Review of Grand Hotel (2008) by Daniel K — 14 Feb 2013

4: Greta Garbo is my all-time favorite actress, so it is no surprise I love the film, but pictures don't get much more classic than this. The cast is incredible and very archetypal. It's as if the film was made to capture forever what is meant by the term "movie star.

" The opening sequence and Doctor bookends help give it that timeless polish that means it will always work and always ring true. One liners just don't get much more memorable. I also can't recall another Hollywood ensemble picture that clicks on all cylinders from this era.

I can imagine this being one of the pictures that provided Altman with a blueprint of what is possible, even if Renoir's Rules of the Game was his primary template. Grand Hotel was created seven years earlier and has charms and virtues of its own in abundance.