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22 out of 24 people found the following review useful: Ahead of its time, 7 September 2005 Author: jotix100 from New York
"Flesh and the Devil", the 1926 silent film, brilliantly directed by Clarence Brown, was shown recently on cable and the most amazing thing happened: the film looks superb! "Flesh and the Devil" has one of the most amazing team behind the camera, one that made its stars look so magnificently that one can't take ones eyes from the screen for fear of losing something. In addition to the superb director, the work of William Daniels with his camera is amazing. Mr. Daniels created images that are hard to forget.The opening sequence of the film involving the arrival of Leo and Ulrich in their hometown, has to be one of the best things ever filmed. When Leo discovers the beautiful Felicitas as she descends from the train and walks to the awaiting car, where he runs to rescue the flower arrangement she inadvertently had dropped, is charged with desire and raw sex. Hollywood was more daring during those precode days when anything seemed to go.Greta Garbo and John Gilbert make this film something to watch again and again. Both stars exuded such charisma that it's not hard to realize they were lovers. Ms. Garbo looked lovely in all her scenes and Mr. Gilbert was one of the handsomest leading men of the era.One of the best things whoever restored the film was to add a great musical score that makes watching the pleasure it is. Also, in spite of being a silent movie, "Flesh and the Devil" has such a fluidity that, at times, we forget it's not a "talkie", because of the magic that Mr. Brown, and his cinematographer, William Daniels, were able to do together. Of course, the film is what it is because of its stars' magnetism and the way they make us care about the story.
21 out of 23 people found the following review useful: A great melodrama, 30 April 2003 Author: Servo-11
Yes, the plot is a bit cliche but the performances certainly make up for it! Garbo, only in the early years of her career, gives an incredibly smoldering performance as the unredeemable temptress Felicitas, who snags the hapless Leo (John Gilbert) into a web of sex and lies. Look at that sly smile as she's trying on her widow's weeds -- very effective. John Gilbert, the heir of Valentino's mantle, proves that he surpassed the master lover with a believable portrayal of a man who realizes that he's way over his head but can't help himself. He does indulge in a bit of histrionics, but is very restrained compared to other silent lovers of the era. Only his performances in "The Big Parade" and "Downstairs" better this one. As Felicitas' second husband, Lars Hanson has the looks and talent to hold his own on the screen with his two incredibly dynamic co-stars. He amazed me opposite Lillian Gish in "The Wind" and "The Scarlet Letter" and it's a shame that he made so few movies in Hollywood before returning to Sweden.Clarence Brown keeps the narrative flowing with a healthy balance of humor, drama, romance and action. MGM's stock company of character actors (William Orlamond, Polly Moran, George Fawcett and Eugenie Besserer) make an appearance and provide excellent supporting players to the three stars.I found the Carl Davis score to be absolutely perfect for the images up on the screen, and the music when Garbo and Gilbert dance and two necking sessions reflect the raw passion. It's just stunning and I can't come up with enough words to describe it. After Buster Keaton's entire body of work, this movie ranks as my #2 favorite, tied with The Wind.10/10
20 out of 22 people found the following review useful: Garbo and Cinematographer William Daniels are the real co-stars, 10 March 2005 Author: Arne Andersen (aandersen@landmarkcollege.org) from Putney, VT
This is a rather long - for the period - tale of brotherly friendship interrupted by a femme fatale. The plot is simple - a woman destroys at least her husband's life and almost those of two best friends through loose morals.Garbo is alluring as always and she looks much more glamorous here in her third MGM film than in the prior two (THE TORRENT, THE TEMPTRESS). The plot is interesting but evaporates as soon as one is through watching. What lingers in the mind and heart are Garbo's beauty and the physical beauty of the film.Daniels'cinematography boasts a number of tracking (inside arriving and departing trains - the latter a premonition of a classic shot in SINCE YOU WENT AWAY) and dolly shots as well as some stunning compositions. Note the first shot - the bugler in silhouette against the rising sun, the swirling overhead shot of Garbo and Gilbert waltzing.Three are standouts - the lighting of