The Blue Angel

The one and only; an unqualified masterpiece and milestone. Grim, ritualistic rise and fall of a respectable man at the hands of a heartless tramp is still one of the most horrifying studies of human degradation ever made. THE BLUE ANGEL's international success can be attributed to any number of elements: The immortal Jannings, UFA's greatest actor and a victim of the transition from silents to sound, is astounding in an essentially silent performance; Dietrich is wholly captivating in her first role with Sternberg--a creative union from which arose the Dietrich persona that would become internationally recognizable. It is, however, the genius of Sternberg to which...