Review of The Temptress (1926) by Nick E — 19 Dec 2009

I have been curious about Garbo films, and I have started my adventure in her films with 'The Temptress'. This was her second film and she was not an established star yet...Here are some points I noticed:

- I found that the soft focus style during the first scenes, especially when Elena (Garbo) takes her mask off (very excited during this scene, I must add), has a similarity to the look a singer named Alison Goldfrapp had during the release of her first album, Felt Mountain. My partner and I noticed this, and thought it would be interesting to point out. The blurring of background objects would help the viewer direct their view to the actors.

- The score was very adequate in enhancing the drama or lightness of the various scenes.

- The fades in between scenes of Paris and Argentina were very interesting. I found it to be creative, especially because there were no optical printers at the time this movie was filmed. The fades had to be done within the camera,backing up on filmed footage to create the fades. Must have been a very intricate process as to not mess up the footage already shot.

- I enjoyed the 'foot fetish' scene during the tracking shot that was done over and under the banquet table in the scenes showing Fontenay's dinner party.

- Another scene that caught my eye was the distorted mirror that Elena looked into while her stay in Argentina. I am a fan of distortion and this shot was well done.

Overall this was a great film to spark my interest in Garbo's films.