Garbo and Gilbert's faces in the grove with a baby spot acting as light from a lit match; the dolly in on the clenched fist of the husband who throws open his wife's boudoir door to find her with Gilbert - a perfect diagonal splitting the screen; and a penultimate piece of cinematic art - the entire duel sequence done in silhouettes of figures and trees - an extraordinary sequence.There is excellent composition and lighting in the scene when Hanson discovers Garbo and Gilbert together and a fine use of multiple dissolves in the scene of the final duel.The original music composed by Carl Davis for the Thames restoration of this film and released on the MGM/UA VHS of 1988 - now sadly out of print as are all of Garbo's silent films - is appropriate, especially the love theme (heard also on Kevin Brownlow's Hollywood documentary series). This lovely and unforgettable theme is heard in a number of scenes, primarily over the main title, the train meeting of Garbo and Gilbert, the ball where they dance, their idyll at her home, her imploring of Gilbert to return to Hanson's friendship, the final seduction scene and the last embrace.A film to be seen as an example of how far the camera had come in a few short years - since Murnau's invention of the moving camera in THE LAST LAUGH (1924)and for Garbo's undying beauty.
16 out of 19 people found the following review useful: Magnificent silent film! Marvelous cinematography, great performances, Garbo's alluring beauty, 8 January 2006 Author: Marcin Kukuczka from Cieszyn, Poland
"Garbo multiplied the cinema's power of suggestion to infinity, and the gaze so deep that every spectator there found what he soughtshe spoke a different language to every man" Ado Kyrou, 1957FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1926), the first film that the director Clarence Brown made with "an immigrant actress" who Greta Garbo had been before its premiere occurred to be one of the very best films for its time. People flocked to see it, Garbo became so eminent that she could almost dictate the terms in film industry, her relationship with John Gilbert turned out to be no baseless gossip. However, since then, 80 years have passed, not many people know how important the premiere of the film was, how historic it turned out to be in Garbo's career. Yet, it seems never to be fading since there are STILL many people who watch this film in its recent DVD release. Let us look at some aspects that make it a real classic, not only for its time, but for the general history of cinema.THE CINEMATOGRAPHY by William H. Daniels is magnificent. Probably, anyone who has seen the film will never forget its most famous lighting effect when Gilbert lightens Garbo's cigarette in the shadowy garden. Another stunning moment is the scene of Leo Von Harden and Count Von Rhaden's duel. It is played in silhouette against the vast sky and, as a result, we can see not so much people but rather their shadows. An excellent moment that remains in memory is the waltz of Felicitas and Leo on the ball at Stoltenhof. The scene is filmed so memorably that it is hard to be skipped. Yet, the image of the "Isle of Friendship" where two best friends swore eternal loyalty as children and then went to fight in a duel is presented in an unforgettable way. Such pictures never fade in memory.THE CAST are very talented, real elite of the time. GRETA GARBO and JOHN GILBERT: Gilbert, who was Hollywood's leading man after the death of Rudolph Valentino, does a great job here as Leo Von Harden. His love to Felicitas (and to Garbo in real life) is so natural that everybody will get an impression that it is real what they can find on the screen. The love scenes between the two are particularly natural, hardly to be found elsewhere in films! If there is chemistry between the stars in a film, it is, without any doubt, in FLESH AND THE DEVIL. Greta Garbo performs so well that no wonder people saw her (many for the first time) and very soon started to admire her as an actress. She is excellent in the role and her acting still does not appear to be dated whatsoever! The whole of Garbo's sequence is marvelous but if I were to choose which scenes are particularly memorable, I would pay attention to two brilliant moments: first, the one at the train station when Leo and Felicitas meet for the first time and Leo picks the flowers that fell onto the ground and gives them to her, and, second, the moment when Leo and Ulrich, two lifelong friends, go to fight in a duel. Viewer's attention is directed towards Hertha, Ulrich's virtuous sister. She does her best to persuade Felicitas to take steps to stop this madness that a duel between two best friends appeared to be. How beautifully Garbo shows a change