Review of Flesh and the Devil (1926) by Blake P — 17 Aug 2011

Incredible movie! Leo (Gilbert) and Ulrich (Hanson) are two best friends coning back from the war. When they arrive back, immediately a party is thrown for their arrival. When coming, Leo meets the beautiful Felicitas (Garbo), and they instantly begin an affair.

But when her husband catches them, Leo kills him in self-defense, but is sent to prison for three years. When he comes back however, he finds Ulrich and Felicitas married. Will he ever forgive them? Flesh and the Devil is my favorite silent movie as well as my favorite Gilbert/Garbo pairing.

(This is their first time). Their smoldering love scenes are even hotter than most from today, and they did not even have to fake it-- they were a couple in real life. Their performances are wonderful too, its easy to see why Garbo was considered such a vamp in the 20s, and why Gilbert was such a competition for Rudolph Valentino.

At almost two hours in length, I was expecting the get bored, I wasnt much of a fan of silents previously. Luckily, every moment is interesting, and the beautiful cinematography mixed with the nitrate film they used to use adds so much to every little detail.

Flesh and the Devil is one of my favorite movies, and I am sure youll feel the same way.