The Blue Angel

A schoolmaster trying to stop his pupils going to a nightclub becomes fixated on the singer there and gives up his whole life. The club starts using him as a stage act. The film shows the fall slowly and without mercy; the narrative does not blame her, it watches him hand over his own standing. The closing scene is counted among the harshest of its kind. Josef von Sternberg directed. It is the film that made Marlene Dietrich known. It was shot as two separate versions, German and English, at the same time. Before watching: check which version you have; the German one is generally held to be stronger. Being from the early sound period, the pace is slow by current habits.