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Flesh and the Devil

Flesh and the Devil

Drama · Romance · 1926

When lifelong best friends Leo and Ulrich return home after completing their military training, Leo meets the stunning Felicitas at a railway station and is mesmerized by her beauty. A scandal follows, for which Leo is sent away. Returning home three years later, he discovers that much has changed.

Movie details

Flesh and the Devil

“Passion ran like wine in their blood!”

1926 Drama · Romance 1h 52m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

When lifelong best friends Leo and Ulrich return home after completing their military training, Leo meets the stunning Felicitas at a railway station and is mesmerized by her beauty. A scandal follows, for which Leo is sent away. Returning home three years later, he discovers that much has changed.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Flesh and the Devil?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Clarence Brown

Written by

Benjamin Glazer · Marian Ainslee

John Gilbert

John Gilbert

Leo von Harden

Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo

Felicitas

Lars Hanson

Lars Hanson

Ulrich von Eltz

Barbara Kent

Barbara Kent

Hertha von Eltz

William Orlamond

William Orlamond

Uncle Kutowski

George Fawcett

George Fawcett

Pastor Voss

Eugenie Besserer

Eugenie Besserer

Leo's Mother

Court is in session

Put Flesh and the Devil on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.