Madame DuBarry

Before Ernst Lubitsch created his eminently sophisticated Hollywood sex comedies, he was at work in Germany perfecting his earliest entries into the genre, alongside sweeping ironic dramas based on historical events and often set in exotic locales. One of his earliest successes merged elements of both modes: Madame DuBarry. A recounting-à-la-Lubitsch of the torrid affair between the title character (Pola Negri) and France's King Louis XV (Emil Jannings, who would go on to portray Henry VIII in Lubitsch's Anna Boleyn of the following year – a film that neatly bookends Madame DuBarry), the picture spans scandalous intrigue at the court and the ring of the guillotine among the riotous mobs of the Revolution. Also included in this edition is Lubitsch's earliest surviving film, the 1916 Als ich tot war [When I Was Dead], which stars the director himself in a lead role that involves his faked suicide and (prefiguring the later Die Puppe.) an infiltration of the domestic space whilst in disguise (not as an automaton, but as a servant). The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Madame DuBarry and Als ich tot war in a special Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) edition for the first time. With Madame DuBarry, Lubitsch proved himself as a director of all-around ability, fluent in several genres, including the historical epic. These vast films had everything – sex, intrigue, war, violence – and all of it couched in the edifying language of History, so that no one could accuse the filmmakers of merely pandering to their audience's base desires. – Kevin Hagopian Special Features: New high-definition 1080p presentation of the main feature on the Blu-ray, and progressive encode on the DVD Original/French/German intertitles with newly translated optional English subtitles Lubitsch's earliest surviving film, Als ich tot war [1916] 36-PAGE BOOKLET Contains Blu-Ray and DVD Versions