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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 69247
Released: September 6, 2005 |
| Our Price: $2.22 |
| Used Price: $2.21 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Sixteen minutes or so into this adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize play 1930 audiences got what they were waiting for when Greta Garbo made her entrance and spoke on camera for the first time in her career: "Gimme a whiskey." Like Lon Chaney and Charlie Chaplin the Swedish Sphinx had continued in Silents even though Talkies were the rage. Here she made her landmark transition to the new era playing a former prostitute whose past may ruin her chance for happiness. A different director and cast join Garbo in a German-language version (Side B) filmed on the same soundstages immediately after the English version. She called it the better film and many fans today agree. You decide!Running Time: 175 min.System Requirements: Running Time 175 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 012569674370
Description of Anna Christie:
It's one of the most highly anticipated entrances in movie history: Greta Garbo slinking into a sleazy waterfront bar and ordering whiskey. Well, "visky." A huge silent star, Garbo was speaking her first lines in her first talking picture, Anna Christie, and audiences were breathless with anticipation. As The New York Times put it, "The low enunciation of her initial lines, with a packed theater waiting expectantly to hear her first utterance, came somewhat as a surprise yesterday afternoon in the Capitol, for her delivery is almost masculine." Her sultry tones were nevertheless a hit, and anyway the Swedish accent fit the character.
Anna Christie is adapted from Eugene O'Neill's play, a piece of gloom about prostitute Anna returning to her seafaring father (George F. Marion) and falling for a sailor (Charles Bickford). The movie's fascination as a Garbo milestone and slice of early-sound Hollywood easily outstrip its actual value as a work of art, for it has not aged especially well. Under the direction of Garbo regular Clarence Brown, the dialogue tends to fall on long, dead pauses and creak with early-sound-era uncertainty. But the print for the DVD release looks very good, and despite her sometimes dodgy approach to English, it's still Garbo--odd, sexy, uncategorizable. The DVD also includes the German-language version, directed by Jacques Feyder, with Garbo and a German cast; the print quality is not as felicitous as the American version but it's an intriguing contrast, and Garbo looks slightly more comfortable in speaking. --Robert Horton
Anna Christie Reviews:
Garbo speaks AND THEN SOME! 
2009-11-01 - The English version of O'Neills moody "Anna Christie", with the great
Greta Garbo, is simply wonderful! I's short, almost like a one-act play, but packed with the great stuff those great old films were known for.
Garbo is the lynch-pin here, to be sure, but the supporting cast, Marie
Dressler, a Garbo veteran team-mate, Charles Bickford as Garbo's would-be
inamorata, and George Marion, as her father, all support her magnificently,
in a real ensemble performance! They don't make 'em like THIS any more!
Bryan Sheedy
this story isn't stingy, baby
2009-05-02 - Anna Christie is an excellent early "talkie" film. The film stars Greta Garbo in her first speaking role on film; and we get great performances from Charles Bickford, George F. Marion and Marie Dressler. The plot moves along at a good pace and I never felt bored; indeed, it was tough for me to take my eyes off Garbo! She gives a stunning performance. The choreography worked well although the cinematography was somewhat limited by the technology of the day.
When the action starts, we meet Chris Christofferson (George F. Marion) and his friend Marthy Owens (Marie Dressler) who pal around and get drunk quite a lot at the local bar near the harbor where Chris works on a barge. It's been fifteen years since Chris sent his daughter Anna to the Midwest so that she "could be safe inland;" and they have had very limited contact since that time. Chris hasn't exactly tried to live up to being a good father; he never once in fifteen years traveled west to see his daughter.
One day Chris and Marthy are at the local bar when Chris gets a letter from Anna that says she's coming home. He and Marthy wonder what she'll be like; and it isn't long before Anna (Garbo) makes her grand entrance when the bartender opens the ladies door entrance to the pub. Anna and Marthy strike up conversation and when Anna's father Chris soon comes he is happy to see Anna. He wants Anna to try to live with him on his barge although Anna has her doubts. In addition, Anna says she's been ill but she doesn't reveal too many details of her illness.
