My Grading System

A+ = Masterpiece (I hold back on this one.) / A = Great. / A- = Really Good. / B+ = Good. / B = Decent (Serviceable). / B- = Flawed but okay (For those times there's something redeeming about the work). / C+ = Not very good (Skip it). C = Bad. / C- = Awful. / F = Complete Disaster (I hold back on this one too).

Note on Spoilers: I will try to avoid ruining a story by going into too much detail. But if I wish to include some revealing points to my analysis I will try to remember to add a separate spoiler paragraph.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Blue Angel (1930)

This German film is a dark cynical and weirdly entertaining masterpiece about a respected professor who falls for a showgirl, but it's not a love story.  If anything it's a warning about false love and how it can ruin ones life.  Marlene Dietrich plays the temptress showgirl Lola-Lola and you can see why this part made her a star.  She's devilish yet beautiful.  Josef von Sternberg directed and I can't wait to see his next film he did with Dietrich, Morocco (which is unavailable on DVD right now, of course).  Then there's character actor Emil Jannings who plays the professor, who I last saw in the silent film The Last Laugh.  He was so good at playing tragic fools.  Really this is a brilliant film that left my mind humming.  I strongly recommend this one.  Grade: A. 
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