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Josef von Sternberg - The Devil Is A Woman (1935)

Posted By: amlo01

Date: 30 Jul 2011 03:48:54

Josef von Sternberg - The Devil Is A Woman (1935)
DVD-Rip | MKV x264 at 2 049 Kbps | 720 x 560 (1.402) at 25.000 fps | AC-3 at 192 Kbps (2 ch) 48.0 KHz
Language: English | Subtitles: English, French, German, Others | Runtime: 1h 16mn | 1.21 GiB
Sourced from "De Marlene Dietrich Collectie" (Indies, 2009) | Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy

Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Lionel Atwill, Edward Everett Horton

Director Josef Von Sternberg and his greatest discovery, Marlene Dietrich, worked together for the last time on this historical melodrama, which was a notorious and controversial box-office flop in its day. Antonio Galvan (Cesar Romero), a young military officer, meets a mysterious and alluring woman named Concha Perez (Dietrich) and soon falls under her seductive spell. Antonio excitedly confesses his love for Concha to his friend Don Pasqual (Lionel Atwill), an older and higher-ranking officer. Pasqual is horrified when he learns of Antonio's infatuation; years ago, he met Concha, and it was the start of a long and disastrous relationship in which the cold-hearted woman would repeatedly lure him into her romantic web, drain him of his wealth, and then leave him for wealthier prospects elsewhere. While he has learned the hard way, Pasqual has never been able to cure himself of his addiction to Concha's charms, and when he encounters Concha with Antonio at a boisterous street festival, Pasqual is overcome with jealousy and challenges Antonio to a duel for Concha's affections. Shortly after The Devil Is a Woman's unsuccessful initial release, the United States State Department and the Spanish government both tendered objections to Paramount Pictures about what they felt were insulting depictions of the Spanish people and their leadership. Paramount pulled the film from circulation, and it was thought to be lost for some time until Dietrich provided a print from her personal collection for a Sternberg retrospective in 1959; the movie has since been released on home video. John Dos Passos co-authored the screenplay, based on a novel by Pierre Louys which Luis Bunuel later adapted as That Obscure Object of Desire. (Mark Deming @ allrovi.com)

Review by Andre Sennwald @ The New York Times:
It is not hard to understand why Hollywood expressed such violent distaste for Josef von Sternberg's new film. For the talented director-photographer, in "The Devil Is a Woman," makes a cruel and mocking assault upon the romantic sex motif which Hollywood has been gravely celebrating all these years. His success is also his failure. Having composed one of the most sophisticated films ever produced in America, he makes it inevitable that it will be misunderstood and disliked by nine-tenths of the normal motion picture public. The uninformed will be bored by "The Devil Is a Woman." The cultivated filmgoer will be delighted by the sly urbanity which is implicit in Mr. von Sternberg's direction, as well as excited by the striking beauty of his settings and photography.

Based upon Pierre Louys's novel, "The Woman and the Puppet," the film also is an atmospheric expression of Rimsky-Korsakoff's "Caprice Espagñole," which has been woven into the musical score. On the surface it is the Carmenesque tale of a Spanish fille de joie who wrecks the life of an influential middle-aged politician. Recited chiefly in flashbacks rather than in a straightforward narrative style, it is revealed against the sensuous background of the Spanish fiesta. Always a master of light and shadow, Mr. von Sternberg achieves a delicate and sinister beauty, shot through with laughter and song and the confetti madness of the festival.

In Mr. von Sternberg's hands a story which is deceptively conventional on the surface becomes a heartless parable of man's eternal humiliation in the sex struggle. As Don Pasqual dances foolishly at the bidding of the young woman who has him biologically trapped, we begin by laughing with the director at the ludicrous spectacle and end by suspecting that the joke has been a grisly one. For Don Pasqual's downfall is complete. An intelligent and self-respecting gentleman, he is always conscious of what is happening to him in this absurd pursuit of a woman who can never give him anything to compensate for what he is losing. Tragically aware of Concha's contempt for him, he is nevertheless helpless to free himself from the narcotic effect of her physical beauty. It is the particular triumph of the picture that Concha, instead of running off finally with the young man who has caught her fancy—the conventional movie fadeout—remains a consistent character by returning to her middle-aged lover.

This column regards "The Devil Is a Woman" as the best product of the Sternberg-Dietrich alliance since The Blue Angel. Miss Dietrich herself, under the director's knowing guidance, provides, in addition to her vast personal allure, a series of highly effective panels in the career of a talented fancy lady. Lionel Atwill is at his best as the pathetic Pasqual. His performance elicits not only the ironic laughter which Mr. von Sternberg expects you to produce toward him, but also an emotion that almost but never quite becomes sympathy. These two are the symbols of the endless futility of passion. Cesar Romero personifies the third verity as the virile young man who almost defeats the woman at her own game. There are excellent minor performances by Edward Everett Horton as the provincial governor and Alison Skipworth as the girl's scheming guardian. (Published: May 4, 1935)

IMDB

MediaInfo

DVD-Rip MKV x264 | 720 x 560 | 0.2 bpp | AC-3 192 Kbps | Multi subtitles
Sourced from "De Marlene Dietrich Collectie" (2009) - Indies Home Entertainment (Netherlands)

General
File Name : The devil is a woman (1935).mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 1.21 GiB
Duration : 1h 16mn
Overall bit rate : 2 263 Kbps

Video
Format : AVC High@L3.0
Resolution : 720 x 560 pixels
Bit rate : 2 049 Kbps
Aspect ratio : 1.402
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Bits per Pixel : 0.203 bit/pixel

Audio
Format : AC-3
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Language : English

included subtitles: English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian

My rip. Thank You BlackAnchor @ Demonoid

Screenshots (Click to enlarge)