The film "Blood Red Street Scarlet Street" (1945) American Blu-ray original poster version cover
Director Fritz Lang Ritz Lang (1890-1976) had two films based on French director Jean Renoir (1894-1979): Scarlet Street (1945) based on Transfer/Bitch La Chienne (1931) and Human Desire (1954) from La Bête Humaine (1954) 1938)。
Starring Edward G. Robinson (1893–1973), Blood Red Street was one of Fritz Long's most neglected films, one of the masterpieces of film noir. The starring performance is in place, the script story is set up exquisitely and smoothly, the plot of the layers of laying out is expected to be quite dramatic, and the crime and punishment at the end portray human nature into three points.
On the set of the film Scarlet Street (1945), director Fritz Ron Fritz Lang (left) gives Edward Robinson Edward G. Robinson (right) an analysis of the characters
The film's male protagonist, Christopher Cross (played by Edward Robinson), marries a woman he doesn't love (this woman doesn't love him either), and in life, he ignores each other except for talking to each other. Family life is like purgatory on earth.
But he feels that life is still full of happiness, as a social person, his work is recognized and respected by the boss, as a "self" with an independent personality, usually he can engage in his favorite painting art with his own actually not thin salary, he is not in order to be famous or make money, as long as he can paint, he is happy.
Scene from the film Scarlet Street (1945).
But it all happens on a seemingly fateful night when he "saves" Katie (Joan Bennett), a woman who struggles under the iron fist of a rogue (who is actually her boyfriend Johnny), and falls in love with a woman he shouldn't, as he shows in his own paintings, and under the spell of a viper, he (Adam) falls in love with her (Eve), and Fritz Lang once again has a rather traditional theme of "original sin".
But we should never attribute all the sins he committed to original sin, he actually has a choice, but he is carried away by "love" and crosses the moral and legal boundaries (stealing money from his wife and boss), and yes, in Fritz Lang's film, the word "love" does not represent the supreme meaning.
Stills from the film Scarlet Street (1945), joan Bennett and Edward Robinson Edward G. Robinson
Isn't this woman Katie going from being a full-time model to a "lazy girl" who goes from being a full-time model to a "lazy girl" who falls in love with a man she shouldn't love, and even cheats Christopher Kroos of money at Johnny's instigation? As the saying goes, "Love is the devil." "Isn't it?
In fact, there are not many "simple" guys like Christopher Kroos in this world, he can give up everything for the woman he loves, and even when he learns that this woman blatantly stole the copyright of his paintings, he does not care, because he feels that he and the woman he loves can be separated from each other.
Edward Robinson's image in the film Scarlet Street (1945).
Whether it's money, fame or anything else. But this "innocence" of his has a premise, that is, he loves her, and she must also love her. Yes, love is selfish.
When he learns that the other person does not love her, and that the so-called expressions of love she makes are for himself and her boyfriend to cheat him of his money and reputation, the most evil part of human nature completely occupies his mind, and he ruthlessly kills the person he once loved (and intentionally or unintentionally married Johnny).
But he is not a devil through and through, and perhaps in the eyes of a director as religiously minded as Fritz Lang, there is no such thing as an angel or a devil, and Christopher Kroos suffers from the condemnation of his conscience every day.
Stills from the film Scarlet Street (1945), Joan Bennett and Dan Dea Dan Duryea
Spend every day of your life in great pain. He tried to solve it by suicide, but fate once again played a cruel joke on him, and people saved him from trying to hang himself.
After that, he hopes to use the court's verdict to send himself to the electric chair. He told the police that he had killed a couple, but the police did not believe him. Just think of him as a lunatic.
Poor him was destined in this life, and his soul could not be liberated.
The ending of "Blood Red Street" is different from "Transfer", and Christopher Cross did not get the pleasure of revenge after killing people, but with a deep sense of guilt, which is one of the reasons why the end of the film was not censored.
American stills poster for the movie Blood Red Street Scarlet Street (1945).
