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.
Back to trending 
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.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
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?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their objectionThe 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.
The Choice
Drama · 2016
Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.
The Best of Me
Drama · 2014
A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
The Fugitive Kind
Romance · 1960
Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.
The Bridges of Madison County
Drama · 1995
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
Endless Love
Drama · 2014
A privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Tristan & Isolde
Drama · 2006
An affair between the second in line to Britain's throne and the princess of the feuding Irish spells doom for the young lovers.
Priscilla
Drama · 2023
When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
The Sleeping Dictionary
Drama · 2003
In the 1930s, British officer John Truscott journeys to a remote village in colonial Malaysia to educate and Westernize the local Iban population. There, he's introduced to the lovely Selima. In keeping with tradition, Selima is assigned to sleep with Truscott and teach him the native language and customs. But when they fall in love, both colonists and natives object to their plans to marry.
Blood and Sand
Drama · 1941
Bullfighter Juan Gallardo falls for socialite Dona Sol, turning from the faithful Carmen who nevertheless stands by her man as he continues to face real danger in the bullring.
Life in a Year
Drama · 2020
A 17 year old finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Clarence Brown
Written by
Benjamin Glazer · Marian Ainslee
John Gilbert
Leo von Harden
Greta Garbo
Felicitas
Lars Hanson
Ulrich von Eltz
Barbara Kent
Hertha von Eltz
William Orlamond
Uncle Kutowski
George Fawcett
Pastor Voss
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 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.