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Die Schöne Lügnerin
1959 Comedy / Romance / History
 Review
This lavish Franco-German production is an all too obvious attempt to
capitalise on the success of Romy Schneider in the three Sissi films that she starred in
during the mid 1950s. By this stage, the Austrian actress was becoming
bored with the role she was expected to play in this kind of film, the
sweet natured ingénue at whose feet noblemen would throw
themselves. Within a few years, she would venture into new
horizons and far more challenging roles with her break into French
cinema. Die Schöne Lügnerin (aka La Belle et l’empereur) is a charming enough film, enriched by some enjoyable performances and the stunning production values that were typical of German and Fench period films of this time. Needless to say, Romy Schneider steals the show through her grace and beauty, which light up every scene more brightly than a dozen floodlights. The legendary mime artist Marcel Marceau makes a brief but memorable appearance, doing an amusing send up of Napoleon’s attempt to conquer Europe – by ripping the countries off a wall map and crumpling them up. (Political satire was so much more sophisticated in those days.) © CinemaForever.com 2009 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Axel von Ambesser
Starring: Romy Schneider, Jean-Claude Pascal, Helmut Lohner, Charles Régnier, Hans Moser Synopsis
Vienna, 1815. The crown heads of Europe have assembled for a
congress that will determine the boundaries of their countries after
the fall of the Emperor Napoleon. Against this political
intrigue, a young man named Martin is pursuing an intense love affair
with a modest dressmaker named Fanny. Passing himself off as a
valet, Martin is in fact Count Waldau, the private secretary of Prince
Meternich, the Austrian chancellor. When Meternich learns
of this, he persuades Fanny’s grandfather to put an end to the love
match. Determined to see Martin, Fanny disguises herself as a man
so that she can gain access to a state ball. Having learned of
Martin’s deception, Fanny takes her revenge by allowing the Russian
Emperor, Tsar Alexander I, to flirt with her. What begins as a
harmless joke soon has the potential to mushroom into a major
diplomatic incident...
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© CinemaForever.com 2009