Overview
A young princess rises to power in a tumultuous royal court, navigating love and ambition.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- feverish
- ornate
- oppressive
- classic cinema night
- historical drama evening
What critics said
Critics broadly admire the film's extraordinary visual design, lighting, and cinematic imagination while acknowledging its dramatic unevenness and loose historical treatment.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Josef von Sternberg frames Catherine's ascent through monumental sets, elaborate lighting, feverish compositions, and deliberately heightened court imagery.
Sophia is transported into a male-dominated royal marriage, then builds military and court support to depose Peter and claim the throne.
The film presents Catherine's life as a metaphysical and eroticized vision, and critics specifically note its limited historical accuracy.
The story follows Sophia's transformation from arranged bride to Catherine the Great through calculated political maneuvering.
Films like The Scarlet Empress, and why
The Rise of Catherine the Great
ornate historical spectacle centered on a woman asserting power within a patriarchal court
The Devil Is a Woman
stylized Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich collaboration exploring female agency, domination, and destructive desire
The Private Life of Henry VIII
lavish period romance driven by court intrigue, sexual politics, and an ambitious central woman
Movie Details
- Director
- Josef von Sternberg
- Release Date
- 1934-05-09
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (146)
Cast
- Marlene Dietrich
- John Lodge
- Sam Jaffe
- Louise Dresser
- C. Aubrey Smith
- Gavin Gordon
- Olive Tell
- Ruthelma Stevens
- Davison Clark
- Erville Alderson
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- FlixFling
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Scarlet Empress about?
- A lavish, feverish vision of Catherine the Great’s transformation from arranged bride into a ruthless sovereign.
- What is The Scarlet Empress like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Scarlet Empress as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Scarlet Empress violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Scarlet Empress as mild.
- What did critics think of The Scarlet Empress?
- Critics broadly admire the film's extraordinary visual design, lighting, and cinematic imagination while acknowledging its dramatic unevenness and loose historical treatment.
- Which films are like The Scarlet Empress?
- Films with a similar feel include The Rise of Catherine the Great, The Devil Is a Woman, and The Private Life of Henry VIII.
- How long is The Scarlet Empress?
- The Scarlet Empress runs 104 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Scarlet Empress?
- In United States, The Scarlet Empress streams on FlixFling.
