Movies
Marlene Dietrich, the movie. Shanghai Express is a rather short film, without a clear genre or story. Things are happening alright, but there seems to be very little intrigue, nor a real goal the film is working towards. It almost felt like a slice-of-life drama, only within the crime/romance genre. The only constant here is Dietrich. The plot seems solid enough, but Lily's character isn't all that interesting, and the robbery feels almost like a secondary event. The finale is also bland, but at least the runtime is short and the pacing decent. And von Sternberg definitely had a thing for Dietrich, he simply couldn't keep his camera off of her. I'd almost forget Anny May Wong was in this too, though her role is almost negligible.Read all
A classic romance. The main appeal is supposed to come from the "exotic" location I guess (at least, that's what the title suggests), but the fuzzy black and white cinematography isn't ideal for that. What remains is a pretty basic and predictable romance, not something I'm particularly fond of. There are some nice shots here, and the performances are decent, but not enough to make me care for the characters, nor their romantic problems. I'm sure it's a film that will sit well with fans of classic romances, it's certainly not too long or dragged out, it just wasn't all that interesting.Read all
One of Marlene Dietrich's most prestigious German films. I don't think I had seen a film with her before, can't say I'm terribly impressed with her performance here. She's certainly not the most alluring burlesque dancer ever caught on film, and that's about the entire point of her character. The musical acts aren't great and the drama/romance lacks subtlety, but the burlesque setting is rather fun and the mood is quite light, at least during the first hour or so. It doesn't redeem the film, but it makes it a bit easier to sit through. Far from great, but I don't think the film really aspired to be great either.Read all
A classic Dietrich film. She may have been a striking actress in her time, but her taste in films hasn't really convinced me yet. The Scarlet Empress is a pretty gaudy, sentimental drama that lives somewhere between silent cinema and the early talkies, failing to find a good balance. The cinematography has its moments, but the soundtrack is a real mood killer, and the acting is pretty terrible, relying on expressiveness as if Sternberg was still making silents. The plot isn't too interesting either unless you're interested in Russian history. Not my kind of film.Read all
Another mother of all gangster films. There seem to be a couple of films around were given that badge of honor, I usually come to a very similar conclusion watching them: I'm not a huge fan of classic gangster films, so I'm not really all that impressed with the early blueprint of those films. Even though Underworld is a true silent, it already feels pretty focused on the narrative. Maybe it just comes with the genre? The cinematography was pretty bland, the score forgettable and the performances rather basic. The plot is a real bore and even though the film is quite short, having seen a trillion versions of this story already makes the 80-minute runtime at least 40 too long.Read all