming and reconstructing herself from film to film which is amazing. See her as the androgynous Christina, then try her femme fatale in "Flesh and the Devil", her cynical yet generous Anna Christie, her modern doomed Diana in "Woman of Affairs", her simple yet complex Katrin in "The painted Veil", her immortal "Camille" her two extraordinary turns on comedy in "Ninotschka" and "Two Faced Woman" and you relaize that once one gets into the Garbo universe one never leaves it. I like very much all the other actresses that you have mentionned especially Davis but I honestly think that no other actress has ever given as much to the camera as Garbo.
shareThe English version is a horrible verison, even Greta has said this. Try watching the German verison, which is the same film but different actors that was made a year after the English verison, it is much better.
shareTo me Garbo does no wrong. She transcends the style of her time. Story very human. Dressler, Marion and Bickford tops. Director Brown did well. Best of all is the story. I understand the criticism here, and cannot refute it. It's a matter of taste dictated from the evolution of the medium. What I'm saying is, judged from the 21st century perspective, Anna Christie squeaks with age, like an old grandma, but we don't throw her to the wolves because of age and lack of utility, we love her all the more because she lead to way that we now travel.
my favorites are Harlow and Garbo. I guess I'm just an old fashion guy
I agree...Davis is the only one I'd say is a better actress at times, She far outshone the others mentioned and I do like all of them
" How 'bout some chocolate pain, bitch"
Formerly qoa2
AUNTIE TAIWO RIP
If you like Crawford, see Johnny Guitar, perhaps her best.
my favorites are Harlow and Garbo. I guess I'm just an old fashion guy
I had to watch it with the subtitles on. I actually like Garbo's confession speech though. I thought she phrased it all perfectly, even if she was very animated.
shareI was extremely impressed with Garbo's English and the confession speech, which was very long - seemingly with no breaks. Garbo hardly knew any English when she arrived in the States, circa 1925. Also the language in Christie is full of slang, probably new to her. Yes the movie was static, but this was still the early days of sound. Also it was based on a stage play. I've watched "Anna Christie" a few times now, and for me, it improves with every viewing.
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One has to take "Historical Perspective" with a film such as this, and accept it with its limitations, not only the acting, but photography and sound - sound films were still in their infancy, cameras and microphones cumbersome and not easily moved.
"In my case, self-absorption is completely justified."
This movie was hard to watch for a different reason. I have TCM on all the time, I love old movies, etc., and this movie just happen to come on while I was working on my computer. I kept hearing this annoying *beep* voice from the father or whomever who kept starting his sentences with "Anna..." with the intonation of Adam Sandler doing an old man's voice, over and over and over and over and over again. "Oh Anna... I love you so much.." "Oh Anna... something something something.." "Anna, you can't such and such". I could feel myself getting irritated over time like someone kept point me with a stick over and over again. Finally had to get up and hit INFO on the remote to see what this aggravating movie was.
shareI kept hearing this annoying *beep* voice from the father or whomever who kept starting his sentences with "Anna..." with the intonation of Adam Sandler doing an old man's voice, over and over and over and over and over again.That was more the script than the actor. As for his voice, her father is meant to be Swedish. She supposedly grew up in the mid-west. If she sounded the way she did, he had to have a somewhat aggravating voice too. It wouldn't make sense and she would look bad if everyone else spoke perfect English except her. That's how I took it.
I'm laughing at your post. I'm watching it now and I was wondering if anyone had ever counted the number of times the word "Anna" was said. It's not only the father who says it, it's also her boyfriend. I think one of the reasons it's so noticeable is that it's the one word that's spoken clearly and that non German speaking people can understand. The rest of the dialogue is a continuous garble but then every few minutes someone says "Anna".
shareIt wasn't all that bad.
Does anyone actually know half of the things they are saying???I knew what they were saying because I had the subtitles turned on. You might want to try that next time you watch the movie, if you ever do.
I sincerely hope this movie gets a chance to be remade!I hope this movie is not remade. Naturally, someone can use the same basic story but they need to do something different with it; something innovative and different.