Review of The Blue Angel (1930) by Matty S — 02 Jan 2014

Both the German and the English version of Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel remain an important part of cinematic history. The German version is by far the more effective. This might be due, in part, because the cast was German.

However, there is something more realistic and gritty to be found in the German version. Produced prior to the Hayes Office Codes, the film offers an interesting insight into how early cinema was approaching realism.

Marlene Dietrich literally seethes eroticism and her fellow "ladies" on the stage are every bit as tawdry as what Fosse would capture over forty years later in CABARET. Emil Jannings is both comical and heart-breaking in his performance.

While the film does hinge on a misogynistic turn, it avoid the pitfall of the normal "bad girl with a heart of gold" conceit. This film will most certainly hold a great deal of interest for hardcore movie buffs or Film Theory aficionados.

The allure of sexual desire has seldom been captured so brutally.