TSFF Day 3
Marlene Dietrich-Before the Blue Angel
Despite Marlene Dietrich insistence for years that The Blue Angel in 1930 was her screen debut, she made close to 20 silent films. Near the end of the silent era, her fame rose appreciably due to this sophisticated, erotic thriller-like love triangle -one that could easily have been made by G W Pabst or even Josef von Sternberg. Translated for the screen from a 1927 novel, the fluid, modern direction melds beautifully with cinematographer’s lingering odes to expressionism, proto-noir and romantic tragedy.
A young businessman’s plans for marriage undergoes a disturbing shift when he glimpses an alluring, mysterious woman on a train-a woman who seems to be mysteriously tied to a rather sadistic monocled man. He becomes obsessed with her and deserts his wife, leaving their honeymoon plans in tatters. As he follows this captivating woman, his mind obsesses with plans to get rid of the other man so he can be with her.
Here you’ll see the foundation of the Dietrich mystique-the eyes, the cheekbones, the camera lingering on her famous legs whenever possible, the sexual tension that arises whenever she interacts with a man. In the end, the Dietrich character remains an enigma neither wholly innocent nor femme fatale, foretelling the future for Dietrich characters for the rest of her career. This film will have English subtitles to the German intertitles
Live accompaniment by Bill O'Meara
Make it part of a Festival Pass or Sunday Pass
$17 $14-Seniors/25 yrs and under--Tickets available on Eventbrite or at the door