Alexander Korda's Private lives
(DVD) 

The private life of Don Juan: based on a play L'homme á la rose by Henri Bataille.

"Eclipse from The Criterion Collection"--Disc label.

The private life of Don Juan: originally produced as a motion picture in 1934 by London Film Productions; The private life of Henry VIII: originally produced as a motion picture in 1933 by London Film Productions; The private life of Catherine the Great: originally produced as a motion picture in 1934 by London Film Productions. Rembrandt: originally produced as a motion picture in 1936 by London Film Productions.

Box set.

The private life of Henry VIII: story and dialogue by Lajos Biro and Arthur Wimperis ; scenario by Arthur Wimperis ; music, Kurt Schroeder ; cinematography, Georges Perinal ; camera, Osmond Borrodaile ; directed by Alexander Korda. The private life of Don Juan: story & dialogue by Frederick Lonsdale and Lajos Biro ; photography, Georges Perinal ; camera, Osmond Borrodaile ; musical compositions, Ernst Toch, Michael Spolianski ; lyrics, Arthur Wimperis ; directed by Alexander Korda. The private life of Catherine the Great: directed by Paul Czinner, produced by Alexander Korda ; story, dailogue, Lajos Biro, Arthur Wimperis, Melchior Lengyel ; scenario and continuity, Arthur Wimperis, Marjorie Deans ; camera, Robert Lapresle ; musical compositions, Ernst Toch ; cinematography, Georges Périnal ; musical director, Muir Mathieson. Rembrandt: director, Alexander Korda ; screenplay, Carl Zuckmayer ; scenario, June Head ; cinematography, Georges Périnal ; musical director, Muir Mathieson ; musical score by Geoffrey Toye.

Douglas Fairbanks, Merle Oberon, Benita Hume, Charles Laughton, Wendy Barrie, Elsa Lanchester, Robert Donat, Binnie Barnes, Everlely Gregg, Elizabeth Bergner, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Gertrude Lawrence, Elsa Lanchester, Edward Chapman.

Though born to modest means in Hungary, Alexander Korda would go on to become one of the most important filmmakers in the history of British cinema. A producer, writer, and director who navigated toward subjects of major historical significance and mythical distinction, Korda made a name for his production company, London Films, with the Oscar-winning The Private Life of Henry VIII. He then continued his populist investigation behind the scenes and in the bedrooms of such figures as Catherine the Great, Don Juan, and Rembrandt. Mixing stately period drama with surprising satire, these films are exemplars of grand 1930s moviemaking. The Private Life of Henry VIII: Charles Laughton gulps beer and chomps on mutton, in his first of many iconic screen roles, as King Henry VIII, the ultimate anti-husband. Alexander Korda's first major international success is a raucous, entertaining, even poignant peek into the boudoirs of the infamous king and his six wives. The Rise of Catherine the Great: A quick-witted and compelling dramatization of the troubled marriage of Catherine II (played by German actress Elisabeth Bergner, in her English-language debut) to Peter III (a randy Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and her subsequent ascension to the throne as Empress of Russia. The Private Life of Don Juan: Douglas Fairbanks Sr. makes his big-screen swan song with Korda's deliciously satiric deflation of the Don Juan myth. After having faked his own death and escaped Seville, the aging lothario returns, only to find that he has been forgotten; perhaps Merle Oberon's beauty can coax him back. Rembrandt: Charles Laughton once again teams up with Korda for this moving, elegantly shot biopic about the Dutch painter. Beginning when Rembrandt's reputation was at its height, the film then tracks his quiet descent into loneliness and isolated self-expression.

Not rated.

DVD; Dolby digital, mono; NTSC; region 1.

Closed-captioned.

DVD