Marie Antoinette (DVD, 2006)

One of the better film/video biographies to be issued on DVD, as the scholarship and quality of PBS productions surely surpasses anything released by A & E or the History Channel (which tend to be hasty rehashes with sensationalist overtones). For this 'film,' David Grubin Productions approached today's leading experts on Marie Antoinette, and one is particularly impressed that he consulted Chantal Thomas, a leading French feminist writer and historian, whose writings about MA have been largely responsible for new research into the defamation campaign waged against the queen via pornographic pamphlets. This production emphasizes the crown's losing position within a clandestine war of public relations - a situation critical to any understanding of the French Revolution. Still, the contemporary 're-enactments' sprinkled throughout the film come across as awkward, tacky and of poor production quality, and I recommend production companies such as Grubin's to avoid them altogether. A little more research into archival material such as lesser known paintings and prints could easily fill any gaps and with much more 'authentic' results. Yet this DVD is highly recommended for its historical accuracy.