Queen Christina 9781838712181, 9781838717698

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QUEEN C H R I S T I N A / /larcia c^Lanau CJ^Atmu

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BFI FILM CLASSICS Edward Buscombe S E R I E S

E D I T O R

Colin MacCabe and David Meeker S E R I E S

C O N S U L T A N T S

Cinema is a fragile medium. Many of the great classic films of the past now exist, if at all, in damaged or incomplete prints. Concerned about the deterioration in the physical state of our film heritage, the National Film and Television Archive, a Division of the British Film Institute, has compiled a list of 360 key films in the history of the cinema. The long-term goal of the Archive is to build a collection of perfect showprints of these films, which will then be screened regularly at the Museum of the Moving Image in London in a year-round repertory. BFI Film Classics is a series of books commissioned to stand alongside these titles. Authors, including film critics and scholars, filmmakers, novelists, historians and those distinguished in the arts, have been invited to write on a film of their choice, drawn from the Archive's list. Each volume presents the author's own insights into the chosen film, together with a brief production history and a detailed filmography, notes and bibliography. The numerous illustrations have been specially made from the Archive's own prints. With new titles published each year, the BFI Film Classics series will rapidly grow into an authoritative and highly readable guide to the great films of world cinema.

Could scarcely be improved upon . . . informative, intelligent, jargonfree companions. The Observer Cannily but elegantly packaged BFI Classics will make for a neat addition to the most discerning shelves. New Statesman & Society

Garbo as Christina

QUEEN CHRISTINA / / l a r c i a cJLattdu CTLXrma

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First published in 1995 by the BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE 21 Stephen Street, London W1P 2LN Copyright © Marcia Landy & Amy Villarejo 1995 The British Film Institute exists to promote appreciation, enjoyment, protection and development of moving image culture in and throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. Its activities include the National Film and Television Archive; the National Film Theatre; the Museum of the Moving Image; the London Film Festival; the production and distribution o{ film and video; funding and support for regional activities; Library and Information Services; Stills, Posters and Designs; Research, Publishing and Education; and the monthly Sight and Sound magazine.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Designed by Andrew Barron & Collis Clements Associates Typesetting by Fakenham Photosetting Limited, Norfolk ISBN 978-0-85170-523-1 eISBN 978-1-83871-768-1 ePDF 978-1-83871-769-8

CONTENTS

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Acknowledgments

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Queen Christina' Notes Credits

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to express our gratitude to colleagues and friends who assisted in the research and preparation of the manuscript. Particularly, we are appreciative of Ed Buscombe's careful reading of the work and for his extremely helpful suggestions for its improvement. We are grateful to the staff at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for making a wealth of archival material from and about the film available to us and for permission to reproduce stills from Queen Christina and publicity shots from the film. Kathy Lendech of Turner Entertainment Company was most understanding in helping us to acquire further permissions from Turner for use of the stills. The staff at the Museum of Modern Art in New York assisted us in tracking down contemporary reviews of the film. Our special thanks to Colin MacCabe for his encouragement of the project, his helpful critical insight, and his friendship. We are grateful to Lucy Fischer, Director of the Film Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, for fostering a creative environment for cinema studies. We appreciate the support of Mary Louise Briscoe, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Philip Smith, Chairman of the English Department. W e would like to thank each other for making collaborative work intellectually exciting, pleasurable, and possible. We would also like to thank Stanley Shostak for his support of intellectual work and for his friendship and we express our special appreciation to Don and Merna Villarejo for their support and Vanessa and Wat for their unflagging companionship.

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Rouben Mamoulian (rt) on set with Garbo and Gilbert

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