# Brief review: The Great Waltz



## Jon Corelis

_The Great Waltz _is a classic "Hollywoodization" bio-pic, one which hardly pretends to be accurate, but which uses the life story of a historical character as a basis for atmosphere and entertainment. In this case the subject is "The Waltz King" Johann Strauss II, who was responsible for the craze for the dance that conquered Vienna and much of Europe in the mid 19th century. Made in 1938 by veteran director Julien Duvivier, who made umpteen films during his long career, most of them forgotten today except for the classic _Pepe le Moko, The Great Waltz_ is endearingly filled with schmaltz and cliche, and features the absolutely incredible soprano vocals of Miliza Korjus (she was Oscar nominated for best supporting actress.). All in all, an enjoyable light entertainment. I saw this in the Turner Entertainment standard DVD which was of acceptable quality. It's also available in other DVDs and from streaming sites.


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