GRETA GARBO was never a favorite of mine, so I'm not going to give the silent FLESH AND THE DEVIL a gushing review--the sort you expect to have from a Garbo fanatic.
In looking at it objectively, I find it a beautifully photographed romantic melodrama, titillating because of the subtext of homo-erotic friendship between JOHN GILBERT and LARS HANSON that threatens to become more than a subtext before the end. And Garbo's demise leaves them free to pursue their lifelong friendship.
The story is simplicity itself. Two men love the same woman--where have you heard that one before? The difference is in the telling. Garbo is photographed to great advantage--and so is Gilbert for that matter--especially during their intense love scenes. When he so nobly asks his friend to look after her while he's forced to go to South Africa for several years, what happens? They fall in love--so that when he returns two years earlier than expected, he finds out they have married.
That's the nub of the story. Under Clarence Brown's direction it moves at a leisurely pace, alternately moody and romantic, but not without some flourishes of humor to brighten things once in awhile.
Summing up: Worthwhile if you're a Garbo fan--otherwise, you might find it too melodramatic and cornball for your taste. The TCM print is in mint condition most of the way and the background score by Carl Davis is appropriate without being jarring.
In looking at it objectively, I find it a beautifully photographed romantic melodrama, titillating because of the subtext of homo-erotic friendship between JOHN GILBERT and LARS HANSON that threatens to become more than a subtext before the end. And Garbo's demise leaves them free to pursue their lifelong friendship.
The story is simplicity itself. Two men love the same woman--where have you heard that one before? The difference is in the telling. Garbo is photographed to great advantage--and so is Gilbert for that matter--especially during their intense love scenes. When he so nobly asks his friend to look after her while he's forced to go to South Africa for several years, what happens? They fall in love--so that when he returns two years earlier than expected, he finds out they have married.
That's the nub of the story. Under Clarence Brown's direction it moves at a leisurely pace, alternately moody and romantic, but not without some flourishes of humor to brighten things once in awhile.
Summing up: Worthwhile if you're a Garbo fan--otherwise, you might find it too melodramatic and cornball for your taste. The TCM print is in mint condition most of the way and the background score by Carl Davis is appropriate without being jarring.