of heart... I admit that I have never seen such a performance before! Therefore, the words by Kyrou about Garbo, entailed at the beginning of my review, appear to accurately fit here. OTHER CAST: Besides Garbo and Gilbert, there is a great Swedish actor, Lars Hanson, with whom Garbo played in one film before FLESH AND THE DEVIL (this was Mauritz Stiller's THE SAGA OF GOSTA BERLING). He is memorable as Ulrich, particularly in the final sequence when friendship occurs to be, indeed, sacred. The fabulous acting of the three (Garbo, Gilbert and Hanson) is expressed in a brilliant scene of the three meeting after Leo's return from Africa and drinking a toast. Other cast give very good performances, too, including Barbara Kent as Hertha and Marc Mc Dermott as Count Von Rhaden.OTHER MEMORABLE MOMENTS include a number of humorous scenes that are, in no way, dated. It is important to state that many silent films may seem "silly" because today's viewers laugh at the scenes that were not supposed to be funny. It is caused by the challenge in people's sense of humor. However, it does not appear to be in FLESH AND THE DEVIL. Humor is retained and still serves its purpose. Consider the pastor seeing twins and believing to be drunk (he sees one girl in double). Or the final shot ... "You won't bid me goodbye?"FLESH AND THE DEVIL is a film that I would recommend to anyone to see. It is a real classic and, in this regard, it may be considered similar to other classics of the time, like SUNRISE (1927), BEN HUR (1925) and THE LAST LAUGH (1924). But there are three more aspects about it that make the movie a must see - William H. Daniels' cinematography, Clarence Brown's direction and Greta Garbo's magnificent silent performance together with her alluring beauty. See it so that the film can last forever in your most beautiful memories. 9/10!
15 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Superb Garbo movie, 7 May 2002 Author: JoeytheBrit from www.moviemoviesite.com
I've never been a huge fan of silent movies; unlike even the early talkies, the very fact of their silence distances them from the present day to such a degree that watching a silent movie is like viewing people and incidents from another, inaccessible, world – one in which postures and expressions are grossly exaggerated, and movements often decelerated to the point of painstaking deliberation.While FLESH AND THE DEVIL suffers from all of the above, it also contains such visually pleasing moments and memorable imagery the viewer can, if not overlook, at least tolerate, the aforementioned irritations. The movie is literally teeming with such wonderful moments: Garbo and Gilbert's faces illuminated by his lit match; the silhouetted hand of Garbo's cuckolded husband in the foreground engulfing the kissing couple in the background as it clenches into a fist; the swirling patterns on Garbo's skin as she stands at a rain-lashed window; the stark chiaroscuro effect employed for the duel scene; the leisurely shot of the railway station platform we see with Leo and Ulrich from their compartmentThe storyline was probably clichéd even back in 1927. John Gilbert and Lars Hanson play Leo and Ulrich, childhood friends, and blood-brothers who, as they grow up, spend a worrying amount of time hugging each other (which is perhaps telling of the movie's subtext when one considers subsequent plot developments and the timing of the twist ending). Such worries are soon calmed, however, when Leo falls for the mysterious Felicitas. Soon, Felicitas threatens to destroy the men's friendship as a bitter love-triangle develops. Without the luxury of sound, Director Clarence Brown skilfully hints at the emotions and conflicts raging within the main characters with nothing more than a look or simple action: Ulrich fumbling his matches as he attempts to light Felicitas' cigarette; Felicitas and Leo's shared glance before drinking a toast while Ulrich unknowingly nurses a wounded finger, and, most tellingly, perhaps, the manner in which Garbo consumes her wine during communion – that scene alone is reason enough to watch this movie!Garbo's beauty, like that of Louise Brooks, was ahead of its time; but, unlike Brooks, Garbo used this to her advantage. Despite her tendency to indulge occasionally in histrionics, I've always thought Garbo's wonderful screen presence was captured better in her silent movies; she possessed the most wonderful face that somehow expressed emotions with nothing more than a glance, the lowering of her eyes, or the curl of her mouth. And, in this movie, while she hints to the viewer about the true nature of her character some scenes before the hapless Leo discovers for himself, it is, nevertheless, a stunning revelation.
