BLUE ANGEL (1930)

Starring: MARLENE DIETRICH and EMIL JANNINGS

BLUE ANGEL (DVD/1930/B&W/2 DISC/DER BLAUE ENGEL)

• Format: DVD
• Language: English
• UPC: 738329022624
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Alliance Entertainment
• Starring: MARLENE DIETRICH, EMIL JANNINGS
• Runtime: 3 hours, 20 minutes
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Death disguised as love.

I have owned and watched several versions of this film. I even have the film script. I would say that the “Kino two DVD” version is the best presentation so far. I watched both the English and German versions. I find the story depressing, but the telling of it and the acting fascinating. A real added plus is the commentary by German Film Historian Werner Sedendorf. He brought up information directly relating to the film at the time it was relevant. Then he left some breathing room so you could absorb and experience the information. Too many commentaries turn into soapbox discussions or fill in slow times with useful information that, however, is irrelevant to the film at the time. The film has so much hidden death and lost culture that after the commentary, you will have to watch it again. The English version is not entirely English. Enough English is presented that the German in-between is clear enough to follow the story. However, the German version is spoken clearly without mumbling and lacks any slang that would force the casual follower to rush for a dictionary. The basic story is as Federico Garcia Lorca describes in his play, "The Butterfly's Evil Spell", death in the disguise of love. Prof. Immanuel Rath (Emil Jannings), a person afraid of life, starts to save his students, who want to embrace life, from a fate worse than death, as depicted in French Postcards. In the process, he meets an entertainer, Lola-Lola (Marlene Dietrich). She inadvertently is the instrument of the Professor's downfall from grace. The magic of the film is more in the telling of the story through acting, sound, and symbolism than in the story itself.