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The Scarlet Empress

1934 · 104 min

A feverish, ornate fever-dream of a palace drama, all shadow and spectacle, more intoxicating mood piece than sober history.

Tagline
The Reigning Beauty of the Screen!
Overview
During the 18th century, German noblewoman Sophia Frederica, who would later become Catherine the Great, travels to Moscow to marry the dimwitted Grand Duke Peter, the heir to the Russian throne. Their arranged marriage proves to be loveless, and Catherine takes many lovers, including the handsome Count Alexei, and bears a son. When the unstable Peter eventually ascends to the throne, Catherine plots to oust him from power.

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  • Amazon Video
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • campystrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • power
  • ambition
  • betrayal
  • sexuality
  • corruption
Places
  • single country house
  • big city
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language none
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror2
Humour4
Realism4
Romance5
Tension5
Darkness6
Complexity6
Emotional weight5

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, history, romance
Directed by
Josef von Sternberg
Written by
Manuel Komroff, Eleanor McGeary
Starring
Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Sam Jaffe, Louise Dresser, C. Aubrey Smith, Gavin Gordon, Olive Tell, Ruthelma Stevens
Cinematography
Bert Glennon
Runtime
104 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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