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Duel in the Sun, 9 February 2002 Author: lugonian from Kissimmee, Florida
FLESH AND THE DEVIL (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1926), directed by Clarence Brown, is a silent film classic that marked the initial pairing of John Gilbert and Greta Garbo, and possibly their best collaboration of the silent era. As in most Garbo films during her rise to fame, she plays a heartless "vamp," a kind of screen role Hollywood seemed to usually give its foreign imports, and Garbo is no exception to that rule. The story focuses on Leo Von Harden (John Gilbert) and Ulrich Von Eltz (Lars Hanson), two Austrian militant comrades who happen to be the very best of friends since childhood. (In a flashback sequence where Leo and Ulrich are boys, they are seen, along with Ulrich's kid sister, Hertha, playing on what they call "The Island of Friendship" where the boys become blood brothers. Although Hertha loves Leo, Leo simply ignores her). Back to present day, now set at a lavish dinner party, Leo, who had earlier noticed the mesmerizing Felicitas (Greta Garbo) at a train station, finally makes her acquaintance. During a dance, it is love at first sight. They both leave the party only to later have an affair in her place of residence. During the affair, they are caught by her husband, Count Von Rhaden (Marc MacDermott). Not wanting to disgrace his good name, the husband challenges lover boy to a duel with the understanding that they had "words in a card game." The duel takes place and the Count is instantly killed. Leo continues to see this "merry widow," but because of the duel, Leo is ordered by his superiors to go on a mission to Africa for five years. After he is pardoned, he rushes home on horseback with only Felicitas' name on his mind. Upon his return, he finds that Felicitas is now married ... to ... his best friend, Ulrich. At first he tries to avoid her, but finds himself meeting her secretly. After husband No. 2 learns of their secret rendezvous, Felicitas, with those devilish eyes, succeeds into turning these former best friends into bitter enemies.In the supporting cast are George Fawcett as Pastor Voss, the man who warns Leo (Gilbert) that when the devil cannot reach man through the spirit, then he sends a woman to get him through the flesh; Eugenie Besserer as Leo's mother; William Orlamond as Uncle Kutowski; and the pert and dark-haired Barbara Kent as the grown up Hertha.FLESH AND THE DEVIL was one of MGM silent movies presented on New York City's public television station of WNET, Channel 13 in the 13-week showing of MOVIES GREAT MOVIES (1973), hosted by Richard Schickel, featuring an original orchestral score written directly for the film in this series. It also ranked one of the most revived movies from that series, making its final bow in the spring of 1978. When distributed to home video by MGM/UA in 1988, the newly restored copy was presented with a new Thames orchestral score by Carl Davis, which proves disappointing at times mainly due to its occasional violin playing that makes viewing this sleep inducing. The only other disturbing element in regards to the video copy and the print that turns up on Turner Classic Movies is its elimination of the original ending involving Leo (Gilbert) and Hertha (Barbara Kent) as she rides a coach bound for Munich never to return as Leo runs after her, thus, ruining the focal point as to what becomes of Hertha after she earlier begs the uncaring Felicitas to go out in the cold and snowy grounds to spare the lives of both her brother and the man she loves from a duel they are to have at sunrise. The alternate ending that hasn't been shown since its 1970s PBS presentation has been placed in the 2005 DVD release of the "Garbo Silents Collection." Although a big success upon its release, FLESH AND THE DEVIL will probably provide few surprises to first time viewers, especially since many movies involving illicit affairs have been done many times since the beginning of cinema and continues on to this very day. However, minus the more explicit "bedroom scenes" and flesh most common practice in more modern films, director Clarence Brown