"Mayerling" is the technicolor-version of "Marie Antoinette", although the gorgeous gowns worn by the ladies are not nearly as sumptuous. Of course, Empress Therese produced many females to wed-off to all the royal courts of Europe. In fact, Empress Victoria (England) was sent to rule there as a teenager ! I only read one user's mention of Marie Antoinette; the early BW version (starring Norma Shearer) displays the opulence royal families led in their icy palaces.
Dirctor Terence Young did a splendid job of getting all the right ingredients together for this love-story (script by Michel Arnold). As several users have pointed-out, history was a minor one: many fictional scenes in here, although they certainly contributed to the drama between Crown-Prince Rudolph (Omar Shariff) and "Maria" (Catherine Deneuve). This story is at the near-end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, after 600 years of ruling.
Also as some users pointed-out, royal families (then) had little contact with their children - they were too busy being royal....primping and changing clothes so many times a day. Empress Elizabeth (Ava Gardner) portrayed that role with conviction. She did not like "court" life, and most likely wasn't that familiar with all of "Rudolph's" conspiring to take the throne from his father - Emperor Franz-Jospeh (James Mason). Politics then - even WITHOUT the TV-debates ! - was as notoriously corrupt as it is now. Some users mention the lovers' deaths could just as well have been assassinations. Myself, I thought the lovers had poisoned themselves, so I was shocked at the ending.
Many users mentioned how well James Robert Justice played "Edward, Prince of Wales". I thought the role was good, but Justice was much too physically large: "Wales" was well-known to skip off to Russia to visit with Czar Nicholos (they were often thought-of as being brothers), so he could openly cross-dress for the many court celebrations....seldom mentioned....
All-in-all, this is a very lush movie. Enjoy it for what you see on the screen. Pomp and circumstance certainly give our imaginations a lot of excitement, and this movie can be enjoyed by all. Bravo !
Dirctor Terence Young did a splendid job of getting all the right ingredients together for this love-story (script by Michel Arnold). As several users have pointed-out, history was a minor one: many fictional scenes in here, although they certainly contributed to the drama between Crown-Prince Rudolph (Omar Shariff) and "Maria" (Catherine Deneuve). This story is at the near-end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, after 600 years of ruling.
Also as some users pointed-out, royal families (then) had little contact with their children - they were too busy being royal....primping and changing clothes so many times a day. Empress Elizabeth (Ava Gardner) portrayed that role with conviction. She did not like "court" life, and most likely wasn't that familiar with all of "Rudolph's" conspiring to take the throne from his father - Emperor Franz-Jospeh (James Mason). Politics then - even WITHOUT the TV-debates ! - was as notoriously corrupt as it is now. Some users mention the lovers' deaths could just as well have been assassinations. Myself, I thought the lovers had poisoned themselves, so I was shocked at the ending.
Many users mentioned how well James Robert Justice played "Edward, Prince of Wales". I thought the role was good, but Justice was much too physically large: "Wales" was well-known to skip off to Russia to visit with Czar Nicholos (they were often thought-of as being brothers), so he could openly cross-dress for the many court celebrations....seldom mentioned....
All-in-all, this is a very lush movie. Enjoy it for what you see on the screen. Pomp and circumstance certainly give our imaginations a lot of excitement, and this movie can be enjoyed by all. Bravo !