Madame Du Barry
Erstwhile courtesan and Louis XV consort Madame du Barry was the focal point for at least eight films (including Ernst Lubitsch’s 1919 German silent starring Polish siren Pola Negri). Dolores del Rio’s fulsomely fickle portrayal adds a comic twist in this 1930s American version and, as one reviewer noted, “Madame du Barry wears its powdered wigs and jeweled rapiers gracefully without suffering from too conscientious a passion for historical truth.”
(William Dieterle, 1934, 16mm, 80 minutes)
The National Gallery of Art’s film program provides many opportunities throughout the year to view classic and contemporary cinema from around the world.
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