The Last Command

An effective, atmospheric silent film by Von Sternberg featuring a broad--but very moving--performance by Emil Jannings.

Jannings kinda hams it up, as is his wont, and the ending didn't quite work for me but otherwise I thought this was almost as good as Docks of New York. The long intro/extended flashback/long conclusion structure was intriguing, and I liked how your sympathies are frequently shifting. I also thought Evelyn Brent was terrific, and Jannings, despite his over-mannerisms, is pretty damn good too. Some excellent camerawork as well. An all-around fine film, very compelling and watchable for a silent.

Emil Jannings was our silent Nic Cage: a force of nature of such fortitude, fidelity to the craft, fright, and frailty, some see ham where others see genius. Or, a bull in a China shop who cuts his foot and cries. This bombastic charisma both highlights and minimizes von Sternberg's often preposterous story - because at the end, realism itself is at stake here. Is the flashback a movie fantasy or fact? I don't care. All I know, is I tear up in the first 10 minutes, and that's real enough.

Very good and watchable silent. Jannings gives a great performance and Sternberg photographs Evelyn Brent with the same adoration he would later heap on Dietrich. Together they are the heart of the film and the middle hour is a fantastic ride. The bookends are not quite so good, especially the conclusion that doesn't really make sense in context, although Sternberg directs the hell out of it.

One of the few films to actually take me by surprise. I knew that Criterion had put this out and I knew people held it in high regard but that was about it. Recently I've been trying to watch as many film by one of my all time favorite actors, William Powell, and came across this movie which I didn't connect to the Last Command Criterion release. William Powell isn't in it much but he really shines any time he's on screen. Evelyn Brent & Emil Jannings were marvelous and really held my attention.

(Rewatched on 30/12/18): Only the most stubborn cinephiles would deny Jannings' mercurial might. His acting style consists of gloriously grand gestures that are frequently construed as corny, a regrettable development that overlooks the man's clear commitment to the craft. He elicits genuine pathos as a general fallen from 'grace', and Sternberg directs this preposterous but highly intriguing scenario with enviable economy. It ends on a farcical note that is tinged with a deliciously dark irony.

A phenomenal film that obscures the dichotomy of fantasy and reality conveying a sense of idealism within the absurdity of film tropes. Emil Janning's performance elevates his character, wherein his over the top mannerisms give a sense of whimsy and elation to his character where we see earnest nationalist fervor but also gives credence to the idea that the narrative is just bullshitting you. Yet the sentimentality is still there, and for as delusional as he may be, it's real to him, dammit!

One of the better (surviving) silent films

The love story is none too plausible...and the title cards tend toward hysteria (especially in the beginning). The finale also strains credulity a bit--and btw we never see how (or why) the Powell character gets out of Russia. But anyway, great direction throughout--particularly during the extended flashback.

90.00

Touching, justice will come to those who murdered the Tsar.

a good film, a deserved best actor Oscar, only I could not see a 'great man' -just an aristocrat soldier, who orders others to the trenches in the name of his cousin, who shows patriotism spending his time in luxury at headquarters, etc. he and his similars were not the 'great' men. the movie wouldn't lose anything if it had not inserted that unnecessary emphasis at the last moment. the change of fortunes of a man is already established. must be smt with the political orientation of the director

A political thriller framed in Shakespearean tragedy. Or is it the other way around? Sternberg makes elegant use of a swift runtime, with motivations and sympathies rapidly shifting.

"People of Russia -- you are being led by traitors!" Jannings once again plays a fallen-from-grace person who regains his dignity for one more go-around. I liked The Last Laugh a little better, perhaps because it's a little awkward to be praising anything remotely connected with Russia as we enter the second week of the Russo-Ukrainian War. (It would also have been nice to have a little more backstory for a few other characters, but maybe that just takes the mystery out of all of it.)

"Here, Hollywood, here's what I can do on my own. Now don't you want to hire me?" http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2015/11/episode-79-sternberg-before-dietrich.html

A Tsarist general (Emil Jannings), now living in poverty in Hollywood, is hired as an extra by a fellow Russian (William Powell) who remembers him from years earlier. We then see how the general came to his present state. Josef von Sternberg's vivid (and a touch over-the-top) melodrama is effective as portrait both of Hollywood mechanics and of Revolution-era Russia--and as an illustration of how suddenly and violently one's fate can change. Fine work from Jannings (who won an Oscar) and Powell.

Probably the best film about the Russian revolution ever. The greatness and humiliations of a Russian general.

Great film. Jannings was so good. This holds up really well with a great climax and it moves along very nicely.

you can easily references in "The Lives of Others" and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the brother Ben Affleck" from that movie. It could be better, even a masterpiece but nevermind. Like all other great films, it proves that how a final climax makes film bigger.