Oscar Martin, April 2019
Despite its use of dialogue and music, Josef von Sternberg’s The Blue Angel (Der Blaue Engel) maintains the qualities of a silent film. Sound is used sparingly, yet realistically - the singing in the classroom scene is muted by the closing of a window, giving it diegetic quality. Sternberg by no means relies on dialogue and much of the story is told without it. Rather, the film employs the rich visual style of German Expressionism both in its sets and the manner of its cast. As a result, The Blue Angel feels nearer to its silent predecessors than its talkie peers.
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