I saw the English Version. Its Good and defintely a Dietrich Classic. Everything about this is solidly put together overall. Dietrich defintely steals the hsow and anytime the camera is on her its the best part. She is very charming and has great presence. The cinematography and even the acting is shot in the style of silent films. It's very focused the entire way on the Professor and his relationship. It does a great job of making him someone we feel sorry for and leaves an impact. Its sad watching the final 15 minutes. The music is memorable also with most of it being the Cabaret numbers. Outside of that though it can be very dry and a bit slow in the first half but never boring. It does pick up steam in the second half and Dietrich is a big credit as to why. There isn't much dialouge in this especially with the Professor in he ending but its done well where it isn't needed. The only other issues that are minor is sometimes the sound quality can be shotty especially dialouge at certain intervals. The main characters speak english but supporting just stay in german so its a weird mixture of German/English/silent. Can't say I've seen much of that before. Also the picture quality can be shotty sometimes but that is totally forgivable given the material this was made on. Anyone who is a fan of the director, early talkie style films with silent styling, or Dietrich should check this out.

Marlene Dietrich steals the show as enticing cabaret chanteuse Lola Lola! Austrian auteur Josef von Sternberg's musical comedy-drama The Blue Angel (1930) is a delightful satire. I obviously adored Marlene Dietrich's star-making supporting performance as Lola Lola, but Emil Jannings' oafish professor head over heels in love with her is also entertaining. I suppose I'd fall hopelessly in love with Marlene Dietrich too. Sternberg's direction is remarkably stylish with film noir darkness, comedic frivolity, and dreary drama. I very much enjoyed The Blue Angel as it's one of Josef von Sternberg's finest films like Dishonored, Shanghai Express, or The Scarlet Empress. The Blue Angel is surprisingly hilarious with both silly slapstick and witty jokes satirizing the German elite's moral hypocrisy. Any man can yearn with lust for a beautiful young woman. It is natural and fine and not to be chastised by pompous men like Emil Jannings' protagonist Professor Rath. Writers Josef von Sternberg, Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller, Robert Liebmann, and Carl Winston adapted author Heinrich Mann's novel with a zeal for naughty imagery and clever satire. The Blue Angel highlights the hypocrisy of the ultra moral police of stuffy German men. Having the lead be an upstanding German professor, who is a prude, also falls for Marlene Dietrich's feminine wiles as one alluring femme fatale named Lola Lola. Sternberg takes on cruel and harsh Fascists with a critique of Jannings' ridiculous professor being undone with his devotion to his dancing lady. Seeing a man of knowledge stoop so low down to a miserable clown is hilarious and reminded me of Nightmare Alley, He Who Gets Slapped, or The Last Laugh's sad clown. Editors Walter Klee and Sam Winston use these smooth dissolves between scenes that are mesmerizing. I love the passages in time visually shown with cuts to the old clock with moving figures. 108 minutes passes by quickly with plenty of humor and songs besides the dramatic flair. The passing of years with the curling iron burning away the calendar is cleverly cut too. Emil Jannings is excellent as the absurd Professor Immanuel Rath. His stern scolding turning into foolish romantic gestures, and ultimately turning into a ridiculous clown is highly entertaining. It's gradually shocking how far he falls as a prideful man to a pathetic loser. His final yelps of agony and madness as the sad clown August are amazing and terrifying. Marlene Dietrich is vivacious, funny, sexy, smart, cunning, and lovable as femme fatale Lola Lola in The Blue Angel. I can easily see why she became a mega starlet after The Blue Angel. She can be devastatingly harsh in her shrewd taunts or perceptive about what drives men mad. Marlene was a really modern heroine in her own right. She was only ever amused by the professor and ends up using him for money and fame as she ridicules him until he's literally a clown. Marlene flirting with every man in each scene is engaging is a blast in itself. With every lustful glance or wry smile, Marlene charms with Lola Lola having all the power and insight in the relationship. Her playful verbal teasing is as enchanting as her physical swaying and come hither looks of