Erich von Stroheim

Prince Wolfram is the betrothed of mad Queen Regina V of Kronberg. Supreme ruler, her word is law and he is a playboy…Read More »

The first rough cut of Greed allegedly ran around 8-9 hours. Von Stroheim submitted a 5 hour version to MGM, who eventually cut it down to 2+ hours after Irving Thalberg – who had fired von Stroheim when they both worked at Universal – was placed in charge of post-production following the Metro/Goldwyn merger. Von Stroheim disowned this version of the film, but it is the only surviving version known to exist. Even in its truncated form, Greed is considered to be one of the greatest films ever made.Read More »

As artistically brilliant as it is gleefully perverse, Foolish Wives is Erich von Stroheim’s epic-scale account of an American diplomat’s wife (Mrs. Dupont) who falls under the spell of a phony Russian Count (von Stroheim). With his trademark eye for visual metaphor and gritty detail, von Stroheim infuses the artistocratic splendor of Monte Carlo (rebuilt in all its majesty on the Universal backlot) with an air of moral depravity. The result is a Grimm’s fairy tale romance that is no less fascinating today than it was 80 years ago.Read More »