Customer Reviews

The Blue Angel (Enhanced) 1930

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

the film, of course, is wonderful. i chose this one because it said Enhanced but i found it at times incoherent. what they chose to do is i think the worst of both worlds -- traditionally (i'm over sixty) purists watched the original language film with subtitles, and the less pure, i suppose, got a complete set of english voices. what this edition does, strangely, to my mind, is leave the minor audio track in german, and only splice in those parts on full-face, so in a multi-voiced scene in the theatre say there is this unnerving german background and i just found it really incoherent and spoiling the emotional impact of the film. the film itself is a gem -- i would just not recommend this version. i am not familiar with the others. i choose carefully i thought but not well. so i just wanted to offer a head's up.

I have owned and watched several versions of this film. I even have the film script. I would say that the Kino two DVD versions 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 berating room so you could absorb and experience the information. To many commentaries turn into soapbox discussions or rill 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 really entirely English. Enough English is presented that the German in-between is clear enough to follow the story. However, the German version is spoken clear 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 disguise of love. Prof. Immanuel Rath (Emil Jannings), a person afraid of life, starts out to save his students, who want to embrace life, from a fate worse than death. In the process, he meets an entertainer, Lola Lola (Marlene Dietrich). She inadvertently is the instrument of the Professors downfall from grace.

The magic of the film is more in the telling of the story through acting, sound, and symbolism than the story its self.

The Ufa Story: A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company 1918-1945

Blue Angel, The (Class. Film Scripts S)

Marlene Dietrich's "Lola Lola" character in this movie cements her place in stardom. The Blue Angel is her stage and Emmanuel Rath (Emil Jennings) is her puppet...

Rath is a highly respected educator at a Boy's Prep School. After tearing into his boys for passing around a picture of "Lola Lola", Rath goes to The Blue Angel to try and catch them in the act. His little plan backfires when he falls in love with Dietrich's irresistible character...

The fall is fast and Rath finds himself unemployed and playing a clown in the show to make some cash. Along comes jealousy and rage and Rath tries to murder Lola. Rath ends up in a straight jacket but that's not the end...

This is a classic movie made in Germany in 1930 and should be owned for both its Cinematic importance as well as its Historical significance. Along with titles like Triumph of the Will, Open City, & Olympia, The Blue Angel is classic cinema...

The professor should have stayed in his own world of the intellect. All the knowledge he picked up from his university studies and his books could not prepare him for the world of burlesque.

Marlene's rendition of the signature song is an outstanding message for all time. It is haunting!

This one's a classic you shouldn't miss it. In terms of old movies, this is one of the best ever. This is one movie you MUST get ahold of, no matter what the cost, if you know what I mean. The Blue Angel" stars Emil Jannings as a German professor of a prep boys college, who learns that his students are going crazy about a cabaret singer named Lola Lola, who works at a nightclub known as, The Blue Angel. So, the professor heads down to the nightclub to tell cabaret singer about his students, but unfortunately, they both fell in love. This film was directed by Josef Von Sternberg, and it features Marlene Dietrich in her big screen debut.