love. I adored her cabaret singing with a variety of nightclub jazz styles. How can you not enjoy songs like "Beware of Blondes"? Her bright and clear vocals are impressive and alluring in The Blue Angel. I just love watching Marlene Dietrich chewing the scenery. She's definitely one of my all time favorite Old Hollywood actresses. Kurt Gerron is great as the demanding nightclub manager Kiepert the magician. His wicked manipulations turn the professor into a sideshow clown act. His magic act is fabulous! Rosa Valetti is fun as the magician's massive wife Guste. Hans Albers is a sleazy charmer as the seducing strongman Mazeppa. Reinhold Bernt is hysterical as the sorrowful clown suddenly appearing everywhere with a mournful deadpan expression on his painted face. Eduard von Winterstein is apt as the disapproving director of the college. Ilse Fürstenberg's attentive maid for Professor Rath is nice. Die Weintraub Syncopators are exciting as the skilled orchestra and the real composer Friedrich Hollaender cameos as the pianist. Cinematographer Günther Rittau crafts stunning black and white frames with striking blocking and still shots. I like how Rittau finds the most breathtaking angles and shots of Marlene and just holds onto them instead of panning around everywhere. Art director Otto Hunte uses dark shadows to cascade over the grim German city. Visually, The Blue Angel appears like other German expressionist pictures of this artful era of German cinema. The huge sloping buildings, large steps, and desolate cityscape lets you imagine seeing The Blue Angel as a paradise containing Marlene Dietrich away from an unsightly world. Costume designer Tihamer Varady's risque cabaret dresses are very revealing and sultry on the gorgeous Marlene Dietrich's voluptuous figure. It's easy to see how audiences the globe over were entranced by Marlene's charming personality of teasing and irresistible sex appeal. Makeup artists Waldemar Jabs and Oscar Schmidt give Marlene cute blonde curls alongside pretty lipstick and blush. Her dark eyeliner is very becoming on Marlene. It's fun seeing a real bear or a little black cat walk by during The Blue Angel. The magician's bunny is adorable. The little singing bird in Marlene's room is quite cute like the pretty white doves from under the top hat. Stuntman Harry Froboess has people ducking around the club in chases and all assortment of acts. Composer Friedrich Hollaender creates a boisterous film score with tons of big band jazz songs. Sound designer Fritz Thiery brings voices in Germany's first talkie. The patter of footsteps, noisy instruments, loud yelling, chaotic applause, and Marlene Dietrich's lovely singing are put on sonic display for our entertainment. Hearing Marlene's signature song "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)" is a real treat. There's a sadness and purity to her vocals I appreciate. In all, The Blue Angel is a sheer pleasure to bask in the glory of Marlene Dietrich's charming performance and singing.

It's a little hadmrd to understand some of the jokes if you don't speak German and the story moves at a Slow pace by today's standards. However it's still a very clever and enjoyable film for its time.

WAY OVERRATED!!! A very slow and boring film. There were much better films from Germany in 1930. One of them is Robert Siodmak‘s "Abschied" (AKA "Farewell") the other is Georg Wilhelm Pabst‘s "Westfront 1918"

Classic and sad sad story.

A great film starring a great actress in her prime.

Proper and respectable Emil Jannings, a teacher at a boys high school takes quite an interest in their moral well being. There's an establishment called the Blue Angel where women have been known to entertain in various states of undress. Some of his boys have some postcards of one of the dancers and Jannings catches them with it and decides to go down there to tell them not to cater to minors. He takes one look and it turns out to be Marlene Dietrich and by going there he loses credibility with the students. He marries Marlene and tours with her company as a clown. A return to his hometown proves more than he can bear. Though Marlene became an international sex symbol from this film and got a Hollywood contract as a result this film is really the story of Jannings, his downfall, humiliation, degradation. The career paths were meeting halfway. She was going to America on the strength of this film and Jannings was returning to Germany where he became a big star and leader of Hitler's amen corner in German cinema. This film is a milestone for many people and an indirect way for Hitler as well since he got Jannings.

