xREL.v3

S A P H i R E

PRESENTS: FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1926)

MOViE iNFORMATiON

[ THEATRE DATE....: 12/25/1926
[ RELEASE DATE....: 9/25/2005
[ STORE DATE......: 9/6/2005
[ GENRE...........: Silent Film/Drama//Romance
[ RATiNG..........: 7.5/10 (297 votes)
[ NO. SCREENiNGS..: ???

[ RUNTiME.........: 112 Minutes
[ ViDEO BiTRATE...: 724 kBit/s XviD at 19.98FPS
[ AUDiO BiTRATE...: 138 kBit/s Stereo MP3 at 48KHZ
[ ASPECT RATiO....: 1.38:1
[ RESOLUTiON......: 528x384
[ ARCHiVES........: sph-fatd.rar *49x15*
[ AVi SiZE........: 699 MB * 716,502 KB * 733,698,048 B
[ SUBTiTLES.......: English Intertitles, FR, ES Subs

M O V i E   S U M M A R Y

A bulky, verbose novel by Herman Suderman was the source for the exquisitely
silent Flesh and the Devil. On leave from the Austrian army, lifelong friends
John Gilbert and Lars Hanson return to their loving families. At a reception
in Hanson's honor, Gilbert makes the acquaintance of the hauntingly beautiful
Greta Garbo, whom he'd previously glimpsed for a few fleeting seconds at the
railway depot. Those few seconds were enough to thoroughly captivate Gilbert,
thus paving the way for a feverish sexual liaison with Garbo. Gilbert is
shocked to discover that Garbo is married to aristocrat Marc MacDermott, who
challenges Gilbert to a duel--on the proviso that the "official" reason for
their argument is a disagreement at cards, so that McDermott will suffer no
disgrace. Gilbert kills the husband on the field of honor; as punishment for
his unmilitary conduct, he is "invited" to accept a post in Africa. Honoring
his promise to the late McDermott, Gilbert reveals his love of Garbo to no
one, not even his dearest friend Hanson. As he departs for his five-year
exile, Gilbert asks Hanson to look after the "bereaved" Garbo. Pardoned after
three years, Gilbert returns home, only to discover that Garbo has remarried,
to Hanson. Minister George Fawcett, evidently the only person to know of
Gilbert's tryst with Garbo, advises Gilbert to give up his friendship with
Hanson so as to avoid the temptation of cuckolding his best friend. But when
Hanson falls seriously ill, Garbo begs Gilbert to renew the friendship. He does
so, not suspecting that Garbo merely wants to trap him in her web again.
Gilbert is caught in a compromising position by the distraught Hanson; he
regretfully challenges Gilbert to a duel, to be fought on their favorite
childhood playing site, "The Island of Friendship". As Hanson nervously aims
his weapon at the repentant, unresisting Gilbert, he realizes that he can't
go through with the duel. The two friends embrace, begging one another's
forgiveness...while Garbo, who has belatedly headed across the frozen lake
to prevent the duel, comes to an icy end. Clarence Brown's innovative
directorial touches still seem fresh after years of imitation by lesser
talents. Ostensibly a John Gilbert vehicle (he receives sole over-the-title
billing), Flesh is utterly dominated through sheer force of personality by
the divine Garbo; in anyone else's hands, her enigmatic, impulse-driven
temptress would have been just another cardboard vixen.

Director .......  Clarence Brown

Greta Garbo ....  Felicitas
John Gilbert ...  Leo von Harden
Lars Hanson ....  Ulrich von Eltz
Barbara Kent ...  Hertha von Eltz

M O R E  i N FO R M A T i O N

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016884/
RETAIL DVD: http://www.dvdempire.com/exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=690571

FILM REVIEW: http://www.classicfilmguide.com/index.php?s=essential&item=356

ASCii PROUDLY DONE BY: fumita