Scarlet Empress (1934)

by Josef von Sternberg.

The film is based on the story of Catherine the Great (Dietrich) seizing power. The baroque visual style makes it a must-watch. Josef von Sternberg showed that decoration and costumes are not secondary elements - they are the focus of his films. It goes without saying that the costume is another extension of this. Towards the end of the film, as Catherine gains more power, the outfits she wears become edgy and military-inspired. The fur hat worn by Marlene Dietrich has become legendary.

Some people may argue of its treating history as nonsense. But to me, history and movies are two different things. Creating movies based on true stories will not change history. Perhaps it is a problem of the past when mass media was still too scarce in some places. But in this day and age, audiences will not easily equate movies with history after what they have learned about the media's ability to exaggerate and their own desire to consume dramatic cultural products.