This is a classic film about attraction v love. While Jannings overacts horribly, Dietrich is believable as a woman whose whole life is entertainment. The cast suffers from little English spoken poorly but Dietrich is clear & understandable. Her sex appeal is from attitude, not merely looks.

Oof, Emil Jannings' gift for pathos shines through strongly in this one. His performance is, perhaps, overshadowed by Marlene Dietrich, but I found him riveting nonetheless. I watched the English version, which presents the interesting conceit of Janning's professor being an English teacher and Dietrich's Lola being unable to speak German, hence the main dialogue is in English even though German is frequently still used. This allows the film to retain its distinctly German setting while having plausible narrative- reasons for the characters to speak English.

I didn't really see what all the fuss was about.

One of the great early 'fall from grace' films, the strength of The Blue Angel lies in its performances from Janning and Dietrich, the film's intended and unexpected stars, respectively. The devolution of Janning's Professor Rath and the evolution of the relationship between his character and Dietrich's Lola Lola is something to behold, as a self-restricted, educated (an important description, as it turns out) man gets his first, unexpected taste of worldly pleasure in the form of Lola's song and company gradually proceeds from a mystified lust to a draining dependency, in a manner not unlike that demonstrated in Losey's The Servant. The film repeatedly calls into question the nature of education, contrasting academia and worldly intelligence, in support of a larger exploration of the old vs. the new (the elder Shakespearean professor facing off against the free-wheeling natures of his students and the members of the cabaret). Though Rath was clearly the intended focus of the film, Lola is just as interesting; though some modern viewers may criticize the character as playing into tropes of the 'self-obsessed, flippant woman', there is a depth to her that most seem to ignore - she is not so much malicious as estranged and aloof, and though certainly not innocent in her poor treatment and lack of care for Rath, she seems detached almost as a means of self-preservation that would be a necessity in her line of work. Along with Vidor's The Crowd, an interesting time capsule of the perception of status as a representation of the self in the period (and also sharing protagonists with grand visions reduced to becoming clowns). (4/5)

The Blue Angel is a tough film for me to watch, because I am a very sympathetic viewer. I have a dreadfully hard time dealing with a plot that is almost entirely made up of a man’s downfall. This story is focused on a respected professor who gets entangled with a nightclub singer, and watches his life go down the tubes. I felt so sorry for this man, and kept looking back on his decisions earlier in the film that led him down this road. Because of certain cultural differences between the world at that time, and the world of today, it was hard not to question why he even allowed himself into this position in the first place. Emil Jannings helped sell me on the film, though, because he does a great job of portraying the main character and showing his decline as the film progresses. I think one of the biggest questions I was left with after watching The Blue Angel was whether the professor ever felt any affection at all towards the nightclub singer. It almost seems like the situation caught up with him and he was forced into something he didn’t want from the beginning. That made the film even harder for me to watch, because it makes this disaster feel unavoidable. I admire how this movie evoked a strong reaction from me, but it wasn’t an enjoyable reaction in any way. At least it doesn’t fall into the trap of many other films that torture their likable protagonist and try to sell that as a source of comedy. I always squirm in my chair with movies like The Blue Angel, but at least that’s what it seems the film-makers were trying to accomplish this time.

