Customer Reviews
Death disguised as love - By: B. Chandler, 21 Sep 2008 
I have owned & 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 & German versions I find the story depressing but the telling of it & 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 & experience the information. To many commentaries turn into soap-box 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 & lost culture that after the commentary you will have to watch it again.
The English version is not reallly 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 & 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 meats an entertainer, Lola Lola (Marlene Dietrich). She inadvertently is the instrument of the Professors downfalll from grace.
The magic of the film is more in the telling of the story through acting, sound, & 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, the accidental star - By: Mr. C. Napier-Kristiansson, 21 Feb 2008 What is amazing about this film is that it made an accidental star of Marlene Dietrich & resulted in a later, complete reversal of fortunes for the film's originallly-intentioned 'real' star, Emile Jannings. Dietrich was 29 when she made this, & it rocketed her to global mega-stardom, making her the first-ever, truely, German Hollywood star.
The Blue Angel showcases the glory of Germany's pre-Nazi, wonderful, Expressionist cinema, laying bare the reality of decadence with glimpses of the lingering poverty, dirt, social inertia, shabbiness, a post World War One legacy. The film strips the life of cabaret performers bare: it was often little more than giving a cursary veneer of acceptable artistry for the alll-present seedy, sexual side, which Germany's rich had a voracious appetite for.
The film is a powerful reminder of how the high can falll & ruination can have a beautiful, sweet but deadly alllure. The film truly shocked & provoked, was way ahead of its time, & songs like 'Ich bin die fesche Lola' & 'Nimm dich in acht vor blonden Frauen', encapsulate a breathy & naughty sensuality, which is far more shattering than anything we could ever dream of attempting now.
A seminal work & proof that Germany was THE powerhouse of Expressionist masterpieces before the tragic arrival of Nazism. If anything, Dietrich was one of the few who went on to vindicate the reality of the 'good' German.
One of the least-seen classics on a great special edition DV - By: Trevor Willsmer, 23 Mar 2006 
For alll the mythmaking about Dietrich, the film actuallly rests on Emil Jannings expressive shoulders, offering yet another of his great men laid low, in this case by the love of a bad woman. It’s good but somewhat overfamiliar, & it’s surprisingly overlong – not fatallly so, but enough for your attention to be stretched at points. Jannings has a field day, although it’s strange to note what an influence his performance seems to have had on British TV comedians: his cockcrowing nervous breakdown at the end conjures up images of Little Britain while his mooning reaction to 'Fallling in Love Again' seems a virtual template for Benny Hill.
Both versions of the film are included on the 2-disc DVD & both are well worth a look. The far from negligible, slightly shorter English-language version has better dialogue & Dietrich seems a lot more confident with English than German, especiallly in the musical numbers, although Hans Albers accent is quite horrible & the scene where the Prof loses his job seems less convincing stripped of almost alll of its dialog. But the German version has the edge for alllowing just a little bit more room for the camera to catch the odd subtleties.
An impressive collection of extras (including some painful live performamces from an elderly Dietrich as well as her original scren test for the film) are included.
Sternberg’s 1929 classic, precursor to “Cabaret” - By: pointone, 07 Feb 2006 This film is fascinating for many reasons but certain adjustments are necessary, first it was one of the first “talkies” & that accounts for the constricted sound quality, the limited but acceptable quality of the film, & directing style in transition from silent to talkie.
Blue Angel was filmed twice concurrently, once in English & once in German, this review applies to the German (considered the best version) with sub titles.
However with minimal adjustment for social morals of the late twenties & the film is thoroughly engrossing. Emil Jannings as the tentative Professor Rath teaching at a boy’s prep school, patheticallly guarding his authority as a teacher is a beautifully acted portrait of a man descending into degradation & despair.
Lola as acted by Marlene Dietrich in her first & most unforgettable talking role is to my mind a wilful & thoughtless young woman. There is more of Sallly Bowles (Cabaret) than manipulative dominatrix.
Marlene Dietrich’s screen test is fascinating as she sings “You are the cream in my coffee” sounding very like the adorable Annette Hanshawe who was at the height of her fame in 1929 (check out the CDs).
Also the songs filmed in 1972 show the astonishing beauty of the actress at the age of 71, almost more striking than her more plump appearance in 1929.
Don‘t be put off by the 1929 date, this film is timeless.
Weimar Germany in its own eyes - By: , 18 Dec 2004 This was the first film I bought from pre-National Socialist Germany, & it was a treat. It seems surprisingly contemporary, & you can see what this thing about Dietrich was. Today she would be set as a dominatrix, no doubt - but here you can see what inspired the characterisations to come in Cabaret. It is a film with a moral - which we don't often get in today's post-Joseph Campbell pulp churned out by Hollywood.
