Sunday, February 7, 2010

fancy meeting you here


i never watch films on my computer. this was a first. when the wrong region dvd arrived i had no choice. in no time at all i was swept up in the strangely beautiful dynamic between the director and his muse. marlene dietrich and joseph von sternberg made seven films together. 'shanghai express' (1932) was their fourth.
never before have i been so aware of a performer giving it all to her director. it is quite odd to watch her play with him right in front of us! marlene is just ridiculously beautiful. she has this silky swagger that moves in it's own private corridor of space. when she smokes she appears to not be tainted by its fumes.
in this role she is willing to do anything for her man, both the one before the camera and behind. it is very exciting to see and breathtaking in it's beauty.


photo: marlene (shanghai lily) and the deeply exotic anna may wong (hui fei), both great characters.

No comments: