The 1934 film – the sixth of their storied collaboration – is dismissed by some as over the top. And it’s true there’s no subtlety in Sternberg’s take on the sexually adventurous power tripper. But that’s really the fun of this delirious film, right down to the final scene’s wink-wink moment, when hot-blooded, cold-hearted Catherine gazes longingly at her horse.

Yes, her horse.

Which, depending on whom you believe, is historically accurate.

Josef Von Sternberg Admitted Film Was "Excursion into Style"

Pauline Kael once quoted Sternberg as admitting he turned the story into a “relentless excursion into style.” No argument there. And Kael herself noted “the décor and the visual motifs became the stars, and Marlene Dietrich was used as a camera subject instead of as a person.” She’s right. (Pauline Kael, 5001 Nights at the Movies, Holt Rinehart & Winston, 1982)

But so what? Empress is a ton of fun to watch.

Everything about the production is sumptuous, including and especially Dietrich, swathed in billowy gowns and gorgeous, fur-trimmed ensembles by the uncredited Travis Banton. Those costumes are as elaborate as art director Hans Dreier’s ornate Russian palace sets -- complete with sculptor Peter Ballbusch’s symbolically grotesque human gargoyles.

All the lush settings are taken in by Sternberg’s remarkably fluid camera, which glides effortlessly with the characters through scene after scene, taking in a sweep of the majestic rooms and grounds of Catherine’s captivity.

• Dietrichs

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