Blue Angel receiving theatrical rerelease

On the occasion of legendary film star Marlene Dietrich’s centenary, Kino International is rereleasing the 1929 German classic The Blue Angel (Der Blaue Engel), in the United States. The film will open on July 13 at the Film Forum in New York, after which it will open in major markets across the country through the fall of this year. For the occasion, new 35-millimeter prints have been struck, restoring the expressionistic direction and cinematography which is so often lost in the inferior prints usually screened. The Blue Angel became Dietrich’s signature role even though she had already appeared in 18 movies. As the cabaret singer Lola, Dietrich shocked filmgoers of the time by appearing in men’s clothing and, at one point, kissing another woman in an offhand fashion. About the performance, critic Pauline Kael wrote, “her smoldering voice and sadistic indifference suggest sex without romance, love, or sentiment.”