substitutes that with Gilbert-Garbo doing their passionate love and kissing moments transpired into semi-darkness. There is one fine visual effect that has Gilbert lighting a cigarette as she coyly blows out the match. Otherwise what the two central characters do is left to the imagination of the audience. It's surprising to mention, however, that a story such as this did not get remade in later years as a starring vehicle for the likes of either Hedy Lamarr or Elizabeth Taylor playing the Garbo role, and Peter Lawford and Ricardo Montalban as the militant comrades, for example, but overall, it's hard to duplicate and compare the performances of the screen's popular flesh and the devil themselves, Gilbert and Garbo. (***)
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: A Fine Cast Makes It a Good Melodrama, 4 April 2006 Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio
The fine cast makes this melodrama work, and turns a rather routine plot idea into a good and sometimes memorable movie. John Gilbert and Lars Hanson are a good combination as the male leads, and Greta Garbo is convincing as always, as the woman at the center of everything. Clarence Brown's direction also contains some good touches.Gilbert and Hanson work well as the two lifelong friends who fall in love with the same woman. Gilbert's more passionate, hot-blooded character forms a believable and interesting contrast to Hanson's innocently earnest portrayal of his loyal, unsuspecting friend. Garbo's character is treated roughly at times by the story and by some of the other characters, but she more than rises to the occasion, and as she often does, she makes what could have been a stereotyped love interest into a complex and sometimes tormented character.Barbara Kent also does well in a smaller role, and her character (the younger sister of Hanson's character) is used effectively at some important moments that help develop the main characters. Brown adds a lighter tone to a couple of sequences when suitable, and he provides a good pace. Given the fairly simple story, it might run a bit long, but otherwise it is well-crafted and effective.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Amazing Garbo melodrama, with kinks, 6 September 2005 Author: michaelstep2004 from United States
This early Garbo vehicle is a superb, over-the-top melodrama. Garbo is a simply glorious vamp, a radiant beauty who enjoys and manipulates the passionate love of two best friends (in every sense), to their near destruction and ultimate redemption.The relationship between the two guys -- John Gilbert and Lars Hanson -- is as homoerotically suggestive as any on film before the 1970s -- and you can see from the emotions flooding Garbo's face that she feels the competition!Very good acting -- silent screen mode -- across the board in this nicely mounted MGM production.A good, rich, era-appropriate musical score with Wagner/Mahler overtones adds depth to the TCM broadcast of this silent classic!And tonight, TCM also broadcast their 90-minute "Garbo" documentary -- excellent, and a great complement to this film..What a GREAT MOVIE STAR she was! Maybe the greatest of all?
8 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Garbo gives the most erotic performance and stays fully clothed, 25 October 2005 Author: iwanttobealone from United States
Flesh and the Devil is a classic. It shows how an actress could use her face and eyes to seduce and not have to speak one word. Greta Garbo in the scene where John Gilbert and she leave the party and step outside-is truly erotic-it is so sad that now days we show everything-there is and never will be another Garbo. She was stunning! And what she does in that one scene puts all other actresses to shame! Sorry but Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct does not compare to the classiness-of not showing any skin. And I personally like Sharon Stone as a person and she is very charismatic but in thinking of a comparison of a seductress-I say Garbo wins out over them all-see this film and let me know if you agree! Also John Gilbert has been so overlooked, a very handsome and charismatic star in his own right. So sad that he passed so young.
