I just don't understand some of the reviews on here, claiming that this was an unworthy remake & that the ending ruined the point of the story. Well, for starters, it's a remake. Remakes are supposed to take the story & do something different, than the original. The Blue Angel (1959) does this & more! Upon my first viewing of this film, it immediately caught my interest, & sucked me in, & it was mainly due to the wonderful performances of both Curd Jurgens & May Britt. Jurgens's Professor Rath had me nearly in tears, & tugged at my heartstrings. Especially after he is fired & destitute, & being supported by Lola Lola. I felt for the guy so much, & the ending, where he's forced to dress like a clown, & act foolish, while Lola makes out with another man, right in front of him, is truly one of the most heartbreaking scenes, i've ever witnessed. Curd Jurgens shines in this role!! May Britt is absolutely stunning, & incredibly sexy, in her version of Lola Lola!! I can definitely understand why Professor Rath, or any other man, for that matter, would want to throw away their career & future, on her!! Though May Britt's Lola is still just as cruel as Marlene Dietrich's version was, she is also somewhat sympathetic to Professor Rath, which adds another layer to her character, & for me, makes her character more interesting & varied than Marlene Dietrich's Lola Lola was. As I mentioned above, in one of the final scenes, she makes out with another man, right in front of Rath, while he is being humiliated onstage. She does this more out of sympathy than cruelty. As, she realizes, in the end, just how their marriage has completely ruined his life, & their is no hope for a future for them. So she makes out with another guy, in order to enrage him enough, that he ends their union. She succeeds in enraging him, but the ensuing scene is ugly. I saw another review on here that claimed that the ending to this one is upbeat. We must have been watching 2 different movies, as the ending i saw was anything, but upbeat, & was instead depressing & sad. Almost every bit as dark & depressing, as the ending to the 1930 original. Having viewed both versions, i think that both the original & the remake are good, in their own ways. I know that upon viewing this 1959 remake, i immediately wanted to own this film, & was saddened to discover, that it was never released on any home video format, & so far is still unavailable, even now in 2020. When will this problem be remedied, 20th Century Fox????
Review of The Blue Angel
