A different way of telling a story

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Garbo is a documentary that tells the story of the life and career of one of the former biggest stars of Hollywood, Swedish-born actress Greta Garbo, which first premiered in 2005 on Turner Classic Movies, and later released on DVD as part of the TCM Archives Collection. The film features interviews from close family members who knew her all too well, as well as biographers, historians, and film directors that have worked with her via archive footage, including the grandson of MGM founder Louis B. Mayer.Narrated by famed actress Julie Christie, Garbo is a rather informative film documenting the Swedish actress' first steps into stardom when she first worked in advertising, which would lead her to starring in many silent motion pictures released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer, with films like The Mysterious Lady (1928), Love (1927) and Flesh and the Devil (1926), all released in the late 1920s. It was here that all of her films were smash hits and that she was the go-to actress for a guaranteed hit when it came to drama and romantic love stories told on the silver screen. In fact, her success as a motion picture actress got to where she couldn't go anywhere without paparazzi and the press getting in her way (now you know where shows like TMZ and Extra get their image). But it was when the industry decided to transition to sound pictures that things began to take a rocky turn, eventually leading to an early retirement. While her career in Hollywood was short-lived, ending with the 1941 flop Two-Faced Woman, she did leave a large enough impact on the industry all together, and her career as a whole, is illustrated by all of the films she made.Along with many interviews from relatives, filmmakers, and biographers, we are given a glimpse of her magnificent and flawless talent as an actress through clips of various films, a majority of them from the silent era of MGM. In each one of her films, she dedicates herself to the role she plays on screen, as if this was how she acted outside of the studio dealing with the drama that is real life. Garbo wasn't another no-name screen floozy that came out of the woodwork, and her legacy proved that. The film is a study on one of the greatest actresses who ever lived, and an insight on what life was like when Hollywood was rising to become the entertainment capital of the world, and is definitely a must watch for anyone who loves classic movies, myself included.

This is a feature-length documentary titled 'Garbo' and was hosted by Turner Classic Movies. I've seen this film before and the great thing about watching it a second time is that my feelings towards Greta Garbo have changed. I never really appreciated her the way I do now. Since my last viewing I've taken the liberty of finding out more about her -- reading what people had to say -- and how there was nobody like her before or after. This film is also great for newcomers, for anybody who wishes to know more about this legendary icon, or as one person referred to as a mythological figure.The documentary includes interviews from a couple of Garbo biographers, including Barry Paris; her friend and walking companion, Sam Green; friends and living relatives, and a number of people who have their own stories to tell about their alleged Garbo sightings on the streets of New York. I especially loved the footage, however intrusive, and the charming recounts some of the people had to say.Perhaps the most endearing recount is given by Charles Busch, who tells us about a time when he followed Garbo into a Japanese antique store and how there was nobody in there besides the clerk. He describes how he watched her but never dare approach her, and when he picked up a little green figurine, then moments later Garbo picked up that very same figurine. What a moment! Garbo enthusiasts can only imagine how he must have felt.

Obviously this documentary is essential viewing for anyone with an interest in Garbo. It presents amazing clips from the legendary long-lost 1949 screen-tests for "La Duchess de Langeais" which of course was never made. These clips show a noticeably mature, radiant, slightly more human 43-year-old Garbo - although to me she almost always has the feeling of an ethereal creature who has time-warped in from some higher plane to mingle for a while with mere mortals.The reality, as she herself knew better than anyone, was that she was extremely mortal, earth-bound, and was aging fast (heavy smoking and too much sun). The fact that she could no longer maintain the illusion of youth was one of the main reasons why she didn't want to work again, in addition to the fact that she mostly hated making films anyhow, and had become rich and did not have to ever work again. Note that "Two-Faced Woman" was not nearly the disaster legend makes it out to be; in spite its being such a mess, of the bad reviews, and the loss of the European market, it grossed quite well and almost broke even financially - a strong indication of the public's continued interest in her. Also note that MGM had dumped pretty much all of their female stars from the silent era by 1942 (i.e Shearer, Crawford et al); Garbo went down in good company, as generational tastes shifted to pin-ups of Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable. Personally, I've always wished that she had ended up making films in Swedish with Ingmar Bergman in the 1950s-60s. She could have done something completely different and quite stunning under his direction, however it appears that no one in the industry - Bergman and Garbo included - was able to conceive of her appearing as a decidedly middle-aged character.This documentary is also extremely defensive about Garbo's famous reclusiveness and focuses a lot of time and energy on it. However this was only true rather late in her life; for much of her life she was actually somewhat active and social, but in private and very much out of the public eye, as she circulated in an international A-list jet-set.

This is a brilliantly done documentary about one of film's great enigmas, Greta Garbo. For me, watching this was very personal, as I was privileged to research the biography written by Barry Paris (who appears in this documentary). There are interviews with another biographer, Karen Swenson, with Garbo's friends, Sam Green, Gore Vidal, and others, a big fan, the marvelous Charles Busch, family members, John Gilbert's daughter Leatrice Fountain, Daniel Selznick, and footage of an interview with Clarence Brown. The photographs and film clips speak for themselves, for Garbo's tremendous beauty and unique acting ability. She was a totally intuitive actress.It's a pity that, as independent as she was, that she took some bad advice, and a bigger pity that she never returned to the screen after 1941. A 1949 screen test shows her beauty untarnished, yet the producers were unable to raise money for the film they wanted to do, which devastated her.In my own research and transcription work, I have to admit I never experienced the Garbo that her friends and family describe. The woman I got to know through transcription of taped telephone conversations and various stories about her seemed neurotic, passive-aggressive, and, frankly, kind of dull. But she was so magical on screen. This is a wonderful documentary, highly recommended.