Marlene Dietrich's breakout film from 1930, and the first of her legendary seven films with director Josef von Sternberg, is probably rightfully considered required viewing for the cinephile. She plays a world weary, jaded performer at 'The Blue Angel' cabaret, and one day is visited by a professor (Emil Jannings) who is trying to catch his students in the act of being there. Dietrich is mesmerizing, with a sexuality muted by her ennui, but alive in her mirthful eyes. She wears a top hat and outfits that generously flaunt her legs, and apparently her look was inspired by the artist Felicien Rops. We get the sense that Jannings has a good heart in an early scene where he whistles to his pet bird, but he's also pedantic and we can see why he's openly mocked by his students. When one is caught in the cabaret and says they are there for the same reasons he is, he explodes in anger, but we see his hypocrisy, and it's hard to completely empathize with him. I suppose that's one of things that take away from the film for me - the main characters are not all that likeable. The other is the unpleasantness of the main theme, which is humiliation and debasement. I love von Sternberg's dramatic use of shadows, and that's on display here. The film was Germany's first 'talkie', but it still feels like it has a foot in silent filmdom in places. It's a little ponderous as it plays out, but never boring. Seeing Dietrich sing is fantastic, regardless of what people say about her vocal range. Seeing her saunter about nonchalantly in lingerie or revealing outfits, with the smallest attempts to cover up, is as well. This is a woman completely comfortable with who she is, and one can't help but see Dietrich the woman in the character she plays. One of my favorite moments was when Jannings stands up to an oafish naval man who rudely comes calling for her backstage, and her cool exterior is pierced in the instant she recognizes him for a gentleman who treats her properly. It's not her absolute best, but still, an entertaining film. Some quotes from Dietrich's songs: "Falling in love again, never wanted to. What's a girl to do? I can't help it. What choice do I have? That's the way I'm made. Love is all I know, I can't help it. Men swarm around me like moths 'round a flame. And if their wings are singed, surely I can't be blamed." "Beware of blonde women, they're special, every one. At first you may be unaware, but something is definitely there. A little hanky-panky can be fun, but from their clutches you'd better run."

7.4/10, my review: http://wp.me/p1eXom-2Qd

Characters with charismatic powers unfolding like poetry. Great storytelling and a splendid building up towards a impeccable turnaround. Dietrich and Jannings giving it all, reaching for the stars, grabs them and eats them.

It's powerful, hypnotic, vicious, twisted, amazing, and horrible.

This is the role that made Dietrich famous. Actually quite sad.

gr8 star vehicle for the amazing Dietrich

I enjoyed this film a lot. It had good character establishment/development, good acting besides some over-obviousness at some points (which was characteristic of films in this era, so can't knock it too much). There was a multitude of great shots, creative angles, and innovative choices in editing- far more than I expected in a film from this time. The sound was clear and the lighting was impeccable. It was the most clean/professional-looking film thus far on my watchlist. The characters were very, very interesting. Lola Lola was hot and so was her attitude. Great performance by her, for sure, but the professor was truly outstanding. The range of emotions his character went through was so expansive, and so excellently portrayed. Great performances all around. The story was good, absolutely. Interesting, sexy, exciting, scary, tragic, and imperfect, of course. One thing I'm still adjusting to with watching old films is how insanely fast people fall in love??? It's like they have one good exchange and then they're embracing each other, grasping each other's biceps firmly with this abrupt burst of passion and commitment, touching noses. No one falls in love that fast. I don't know if their standards were different in real life back then or if they just hadn't worked out how to tell a story where love grows gradually instead of shooting up into the sky. It felt a little bit like lazy story-telling, but only on the romance level. The rest of it had normal pacing, for the most part. It had its slow, boring moments, but it wasn't too bad. I guess the pacing was kinda weird, rather uneven. The professor's change in character was gradual, foreshadowed, and it made sense- but other developments I found were much too abrupt, without explanation. Anyway, I liked this film a lot. I do recommend it for a viewing. The conclusion was great, mildly disturbing. I wouldn't mind watching it again someday but I don't feel a need to include it in my collection anytime soon. 8/10 Bye love you

Para os que gostam de cinema verdadeiro não estou a falar de um filme mas sim de um Excepcional drama trágico, é um dos melhores exemplos do cinema bem-realizado