VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Edgar Soberon Torchia In his fourth film with Marlene Dietrich, Josef von Sternberg recovered part of the frenetic passion of "The Blue Angel", and although he did not reach the drama of that cruel tale of obsession, he took his muse away from the parodies of an African adventure in "Morocco", or the Chinese affair in "Shanghai Express", if Marlene still insisted on placing her hands on her hips as a bodybuilder. In "Blonde Venus", she is again a German singer who has been domesticated by her marriage to an American chemist (Herbert Marshall, in one of the victim roles he specialized in, usually with Bette Davis as his nemesis). However she is soon back on stage when her husband gets sick for being continuously exposed to radium, and has to receive an expensive treatment in Germany. After a great and funky musical number in which she first struts around the cabaret wearing a gorilla suit, and later seduces the audience with her singing, Marlene obtains in the night of her debut the moneys for the trip and treatment, from the hands of a young and handsome politician (Cary Grant), with whom she has an intense romance, while the husband is abroad. The main course this time is poor Marlene's decadence and her eventual rebirth: there is a bit of sadism in covering her with glitter from head to toe, and then make her wear torn, cheap clothes; and we are certainly a masochist audience watching such an outrage. Although there are even a few aquatic shots of naked girls in this tale of moral decay, the influence of the nefarious censor Will H. Hays was already felt, so Marlene goes back to Marshall's bland arms and to their little son (the unbearable Dickie Moore), and leaves Grant, with whom she surely had a very good time, but… she and Sternberg could not beat the "good customs" of the day. In any case there is a lot here to enjoy, so have a good time, but prepare your handkerchief or buy yourself a pack of Kleenex.

timmy_501 Josef Von Sternberg's films of the 1930s are some of the most unique ever made. Sternberg was one of the most promising directors of the 1920s, but of course there was a paradigm shift with the advent of sound near the end of the decade, causing most filmmakers to abandon the experimental cinematic techniques so instrumental to the most successful silent films. Dialogue heavy films in which visuals took a backseat to plot and characterization became the norm. Sternberg seems to have been the only director to integrate sound successfully into his normal filmmaking routine without completely changing his style. Thus, in a film like Blonde Venus Sternberg still employed his slick editing techniques and Impressionistic camera tricks such as superimpositions. As simple as this sounds, it's quite off-putting to see a film like this when expecting the relatively primitive filmmaking techniques of the popular films of the 1930s. While Sternberg naturally evolved his style and progressed through the '30s in his own way, nearly every other filmmaker regressed to a more stagy film style. It's for this reason that Sternberg's films of the 1930s look so different: this is an offshoot of film evolution that unfortunately didn't have much influence on contemporary films; what you see when you watch Sternberg's films from this era is the style that films could have moved toward if the retreat to the old dramatic forms hadn't occurred. So, what makes Blonde Venus off-putting? Well, in spite of its relative lack of length (it's only ninety-minutes long) a lot of ground is covered in this film. There's a love triangle established early on which is resolved almost before it's fully formed and the plot doesn't slow down as a character goes from riches to rags and becomes a fugitive from justice in just a few moments; in fact, things just speed up from there and in twenty minutes or so there's a manhunt that stretches across several states, several close brushes with the law, and a dramatic showdown about child custody before the character hits bottom, heads to Europe, and quickly vaults back to riches again. This is the sort of plot that would never be told in less than twice this amount of time today, in fact I've seen entire seasons of television shows with less plot packed into them. Throughout all this, Sternberg's visual panache guarantees the viewer's interest and, at the same time, narrative coherence is easily maintained. There's even some good thematic material here about self-sacrifice and women's roles in the period. Like most of Sternberg's films from this decade, Blonde Venus offers an embarrassment of riches when compared to its contemporaries in spite of a pacing style that will be difficult for viewers used to (non- Sternberg) films for this era to adjust to. For a viewer with a bit of context, this is a wonderful glimpse at what film could have been.

Luis Guillermo Cardona We do not know, that moment in history, we lost the direction and the feeling of having made some of the worst paradigms we have taken as a way of life. How many times will God - and even the devil himself - his brow contracted a smile, to hear men say: "This is mine," "She's mine","He's mine." ¿When will we understand that all have diminishing the love? If it restricts your freedom, not for your sake but because I need you... and so is my love. ¡Who cares if you're not happy as long as I'm happy! I will compensate you somehow. ¡What can I do if the world is full of interesting people! But, as you're concerned, the only (only) that may be interested, is me. You leave or I'll kill you if you are unfaithful... but do you know? I, too, how many times I've wanted to tell you the infidel!... And I would confess that sometimes I have been: thinking (million times!), word (hundreds of times!) and work (a few times).On a planet with millions of beautiful and interesting beings, ¿how one person belong to?, ¿How do swear that I will be yours? ¡Illusory promises! We are a couple standing in a bucket full of lies. Problems, tantrums, separation... raged in the day to day because of the possession. ¿What is that you can own? Become well this question. ¿Someone I can have?, ¿I would allow someone who owns me? Every time you flow, and generate ideas, feelings, words, actions... ¿Can someone "own" (have), except occasionally, all you are? "Blonde Venus" is a nice movie that I have moved to these reflections. It is the story of a woman who loves her husband, but, wanting to help, she meets another man who is sexy, gallant, generous, rich, and no possessiveness. He gives all of himself and is happy to have her what she wants to give. And when he feels she wants to return to the other, he walks away. No calls, no require, no charges... just accept. THIS IS CALLED LOVE! This is how he truly loves.Legitimate husband, in contrast, takes revenge on her, leaves and stalks to remove your child, you bitter and puts on a face an opportunistic world that becomes cold as an iceberg. And when it succeeds legitimacy, one feels that won the absurd laws of society, but also feels that lost love. We grant the benefit of the doubt because there is no reconciliation and forgiveness. Let us hope that love is born again. The Dietrich strikes a role that impacts and moving our fibers. Runs her life and gives an example of character and resilience. And, as usual, the teacher Josef von Sternberg delights with a proposal not exotic, sensual, irreverent, and scenarios perfectly romantic decorating adventure.This film is making history. Do not miss it.

JLRMovieReviews This Dietrich film throws in everything but the kitchen sink (and I'm not too sure that's not in there, too) for the sake of entertainment. If you've never seen Marlene Dietrich before and start your Dietrich 101 with this, then most others will pale in comparison.The story revolves her and husband Herbert Marshall and how they met, which plays a pivotal part of the film throughout. Soon after their marriage and having a sweet little boy, played by actor Dickie Moore, scientist Herbert gets sick due to exposure to a chemical in his experiments. In order to be cured, they need money for his surgery. So she goes back to being a performer, which she quit to be a wife and mother, and Herbert reluctantly acquiesces.This film manages credibility by all of the stars' sincere and heartfelt acting, including a young Cary Grant, and a fast-moving script. Scandal, deception and lies, jealousy, twists and turns, a mother's love, and a gorilla make this Dietrich film a true essential to cinema history. If you haven't seen "Blonde Venus," then you've not truly appreciated Marlene Dietrich.