The Blue Angel [Ultimate Edition] [2 Discs] [Blu-ray]

Director: Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg

Overview

Marlene Dietrich became an immediate international star on the strength of her performance as the temptress Lola Frohlich in Josef von Sternberg's classic tale of love and obsession. Professor Immanuel Rath (Emil Jannings) is a strict and humorless schoolmaster who is shocked when he discovers the boys in his class have been spending their time at a sleazy cabaret called The Blue Angel, where an entertainer named Lola (Dietrich) keeps the men in thrall and sells suggestive postcards of herself. Rath goes to the club in hopes of catching his students and giving them a severe dressing-down, but he instead finds himself entranced by the carefree atmosphere of the club, and is struck by Lola's earthy, sensual beauty. Rath finds himself strongly attracted to Lola, and she later entertains him in her dressing room. When word of Rath's infatuation with Lola spreads to his students, he is taunted mercilessly, and eventually Rath is dismissed from the school. While Lola agrees to marry Rath, she shows little affection for him and delights in humiliating him, making him her servant and forcing him to play a clown in her stage show. The Blue Angel was shot in both German and English language versions; the German is preferable, as most of the cast were obviously more expert in that tongue. Dietrich introduced her theme song, "Falling In Love Again", in this picture.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/17/2013
UPC:	0738329122225
Original Release:	1930
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kino Lorber
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:34:00
Sales rank:	554

Special Features

The original German-language version with optional English subtitles, newly restored in HD from archival 35mm elements by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung; The English-language version, on Blu-ray for the first time; Scene comparison of the two versions; Marlene Dietrich's Blue Angel screen test; Dietrich interview footage; Dietrich concert footage; Two trailers; Image gallery

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Marlene Dietrich	Lola Frohlich
Emil Jannings	Prof. Immanuel Rath
Kurt Gerron	Kiepert
Hans Albers	Mazeppa
Rosa Valetti	Guste,Guste, his wife
Eduard von Winterstein	Principal
Reinhold Bernt	Clown
Hans Roth	Beadle
Rolf Müller	Angst
Robert Klein-Lork	Goldstaub
Gerhard Bienert	Policeman
Rolf Muller	Pupil Angst
Roland Varno	Pupil Lohmann
Karl Huszar-Puffy	Innkeeper
Wilhelm Diegelmann	Captain
Ilse Furstenberg	Rath's maid
Carl Ballhaus	Pupil Ertzum
Friedrich Hollaender	Composer
Franz Waxman	Composer
Karl Vollmoller	Composer

Technical Credits

Robert Liebmann

Karl Vollmöller

Carl Zuckmayer

Karl Vollmoller

Robert Lieberman

Josef von Sternberg	Director
Robert Liebmann	Screenwriter
Karl Vollmöller	Screenwriter
Erich Pommer	Producer
Carl Zuckmayer	Screenwriter
Fritz Thiery	Sound/Sound Designer
Karl Vollmoller	Screenwriter
Robert Lieberman	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Der Blaue Engel is one of the masterpieces of the early sound era, notable in using sound to enhance atmosphere and establish characterization. Germany in 1930 was in desperate economic turmoil from reparations following World War I, and the film mirrors the bleak, unhappy view of the future common in German society at that time. The story is a superb portrait of cruel, obsessive love and the unrelenting degradation that ensues. Director Josef Von Sternberg skillfully paces the film so that the descent of the Professor (Emil Jannings) is both believable and understandable. Indeed, it is clear that the camera adores Lola (Marlene Dietrich) every bit as much as does the professor. The film made an international star of Dietrich, and she is matched in performance by Jannings, in what is perhaps his best-remembered screen role. The film also launched the song "Falling in Love Again,"which, like the film itself, has amply stood the test of time.