The Devil Is a Woman Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Devil Is a Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 7, 2018

Josef von Sternberg's "The Devil is a Woman" (1935) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The only bonus feature on the disc is the song "If It Isn't Pain" which was removed from the film. The release also arrives with an 80-page illustrated book featuring essays by critics Imogen Sara Smith, Gary Giddins, and Farran Smith Nehme, as well as detailed technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The seductress

The Devil is a Woman was the seventh and final film that Marlene Dietrich made with Josef von Sternberg. Despite the fact that it did not turn out to be the commercial success that everyone expected, Dietrich repeatedly declared that the character she played in it was her favorite because it made her look truly irresistible.

The story of the film is set in Seville, Spain during the 1890s, at a time when the local residents are honoring an old tradition with a massive carnival. During the event, the young revolutionary Antonio Galvan (Cesar Romero) notices a mysterious beauty (Dietrich) and as she flirts with him follows her back to a gated mansion. Antonio’s attempt to trick a servant and get in, however, fails and instead he ends up in a local inn. Here he encounters the retired colonel Don Pasqual (Lionel Atwill), who reveals to him that the elusive beauty that he is after is the notorious singer Concha Perez. The old man then warns Antonio not to get involved with Concha because some years ago she seduced him and after repeatedly emptied his pockets broke his heart. Even after the old man shares various stories about Concha’s duplicity, however, at the end of the night Antonio chooses to resume his pursuit of her.

It is not at all difficult to see why Dietrich was so fond of her performance. While it is anything but surprising that the camera loves her and never misses an opportunity to emphasize her feminine beauty, it feels like von Sternberg actually did put an extra effort to make the star look even more ravishing than usual. More importantly, this is the only film in which Dietrich plays a seductress that genuinely enjoys being in control and does not attempt to hide it. This confidence coupled with von Sternberg’s brilliance is what essentially makes the film worth seeing. (Given the personality of the singer and the ways in which she plays with the emotions of her admirers, it definitely does not seem like a stretch to speculate that the iconic Carmen might have been an inspiration for Dietrich. There are just too many and too obvious signs throughout the film suggesting such a connection).

But the film’s reliance on Dietrich’s beauty to impress, which is far bigger than usual, is where a lot of casual viewers are also likely to discover a serious weakness. The cat-and-mouse game is simply too transparent and if one is immune to the star’s sex appeal it becomes awfully difficult to enjoy it. For example, all of Don Pasqual’s failures to take control of his relationship with Concha are so naïve that it is hard to take them seriously. It also does not help that Concha’s other admirers remain largely in the shadows and yet routinely determine how she behaves. There is simply too much safe and cliched material here and as a result all of the characterizations suffer.

Von Sternberg did the principal photography with assistance from the prolific cinematographer Lucien Ballard, who later in his career worked on such classic films as The Killing (1956), The Party (1968), True Grit (1969), and The Wild Bunch (1969).

*This home video release of The Devil is a Woman is sourced from a brand new 4K master that was struck from a 35mm safety duplicate negative at Deluxe in Culver City, California.

The Devil Is a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Josef von Sternberg's The Devil is a Woman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the book provided with this Blu-ray release:

"A new digital transfer of The Devil is a Woman was created in 4K resolution on a DFT Scanity film scanner at Deluxe in Culver City, California, from a 35mm safety duplicate negative. The film's original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm soundtrack positive.

Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline/Criterion Post, New York.
Colorist: Lee Kline."

The Devil is a Woman might be the healthiest of the six films in the Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood box set. While there is some natural unevenness before and after a few transitions everything else looks rather remarkably lush and stable. Density is particularly impressive, though there are a few areas where ideally depth should be better (see an example in screencapture #4). On the other hand, for a film of the 1930s fluidity is great and on a large screen the visuals hold really, really well. There are no traces of sharpening adjustments or other compromising digital tinkering. Debris, scratches, damage marks, cuts, warps and all other visible age-related imperfections have been removed. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Devil Is a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless audio has the native characteristics that one would expect to hear while viewing a film from the 1930s. The sound could a bit thin at times, but clarity and stability are excellent. Also, during the mass chatter in the high-frequencies clarity struggles a bit, but this is a limitation that was introduced by the recording equipment. The dialog is stable and easy to follow.

The Devil Is a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• If It Isn't Pain - when Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg made The Devil is a Woman in 1935, Joseph Breen had recently been installed as head of the Production Code Administration, which enforced decency standards in motion pictures. Presented here is the song "If It Isn't Pain" which was removed from the film. The recording comes from a promotional 78rpm disc issued around the release of the film. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Book - 80-page illustrated book featuring essays by critics Imogen Sara Smith, Gary Giddins, and Farran Smith Nehme, as well as detailed technical credits for each film in the box set.

The Devil Is a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Devil is a Woman was the last film that Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg made together. It was not the hit that was meant to be, but Dietrich repeatedly declared that the character she played in it was her favorite because it made her look truly irresistible. I tend to agree because her singer, Concha, does not just look ravishing, she is an unapologetically sexy seductress that has plenty of similarities with the iconic Carmen. Criterion's release is sourced from an excellent new 4K restoration of the film, and is included in the Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood six-disc Blu-ray box set. RECOMMENDED.