For a while Anna and her father Chris travel on the barge; and after a very bad storm they rescue some sailors--including Matt Burke (Charles Bickford). Matt almost instantly falls in love with Anna; and she feels the same way about him. However, even after a some time and an especially magical day at New York's Coney Island amusement park, Anna is reluctant to marry Matt--and this causes a great deal of tension. The tension mounts even higher when Anna's father Chris wants her to remain with him.
One powerful scene comes when Anna's father has her by one arm and Matt Burke has her by the other arm; they are both trying to pull Anna in their direction as if she were property! This leads Anna to reveal to them the truth about what she's really been doing for the last few years to make ends meet as well as what she "truly" had to do to earn her keep at her relative's home in the Midwest.
What will Anna's father Chris and Matt Burke say when they realize what Anna has been doing? Will they still love Anna or will they both want to be rid of her? What about Marthy--how does she figure into all of this? Will Anna marry Matt after some type of reconciliation? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch and find out!
Anna Christie remains one of the best early talkie films; and it's one of the most well known films Greta Garbo ever made. I highly recommend this film for fans of the actors in this movie; and classic movie buffs will want to have this in their collections, too.
"Gimme a whiskey"
2008-08-27 - The first film talked about Greta Garbo. At first wanted to see this film in history (a prostitute marked for life, as in Susan Lenox), but I was impressed by the simple and beautiful it can be, by the images and script, in addition to knowing that the German version is a favorite Garbo that makes me even more respect. The German version is really beautiful, from the costumes, makeup until more decadent (dark circles and pallor on the face), making it more charming image of Garbo. I am delighted with this acquisition, as well as that of caratulas dvd of this collection is magnificent as it retains the style of old posters as artistic by the way they were made. The DVD is read by the two layers, but the German version only comes with English subtitles. I adore Greta Garbo.
Spanish:
El primer film hablado de Greta Garbo. Al principio queria ver esta pelicula por la historia (una prostituta marcada por la vida, como en Susan Lenox), pero me ha impresionado lo sencilla y bonita que puede llegar a ser, por las imagenes y el guión, además que el hecho de saber que la versión alemana es la favorita de Garbo eso me hace respetarla aún más. La versión Alemana es realmente bella, desde el vestuario, hasta el maquillaje mas decadente (ojeras y palidez en el rostro), lo que hace mas encantadora la imagen de la Garbo. Estoy encantado con esta compra, además de que las caratulas de los dvd de esta colección es magnifica ya que conserva el estilo de los afiches antiguos tan artísticos por la forma en que fueron hechos. El DVD se lee por las dos capas, pero en la versión alemana, solo viene con subtitulos en inglés. Adoro a Greta garbo.
Anna Christie
2008-03-11 - The film is an excellent rendition of a fine Eugene O'Neill play made into a movie. Garbo is superb. Of note, the "package" is two films, one in German, one in English. This is a must see for Eugene O'Neill fans as well as film buffs.
Garbo speaks....and speaks.......and speaks! 
2007-07-06 - "Anna Christie" is most famous as the film which released Greta Garbo from the silent era, the last major star to make the transition. The marketing of the film ensured that this was a major cinematic event and the film was a box office smash but it does not really stand the test of time.
Based on a depressing Eugene O'Neill play, this is an unusual piece for Garbo because she plays a contemporary figure surrounded by 3 character actors in demanding parts. She suffers by comparison. George Marion as her father and Marie Dressler as the mistress create incredibly real people. The scenes with Dressler are wonderful; Garbo, the mistress of underacting, with Dressler, the mistress of overacting, and meeting in the middle with genuine rapport. Charles Bickford as the boorish Irish lover is good too but he has no charisma, no screen magnetism. It is just not convincing that Garbo could fall for him.
The film has endless talk, little action, a static camera and a soundtrack which is often hard to understand. Garbo's unease with the Amercian slang is obvious with some of her line readings emphasing the wrong words. The story has a poor ending, flicking from hysteria to rationalisation in the flick of an eye and with what has gone on before, it is easy to speculate that this motley group have got lots of bad times ahead.
The print of the film is surprisingly good and far superior to other Garbo DVDs of later talkies. The DVD comes with the German version of the film too. This version is shorter and darker. Garbo looks more seedy and it is obvious that she is more comfortable with the German language.
The DVD is best purchased as part of one of the Garbo collections because only then will you obtain any extras which will tell you more about the star and the film.