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Garbo plays an ambiguous temptress, 24 May 2003 Author: Igenlode Wordsmith from England
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Felicitas... Can there ever have been a woman more ironically named? When I saw this billed as a John Gilbert/Greta Garbo feature, I assumed it was to be a story of romance; of a great love-affair that would echo down the centuries. So, I suspect, does Leo (John Gilbert) - he is very young, and Felicitas, the older woman, is very beautiful. (It is a tribute to both actors that they make this age difference, not reflected in reality, subtly apparent.)In fact, it is not a conventional romance at all. Felicitas remains an enigma, a beautiful, unforthcoming blank. We see her through Leo's eyes, and gradually we are shattered and disillusioned even as he is. One betrayal - of her husband for Leo - proves the idol to have feet of clay... but that, we can forgive. Adulterous heroines throughout history have made loveless marriages to rich older men before finding true romance in the arms of Our Hero - and it is natural, although less than honourable, to wish to conceal the husband's existence from the lover even as she conceals that of the lover from the husband.The second betrayal - that of Leo for his friend Ulrich, whom he has asked to 'look after' the woman widowed by her lover's hand without, fatally, disclosing the truth of his relationship with her - is harder to forgive. But the idol with feet of clay is, after all, only a 'weak and feeble woman', alone in the world and separated from her lover with no knowledge of when he may be able to return, and Ulrich is as worthy of Felicitas' hand as he is of Leo's own lifelong friendship. How can we condemn her?Even the third betrayal, of Ulrich for Leo, whom she persuades against all his scruples and his love for his friend to re-start their affair, may be written off as yielding to the love of a lifetime against all the tragic circumstances that have intervened - she has betrayed one husband for this man already, and doubtless It was Meant to Be... Only, as it turns out, it isn't like that at all.The audience begins to suspect the truth before Leo does, but the final betrayal is still devastating. Felicitas is more in love with her wealth as Ulrich's wife than with Leo (she literally doesn't even spare Ulrich a glance, despite his stumbling attempts at comfort after his friend's departure, until he happens to mention that he is rich). When she refuses to let Leo make an honest woman of her by leaving her husband and facing social ruin at her lover's side, the scales begin to fall from Leo's eyes - and in the ensuing struggle, when Ulrich, aghast, bursts in to find his wife and his best friend writhing on the bed, Felicitas reacts just as she has always done. Namely, in her own best interests. She betrays Leo by crying rape; and Leo, devastated alike by the perfidy of his mistress and the look in the eyes of his dearest friend, refuses to deny the accusation. He intends for Ulrich to kill him - if not there on the spot, then by pistols at dawn. And Felicitas, beautiful, unmoved, doesn't turn a hair.This isn't a romance - even a doomed romance. In the end, it's the scenes that we at first assume to be mere stage-setting, then to be peripheral to the love-affair, that shape the story. It isn't a tale of star-crossed lovers. It's a film about two friends, and the mysterious, almost sinister, woman who comes between them.When Felicitas dies on the ice, it is less a tragedy than a blessed release - and in that moment, the duellists see each other clearly once more, as the whole structure of obsession and disloyalty and shallow desire comes tumbling down. The effects of her lies and her greed are washed away in the icy water. 'Felicitas' has brought 'happiness' to no-one; but with her removal, older bonds of trust and loyalty assert their claim, and life can slowly begin to knit itself back together at last.Technically speaking, this film is beautifully constructed. Almost every important development is prefigured, although I found Hertha's sudden access of religious fervour and Felicitas' hysterical response -- I thought she was going to strangle her to shut her up! -- in the last scene to be rather jarring. There are many moments of comedy and tenderness in amongst the melodrama, and the snowbound seduction scene by the firelight is still genuinely disturbing,even today. I didn't feel that the 'advanced' technical tricks I have seen so highly praised - the framing of the lovers in the husband's hand, the name beating to the rhythm of the engine's pistons - have worn so well, and I heard the film with a live piano accompaniment rather than with the 'Carl Davis score' American viewers applaud, so I can't comment on that. But Greta Garbo, in my first encounter with her, proved every bit as beautiful and talented as her contemporary reputation would have her - much to my surprise and pleasure - and Lars Hanson gave a shining performance as Ulrich, in a part that could so easily have come across as a cardboard cut-out of a wronged and virtuous man, but in fact established Leo's open-hearted friend as the most sympathetic character in the film.
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