Nonureva Really Surprised!

Steineded How sad is this?

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

MissSimonetta Flesh and the Devil (1926) may be the best example of how beautiful and technically accomplished even the most routine studio project could be back at the beginning of the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1920s. In their heyday, silent films were far from incompetent and primitive; they glistened, the camera work was creative, and the stars were luminous.Flesh and the Devil could have been a pedestrian melodrama with the wrong staff. The story was a common one even for the time: two friends fall out over the love of a seductive woman. What elevates the material are Clarence Brown's direction, William H. Daniels' glowing cinematography, the subdued acting from all involved, and especially the chemistry between John Gilbert and Greta Garbo.Of course, the film's fatal flaw as far as modern audiences are concerned is its misogynistic undertone. (Spoilers ahead) The woman must be punished for her transgressions while the two men are allowed to reconcile. Garbo is continually contrasted with Barbara Kent's innocent, pious character, who never once shows an ounce of desire and thus is more suited to marriage with the protagonist. It is as critic Linda Williams once said: when the woman reciprocates the man's sexually-charged gaze, she must be destroyed. That this ending is also dramatically unsatisfying and anti-climactic almost kills the picture entirely.Luckily, Garbo elevates her character from the sexist stereotype she embodies on the page. Even though she is selfish in the extreme, I would be hard-pressed to say she's evil. She brings a vulnerability to the role, making her more sympathetic. And in the end, she does realize the error of her ways before being punished via death. Without Garbo, the character would be just another heartless vamp.In spite of these issues, this is still a worthwhile film, if only for its technical beauty. Paired with the Carl Davis score, it's a magnificent piece of entertainment, a simple melodrama delivered with all of the trimmings.

jcappy "Flesh and the Devil" presents a world imagined by men. The title stakes out that world. Need anyone ask whose flesh. The male leads may be damn glamorous but no not theirs and certainly not that of that hard baked parson, Mr. Christian himself. No, flesh when affixed to evil, means female and female means sex. Felicitas is a temptress in league with the devil, and the tempted, more fortunate, are in league with the ruling gender.The homoerotic "relationship" is not an act of befriending. What it is is male affiliation at the expense of, and through the exclusion of, women. It may or may not be sexual in nature, but it is binding. Unlike befriending it does not expand male identity but narrows it, making it more, not less, reliant on force.In "Flesh and the Devil" we see its naked action. Male passion is based in ownership both in its means and as an end. It is "love" based in fantasy. It assigns to its object, in this case Felicitas, erotic fascination. The husbands and lover eroticize her. Which makes her own passion little more than an act of accommodation to a male world. Her reality then is not much more than being a inflamer of sinful passion. Mainly she submits to this identity, but when she acts on her own behalf, she's viewed as carnal, both in the mind of the parson, and ultimately of the husbands/lover, a grouping which constitutes her social masters.Leo and Ulrich assert masculine superiority, not friendship, via their blood bonds. Their actions toward Felicitas are their chief means of certifying both their bond and their male identity. The impress they make on Felicitas is secondary to that which they make on each other. And their exceptionalism of class, as impressive as it is, is no match for their exceptionalism of gender. They are upright and masculine, sanctioned to act from their birthright. This is the source of their immemorial attraction to each other.If Felicitas is deadly and then dead, they are hallowed. If her version of passion is of the body and sinful, theirs is superior and sanctified. If her abject self-repudiation cannot save her life, they can glibly embrace in mystical union.In other words, Felicitas is the ground of their unity. She must be sacrificed to resolve the tension and incipient violence between her two "lovers." She will lose no more husbands in duals, even if she alone must absorb the cost of male cruelty and vengeance. For this is a male world with a male outcome. Mythic masculinity is achieved while she is drowning in ice.

rdjeffers Saturday December 1, 2:00 p.m. The Castro, San FranciscoA Fool For Love ...A jewel from MGM's golden age, Flesh and The Devil (1926) is the story of Felicitas (Greta Garbo), an irresistible but moody and shallow woman who sends both her husbands, Count von Rhaden (Marc MacDermott) and Ulrich von Kletzinak (Lars Hanson, The Scarlet Letter 1926, The Wind 1928) to the field of honor with her obsessed lover Leo von Sellenthin (John Gilbert, The Merry Widow 1925, The Big Parade 1925). Garbo smolders as the aloof and toxic beauty every man desires, while Gilbert attempts to set her on fire with his penetrating gaze.Produced by Hollywood's 'Wonder Boy' Irving Thalberg, adapted by Benjamin Glazer from Hermann Sudermann's novel, beautifully photographed by William Daniels and directed by Clarence Brown (The Rains Came 1939, The Yearling 1946), Flesh and The Devil exerts a potent and surprising sexual dynamism which furthers the theory that all men are stupid, and all women are evil.

ldavis-2 Finally got to see this last night. While Garbo (who never looked more ravishing) and Gilbert (who looks like a total wuss) have their moments, the affair is not between them, but between Gilbert and Lars Hanson, his "beloved friend." Notice how they can't keep their hands off each other, even as they agree they must duel? As if she knows this, Felicitas plays Leo like a violin: making sure her husband catches them, then marrying Ulrich, then setting him up. Ulrich, like a lovelorn girl, is totally clueless until the moment Felicitas dies, the moment "everything is clear." Our heroes embrace, and we fade to them at Momma's feet, in matching suits, helping with her knitting! No grief over Felicitas, not even a mention of her name! I think the film makers wanted to end with this, but were afraid of alienating Gilbert's female fans, thus, they have Leo get Hertha to stay. When you consider how determined she was to leave, having had enough of Leo's indifference, this is obviously forced, and it feels so.If that wasn't enough! The kiss Leo greets Momma with -- full on the lips! The pastor's erect cigar inches from Leo, and his repulsion at the sight of the girls! The kiss Felicitas gives Hertha, a kiss more tender than any she ever gave Leo. Boy Howdy! Felicitas's death can be seen as either punishment for her wickedness or God's refusal to give her the redemption Hertha has offered her.