The Great Waltz (1938)

The Great Waltz is the kind of old Hollywood musical that doesn’t just feature music—it seems to breathe in 3/4 time, turning Vienna into a glowing ballroom where every corridor, café, and woodland clearing feels ready to burst into melody. Julien Duvivier stages Strauss’s rise with lavish production and brilliant photography, but what really carries you is how the film makes inspiration look and sound: waltzes unfurl with an almost dreamlike sweep, and the romantic ache underneath them feels sincere rather than syrupy. Luise Rainer brings warmth and steadiness, while Miliza Korjus adds a starry, operatic allure that makes the emotional triangle feel inevitable without getting lurid. If you’re allergic to classical-Hollywood pageantry or prefer your biopics gritty, this may feel too polished—but if you want to be transported by gorgeous images and enchanting musical set pieces, it’s an easy evening to surrender to.

The Great Waltz is clearly aiming to be a lavish, romanticized tribute to Johann Strauss and the intoxicating pull of music, with Vienna dressed up like a postcard and waltzes doing a lot of the emotional heavy lifting. The problem is that the story itself is pretty thin, so between the gorgeous set pieces you may feel like you’re watching a beautifully wrapped gift with not much inside. If you need sharp character drama, real marital tension, or a plot that builds with urgency, this can come off as stately, repetitive, and frankly a bit dull. But if you’re happy to treat it as old-Hollywood operetta spectacle—handsome visuals, big feelings, and familiar melodies—it can still be a pleasant two-hour escape.