Josef von Sternberg (German:[ˈjoːzɛffɔnˈʃtɛʁnbɛʁk]; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-born filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major Hollywood studios. He is best known for his film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich in the 1930s, including the highly regarded Paramount/UFA production, The Blue Angel (1930).[1]
Sternberg's finest works are noteworthy for their striking pictorial compositions, dense décor, chiaroscuro illumination, and relentless camera motion, endowing the scenes with emotional intensity.[2] He is also credited with having initiated the gangster film genre with his silent era movie Underworld (1927).[3][4] Sternberg's themes typically offer the spectacle of an individual's desperate struggle to maintain their personal integrity as they sacrifice themselves for lust or love.[5]
He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for Morocco (1930) and Shanghai Express (1932).[6]
Shortly before his death in 1969, his autobiography, Fun in a Chinese Laundry, was published.
^Sarris, 1998. P. 219
^Sarris, 1966. P. 8: "The colorful costumes, the dazzling decors, the marble-pillared palaces ..." and p. 6: "His purpose is to reveal the emotional significance of a subject by a series of magnificent canvasses." And Sternberg "relies on long, elaborate shots, each of which is developed internally – by camera movement and dramatic lighting [producing] the effect of emotional percussion." (Sarris quoting Aeneas MacKenzie)
^Weinberg, 1967. P. 34: "... the genre it so eloquently established started a vogue that lasted an entire generation until the outbreak of the Second World War ..."
^Sarris, 1966. P. 15: "... the first in a tradition" of the [gangster] genre.
^Sarris, 1966. P. 54: Themes involve "the spectacle of man's dignity and honor crumbling before the assault of desire" bound up with adoration of a woman "which obliterate reason, honor, [and] dignity" and p. 34: the "dilemmas of desire"
^Sarris, 1998. p. 499
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JosefvonSternberg (German: [ˈjoːzɛf fɔn ˈʃtɛʁnbɛʁk]; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-born filmmaker whose career...
the stage and in silent films. Her performance as Lola Lola in JosefvonSternberg's The Blue Angel (1930) brought her international acclaim and a contract...
California's then-rural San Fernando Valley for the movie director JosefvonSternberg. The house was demolished in 1972 and the land became a housing development...
Ocean was also credited by JosefvonSternberg since it was so heavily featured in the film. Director: JosefvonSternberg Producer: Charlie Chaplin Directors...
VonSternberg may refer to: Constantin Ivanovich vonSternberg (1852–1924), composer JosefvonSternberg (1894–1969), American film director Kaspar Maria...
blaue Engel) is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by JosefvonSternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written...
Docks of New York is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by JosefvonSternberg and starring George Bancroft, Betty Compson, and Olga Baclanova....
particle to their name, such as movie directors JosefvonSternberg, Erich von Stroheim, and Lars von Trier. Some very old noble families, usually members...
Jannings is best known for his collaborations with F. W. Murnau and JosefvonSternberg, including the 1930 film The Blue Angel (Der blaue Engel), with Marlene...
white UCLA film students to be the film crew, including Nicholas JosefvonSternberg as cinematographer. Moore, Martin, Jones and crew begin filming Dolemite...
The Shanghai Gesture is a 1941 American film noir directed by JosefvonSternberg and starring Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Victor Mature, and Ona Munson...
incinerator. This was a much-embellished account of an actual client, JosefvonSternberg, who indeed had a moated house but not an electrified one.[citation...
Sergeant Madden is a 1939 film noir forerunner directed by JosefvonSternberg and starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast in this dark police crime...
debut of the 30-year old JosefvonSternberg. The feature stars Georgia Hale and George K. Arthur, and would bring Sternberg, "a new talent", to the attention...
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