BLUE ANGEL, The [DER BLAUE ENGEL] (Masters of Cinema) BLU-RAY

The Blue Angel is one of the first German language sound films (filmed simultaneously in an English - language version), and the picture that represents the initial collaboration between Josef von Sternberg and his immortal muse, Marlene Dietrich.

Following up his role in Sternberg's great silent The Last Command, Emil Jannings portrays a schoolteacher named Immanuel Rath, whose fateful expedition to catch his students frequenting the cabaret known as "The Blue Angel" leads to his own rapture with the establishment's main attraction Lola (Dietrich) - and, as a result, triggers the downward spiral of his life and fortune.

Directed by Sternberg while on loan from America to the pioneering German producer Erich Pommer, The Blue Angel is at once captivating, devastating, and powerfully erotic, laced - through with Sternberg's masterful cinematography. From here, the director and Dietrich would go on to make six more films together in the span of five years, and leave a legacy of some of the most indelible iconography in the cinema of glamour and obsession. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present The Blue Angel in a presentation that incorporates both versions of the film in 1080p HD for the first time in the UK.

BLU-RAY FEATURES :

• New 1080p HD presentation of both the German - language and English - language versions of the film.
• Newly translated optional subtitles on the German - language version, and SDH on the English - language version.
• New and exclusive video essay on the films by critic and scholar Tag Gallagher.
• New and exclusive feature - length audio commentary by critic and scholar Tony Rayns on the German - language version.
• Original screen test with Marlene Dietrich.
• Archival interview clips with Dietrich.

Review

A remarkable performance from Emil Jannings. --Kim Newman, EMPIRE Magazine

Not only is Mr. Jannings's and Miss Dietrich's acting excellent, but they are supported by an unusually competent cast. --New York Times

Exceptionally high drama for its day, this tragic, tragic tale is one of the best examples of well-realized filmmaking from the first half of the 20th century. --Filmcritic.com