Review of The Devil Is a Woman (1935) by Michael C — 10 Apr 2011

Dietrich and Von Sternberg considered The Devil is a Woman to be their best picture. The film is stunning. Of course, Dietrich does that Voodoo that only she can do so well, and Von Sternberg is the Magister Ludi of classical film.

This is their masterpiece. The acting is commendably brilliant. The script moves with the pace of a runaway freight train. The emotional tension escalates along a sharply ascending curve - and the film delivers a punch that transforms each and every viewer - revealing more about themselves through the machinations of the main characters tossed on the unpredictable sea of love.

Dietrich delivers, perhaps, the greatest screen performance of the decade - and destroys the egos of every other character leaving a wake a mile wide and infinitely deep. Dietrich proves the powers of women over men, time and the planet we currently inhabit.

Unmissable.