During the last week, I saw two movies with the same title that both focus on the life of the last Queen of France, Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793). Both films start when Marie is 15 and she leaves her beloved Vienna to marry the future Luis XVI, the Dauphine of France, one year her senior. Unlike the Coppola picture, W.S. Van Dyke's 1938 film, takes the royal couple through their imprisonment and all the way to the guillotine. The final chapter of Marie Antoinette's life from July 1789 until her execution in 1793 is filled with losses, falls, and deepest tragedy. We witness an unsuccessful attempt of Royal family to leave the country that brought both, the King and the Queen to the trial for treason; execution of her husband on the guillotine, separation from her son who was taken from her on the very day of Louis XVI's death, brought to court to testify against her, and died in captivity when he was 12 years old. She herself was accused among the other things in sexual abuse of her son. To this horrible accusation, the former queen, "the Widow Capet" or simply "Antoinette Capet" replied with the genuine royal dignity, "If I have not replied it is because Nature itself refuses to respond to such a charge laid against a mother..." <br /><br />I did not like Sophia Coppola's boring horror in pink but I truly enjoyed the older film which was released on DVD for the first time on October 10, 2006. The movie made almost 70 years ago has everything right. With 157 minutes of the run time, it moves and breezes freely. It is lavish, staggering grandeur that perfectly represents the golden days of Hollywood and I am sure it still will attract and amaze the viewers many years from now. There are multiple reasons for it. One of them is the intelligent script based on the famous biography by Stefan Zweig, "Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman" which focuses on the human emotions of the ordinary people who happened to live and die during the extraordinary times. The love scenes between Marie Antoinette (Norman Shearer) and the Swedish count Axel de Fensen (Tyrone Power -just imagine the young Alain Delon but more passionate) are exquisite and emotional without being overtly sentimental. Acting also must be mentioned. Everybody shines in the film starting with powerful and extravagant Louis XV (John Barrimor) to whom belongs the famous phrase, "After me, the deluge." It turned out to be prophetic. Louis XVI (Robert Morley in his film debut practically stole the show and earned the nomination for the Best Supporting Actor), the grandson of Louis XV, was swept away in the French Revolution--even though he himself was relatively modest, unassuming, and moral. Louis XVI as played by Robert Morley would've made an excellent locksmith. He would've been an obedient and loyal citizen and perhaps a happy father of the family somewhere in the quiet province. Instead, he had became the King of France who would end his days on the guillotine. Joseph Schildkraut is marvelous as the snake-like intriguing Philippe Joseph II, Duke of Orléans who had changed his name to Citoyen Philippe Égalité, supported the French Revolution, voted on the National Assembly for the death of the king but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror very soon after Louis XVI. Norma Shearer is very convincing playing a naïve average young woman in a beginning of the movie and she makes you forget that she was 20 years older than Antoinette in the first scenes. As her character matures and changes, her performance changes, too, becoming heartbreaking and very touching in the last scenes. The "Last Supper" scene is simply unforgettable with both Morley and Shearer on the peak of their abilities.<br /><br />I can go on for long time praising a competent directing, masterfully created set and decorations, attention to the small details, moving and believable intimate scenes and historical accuracy – any way you look at it, "Marie Antoinette" (1938) is a triumph of film-making and I highly recommend it.