Josef von Sternberg
Josef VON STERNBERG (1894-1969, Austria) arrived in America at the age of seven, learned the film trade as cutter, scriptwriter and assistant director, and then became one of the most important and famous directors in Hollywood. His cooperation with Marlene Dietrich – resulting in six features – was the stuff of legend.
Filmography
(selection) The Salvation Hunters (1925), Exquisite Sinner (1926), Underworld (1927), Morocco (1930), Dishonored (1931), The Scarlet Empress (1934), The Devil Is a Woman (1935), Macao (1952), Anatahan (1953), Jet Pilots (1957)
Josef von Sternberg at IFFR
The Saga of Anathan
Japan
IFFR 1976
The Devil Is a Woman
IFFR 1998
Ana-ta-han
92'
Japan
IFFR 2000
The Docks of New York
60'
USA
IFFR 2001
Dishonored
Frisian double agent Mata Hari was the inspiration for Von Sternberg and his star Marlene Dietrich in this atmospheric thriller where espionage is principally a higher form of flirting, with huge interests at stake. During the First World War, a seductive widow is recruited by Austria as spy 'X27'.
91'
USA
IFFR 2019