Very disappointed :(

Just so...so bad

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The 'plot summary' for this film really sums up the storyline, but there are so many other nuances going on here. CONQUEST co-stars the amazing Garbo as the MUCH younger wife of a Count ( Henry Stephenson ) and Charles Boyer. What other french-man would they have play Napoleon? He meets the countess on his way up, and cajoles her into being the mistress, which of course gives grounds for the breakup of her marriage. The awesome Ouspenskaya is in here as the batty old aunt Pelagia. Some comedy, as the crazy old aunt plays cards with Napoleon but refuses to belive an emporer could displace the king, and she insults him over and over. Ouspenskaya didn't make that many films, but in so many roles, she played the serious, heavy handed old woman with a past. The story has the Countess reluctantly "spending time" with Napoleon, purely "for the good of the country", but who knows how much of that is accurate. She did leave memoirs for her family, and some information can be found on Wikidepia . The trivia section says that this film was a HUGE money-loser for MGM, but maybe that was due to the length of the film, almost two hours. or maybe the subject matter was distaste-ful for a public that had just accepted the film production code. Napoleon's mom played by the fun Dame May Whitty. Apparently, a good chunk of this story actually occurred. For a period piece, it's not so bad. Some parts are a bit silly, but it does tell a story. Garbo only made two more after this. Near the end of her film career. Of course, she WAS nominated for the next one... Ninotchka. For those interested in when and where "Countess Marie" died, please visit the wikipedia link.

Halfway through this film, I started thinking how it almost seemed like the kind of film George Cukor would direct, with fussy attention to detail. Instead, CONQUEST is directed by Clarence Brown, a workmanlike craftsman who also tended to dwell too long on intimate and wordy scenes that lack enough spark.However, he does elicit fine performances from Garbo and Charles Boyer. Garbo is radiantly photogenic as the married woman, wife of an elder man (Henry Stephenson), who for the sake of her country gives herself to Napoleon (Boyer). And Boyer is every bit as convincing as the man destined for his Waterloo, acting the part with every bit of his abilities and often stealing the show.But what really steals the show is the lavish production MGM gave this story. The sets are opulent, majestic and large, looming over every frame of the film with no expense spared. The artful B&W cinematography captures every elegant detail of costumes and sets with breathtaking results.And the supporting cast is a sturdy one, including Dame May Witty, Reginald Owen, Maria Ouspenskaya, Alan Marshal and Leif Erickson.Garbo is livelier than usual, even smiling more often for her "gayer" moments when enthralled with being in love, and the chemistry between her and Boyer is evident from the start.It's too bad the film wasn't fully appreciated as one of her best films when it opened, but time has been kind to it. Despite some slow moments amid a longer than necessary running time, it's an historical romance played out in the Golden Age tradition of opulence expected from MGM.

61/100. This film was a failure at the box office and notable as being the film that started Greta Garbo's downfall in Hollywood. The production is superb. The costumes, art direction, cinematography and the score are all first rate. Greta Garbo is only fair, Charles Boyer overacts quite a bit as Napoleon, not one of his better performances. I know Hollywood is know for fictionalizing a bit in their movies based on real people, but Conquest takes it a little too far. It's too talky, and that brings about some very slow stretches. Pretty much everyone is miscast, particularly Dame May Witty and Maria Ouspenskaya. Director Clarence Brown's films usually have a good pace, this is an exception.

I've often thought that those first twenty minutes of Conquest are the most important of the film. When those Cossacks invade the civilized home of Count Walewska, their actions there establish the reason for all that follows in the film. They are one greasy, slovenly, disreputable lot, set against the urbane Henry Stephenson as the Count and his young wife Maria, played by Greta Garbo.After what we see of the Cossacks, no wonder the Poles welcome the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte as liberators, restorers of their country which had been carved up about 40 years earlier by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. And when it seems that Greta Garbo is the best thing the Poles have to offer Charles Boyer, it becomes her patriotic duty, even Stephenson unwillingly goes along with the liaison.But she really loves the Little Corporal as it turns out. They even have a son together. But unfortunately Boyer is about himself first last and always.Maria Walewska was not the first or last of Napoleon's amours. In fact this film ought to be seen back to back with Desiree, a lost love of Bonaparte's from an earlier time. Both of his marriages were for political reasons, Garbo should have known about the first one going in.Conquest is one of the few Garbo films where she is not number one, what holds the film together is Charles Boyer as Napoleon. Boyer captures perfectly both the idealism and ambition that was Bonaparte, he got an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, but lost to Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous. Not that Garbo's bad, but I can't recall any other film where her leading man overshadowed her.Although Conquest takes quite a few liberties with the historical record, it's still a fine costume drama, one of the best that MGM put out back in its height.