The Sissi Collection (4 DVD edition)

Although not a cheap purchase, in every way this four-disc set is value for money. Anyone who enjoys classic golden age movies such as "The Sound Of Music" or "The King And I" will be swept along by the colour, humour and engaging acting performances in "The Sissi Collection".The set consists of three movies relating to Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and one film about a young Queen Victoria. The dialogue is all in German, but it is very easy to follow with accurate and synchronised English subitiles. The picture quality is absolutely wonderful - clear and vivid colour throughout.The three Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) movies are a joy to behold. Filmed in majestic and opulent colourful sets, using many real items of costume and furniture from the Habsburg palaces, the actors float around providing timely doses of humour, passion and intrigue. Wonderful cinematography is used in engaging scenes from the Austrian and German mountains, and the finale scenes in Venice are well captured. Magical fairy-tale like sets from classic theatres and royal palaces provide a stunning backdrop to proceedings.Romy Schneider steals the show in her captivating portrayal of Sissi. Full of beauty, energy and romance, Schneider also manages to show the anguish, solitude and frustrations that faced the Empress. It has to be said that things are not 100% historically accurate, and a great deal of artistic license is used throughout. However, many of the key incidents from Sissi's life are included, including her surprise rise to overtake her sister to become Franz Joseph's bride, her political interactions with Hungary and Italy, her periods of recuperation in Madeira and Corfu, her struggles to adapt to life in the Habsburg palaces, and her close relationships with her mother and father.Karlheinz Böhm is wonderful as the over-worked Kaiser Franz Joseph, combining his overwhelming love for Sissi with the demands of his role as leader of the Habsburg dynasty in changing and threatening times. Magda Schneider (real-life mother of Romy Schneider) endearingly plays her mother on screen, demonstrating loyalty and common sense values to her struggling daughter. And, Vilma Degischer intriguingly plays the mother of Franz Joseph with a combination of calculation and acceptance - her only objective is to benefit her son and his position.The fourth film is "Victoria in Dover" - an amusing story loosely based on a young Queen Victoria. Again, Romy Schneider is in the lead role playing a young queen who has a close relationship with the flirtatious prime minister Lord Melbourne, and takes a bizarre and farcical route to meeting her husband Prince Albert. Although not as strong as the three "Sissi" films, this is still an enjoyable watch, and it is interesting to see the life of a young English queen told from a German perspective.Overall, this is a very enjoyable collection of movies from the 1950's. Many people will watch them time and time again for the nostalgic feel-good factor - not many movies are made like this in the modern age.

Having spent most of my childhood in France and having seen these films many times, it was even better to find them in the original german with subtitles. Watching them brought back many good memories and having since read about Sissi and Franz Josef watching them again made me see some parts of them in a different light! My five year old daughter, despite not been able to follow the subtitles just yet is quite fascinated. A new fan in the making !

A Bavarian girl makes good. - By marrying the future Emperor Franz Joseph of the Austro-Hungarian empire.Well. That's one way to do it.But almost nothing interesting happens.At one point Sissi leaves her zither behind, which provided a bit of a drama ... but then its downhill all the way.This is Germany's postwar cinema, desperate to find some topic which does not refer to German history.The story (non-story) forms the basis of Germany's most successful ever German-language musical, "Elisabeth".Like the inconsequential songtexts of Schlagermusik, German appetite for blandness knows no bounds.Baffling.

Absolutely adorable movies, a must-have for all costume fanatics. Though the movies are old-fashioned and naiive, they are also beautiful, romantic, and eye-candy in every way. The costumes and settings are wonderful (1950s take on mid-nineteenth century fashion) and Romy Schneider is a lovely Sissi. Bonus is that the movies have their original German sound-tracks with English subtitles.Box contains all three Sissi movies and a bonus feature of the early days of Queen Victoria.

Lovely. Romy Schneider is beautiful and charming. The story of Sissi, the Empress of Austria, is told as a fairy tale so expect it to be a little sacharine in the same way that The Sound of Music or The King and I are, but it's completely magical escapist pleasure.

Very nice old movie

J'avais besoin de ce film avec le sous-titrage en Anglais, ce ne fut pas facile mais avec du temps j'ai fini par trouver. Merci !

A most wonderful story with dialogue and cinematography to match.

Being I grew up watching these movies in Germany, I was absolutely ecstatic when I actually was able to find this collection. I loved every minute of it. I am lucky to understand it so I didn't have to read the subtitles but in any case, it is great memories of life I no longer live but I cherish every moment of.Enjoy it even if words are missing!

yes I love this picture,I.m from Vienna Rikky