The Blue angel = Der Blaue engel (Director's cut) [DVD]

The Blue angel is the film that made an international star of German actress Marlene Dietrich. Directed by Josef von Sternberg (the first of their eight collaborations), “The Blue angel” is a tale of love, obsession and madness. Lola (Dietrich) is an exotic singer and dancer in a nightclub, enthralling men nightly with her erotic routines. A straight laced and humourless professor (Emil Jannings) at a local school attends the club one evening in the hope of catching some of his errant students there. Lola, who beguiles him with her charms, immediately ensnares the Professor. The unlikely two form a romantic entanglement despite Lola’s offhand manner towards him. What follows is a tragic story of an ill-begotten match. Dietrich made her name with this film with her inimitable style, establishing her signature tune - “Falling in love again”. The tone of the film reflects the depressed state that Germany was in at that time - still suffering the after effects of World War One reparations. Sternberg displays his flair for visual expressiveness and moody atmosphere that he would continue to nurture throughout his career.