Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg
RANKED:
10. Anatahan (1953)
With his last film, Josef von Sternberg went to Japan. Using his own voiceover, he tells about the shipwrecked WWII soldiers (and one woman) on the island of Anatahan. Once society becomes eliminated, the customs and regulations become all the more meaningless. On this blank slate, true intentions are free to rise.
9. Blonde Venus (1932)
Why are women punished for simply being themselves? Well, Josef von Sternberg's "Blonde Venus" asks this question. Marlene Dietrich plays a nightclub singer who becomes a playboy's mistress to support her son and ailing husband. Her reward for this sacrifice? She has her marriage dissolved and her son stripped away. In a world ruled by men, her choices in life become 'maiden' and 'whore.'
8. The Devil is a Woman (1935)
In his final collaboration with Marlene Dietrich, Josef von Sternberg crafted a sort-of farewell for his muse. Traditionally known for camp, glamor, and lust, Sternberg takes on a much sweeter note for "The Devil is a Woman." Despite his cynical depiction of Dietrich as a tameless women only playing with the hearts of men, his depiction of the men demonstrates their unconditional love for her, despite her manipulations of them. In this film, Sternberg's undying love for Dietrich is on full display.
7. Shanghai Express (1932)
Josef von Sternberg's "Shanghai Express" takes on a very familiar format found in films from the 1930s. With xenophobia running rampant, many Hollywood directors sought out to make films about bridging those differences. With this film, a group of culturally diverse members of the Shanghai Express face imminent danger from Chinese radicals. In the beginning, the characters are very weary of each other. By the end, their shared collective experience allows them to bond and overcome their differences.
With "The Docks of New York," von Sternberg presents us with a dark and grueling world. Each character feels trapped by their miserable circumstances. The only way they can feel anything again is through the tender moments of intimacy they feel together. We can all feel the difficult and fatiguing pull of despair as we labor our way through life. Only through our human connections can we overcome these bleak obstacles.
5. The Scarlet Empress (1934)
The immaculate set pieces of von Sternberg's "The Scarlet Empress" tell a large portion of the story. A visual combination of excess and decay in the film's environment offers an idea as to how Sternberg views the monarchial establishment. With the entrance of Catherine the Great, played by Marlene Dietrich, things begin to shift in this stuffy and oppressive Russian empire.
4. Underworld (1927)
"Underworld" is considered by many to be the first gangster-flick, and helped inspire the obsession with the genre in the 1930s. With this initiation into this crime-ridden world, von Sternberg showcased the 'underworld' of modern society, brimming with danger and violence. He also showcased the 'underworld' of our human selves, demonstrating how our external actions do not necessarily exhibit our true internality. The characters in this film are not who they appear to be, and seem to emanate harshness to cover up their soft, human compassion under the surface.
3. Morocco (1930)
With "Morocco," Josef von Sternberg makes the most Sternberg film he could possibly make. The film centers on two star-crossed lovers, both cogs in the machine of the great Colonial Empire. The cog-like nature of their daily lives lets way for passionate romance. Their utter restlessness creates a hot tension palpable to the viewer, and made the more by Sternberg's erotic direction. The careful lighting and movement by Sternberg, as well as the awareness of the blistering heat from the Moroccan desert, make for a desire-fueled film longing to satiate its tired and tense stagnation.
2. The Last Command (1928)
In one of his early silent works, Josef von Sternberg focuses "The Last Command" on a man who goes from being a Russian general to a Hollywood extra. With this long and winding road, we end up discovering that our perceptions are not what they seem. The exploration in the life of this man allows the viewer to contemplate the paradoxical nature of human beings. The constructs of war, politics, and even Hollywood are questioned by Sternberg in this film, displaying them as inauthentic representations of the contradictory humans that make them up.
1. The Blue Angel (1930)
In 1930, while Germany was facing economic and social deterioration, Josef von Sternberg made his magnum opus which reflected the fragile control that the modern bourgeois class clung to. The film depicts an authoritarian educator going to a night club called The Blue Angel in order to catch his students in the act of debauchery. However, while there, he falls in love with the club's star performer, Lola. A slow burn occurs in which the Professor slowly sinks into a world of pleasure and impulse, only for that descent to take him places of psychological darkness. The film itself is an exploration of the fragility of human control, and an exploration in just how far you can lose yourself, reverting back to being an animal.
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