Director Fritz Long's explanation to the censorship department is that although the innocent Johnny is finally sent to the electric chair and the real murderer escapes the trial, he cannot avoid the moral trial, and this mental torture is endless. After the film was released, Hollywood critics seemed to accept this statement and did not question the seemingly morally incorrect ending.
Fritz Lang never seemed to agree with the death penalty, and Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (1956) ridiculed the system, and a discussion by Christopher Kroos colleagues on the train at the end of Bloody Streets showed Fritz Lang's attitude that the real court exists in everyone's heart.
Stills from the film The Woman in the Window (1944), joan Bennett and Edward Robinson Edward G. Robinson
The staged trial process in "Blood Red Street" is also about abstracting away an impossible trial, because the audience knows very well that the real murderer is not telling the truth, and the crimes committed by the scapegoat himself are long worthy of the judge's death sentence. The film carries out a solemn criticism through two punishment mechanisms.
Blood Red Street is a sister story to The Woman in the Window (1944), except that Green Window Shadow was written by Nunnally Johnson (1897–1977) and Blood Red Street by Dudley Nichols (1895–1960).
On the set of the film Scarlet Street (1945), director Fritz Lang Fritz Lang (right) teaches Joan Bennett how to call Joan Bennett
The heroes and heroines of Blood Red Street are Edward Robinson and Joan Bennett, respectively. Edward Robinson was a powerful actor in early Hollywood films. He won best actor at the 3rd Cannes Film Festival for his superb performance in The House of Strangers (1949).
In the 1940s/1950s, he starred in a series of film noirs, including Double Indemnity (1944) and Key Largo (1948).
Joan Bennett's image in the film Scarlet Street (1945).
The heroine Joan Bennett (1910-1990) was Fritz Lang's royal actress, she was cold and feminine, very much in line with the "snake and scorpion beauty" image common in film noir. In "Blood Red Street", the two actors successfully interpreted the charm of women and the complex inner world of men respectively.
This movie carefully constructs a "serial set" of love. It really means a lot and it is sad to sigh. Fritz Lang left early, and Christopher Cross, starring the showrunner Edward Robinson, and Miss Katie, starring the star Joan Bennett, will undoubtedly live forever.
Stills from the film Scarlet Street (1945), Edward Robinson Edward G. Robinson
All along, people have rated Jean Renoir's "Transfer" higher than "Blood Red Street", which in addition to "preconceived", may be more due to the original level and ignore the difficulty and height of reinterpretation, in fact, this is irrelevant, it is a rare classic and one more comparison.
When it comes to Fritz Lang, when it comes to regionality, many fans may first think of "German directors"; when it comes to masterpieces, many fans may first think of German films such as Metropolis Metropolis (1927), "Murderer M/M is Murderer/M" (1931), "Dr. Mabus's Testament des Dr. Mabuse" (1933).
A scene from the movie Metropolis Metropolis (1927).
But Fritz Lang began his film career in Hollywood in the mid-to-late 1930s, and in 1939 Fritz Lang acquired American citizenship, and in the nearly 20 years of his directorial career, Fritz Lang shot more than 20 films in Hollywood, of which more than half of the film noirs were made.
Fritz Lang has 11 works on the 250 Quintessential Noir Films list, and no one can stand out in terms of the number of works selected. It can be said that Fritz Lang was one of the most prolific directors in the golden age of film noir.
Stills from the movie Big Inside/The Big Heat (1953), Glenn Ford (right) and Gloria Grahame
Of these films noir, the most famous one was The Big Heat, shot in 1953. The film tells the story of a policeman who confronts the criminal organization that killed his wife, and is known for its extreme cruelty. Fritz Lang's cinematography in some of the film noirs of the late 1950s was extremely pessimistic and cold, especially in films such as While the City Sleeps (1956) and High Doubt (1956).
Fritz Lang made a big joke with the audience in "Blood Red Street", and the ending was incredible and witty, which is rare in film noir.
A scene from the movie Killer M/M is Murderer/M (1931).
However, the objective evaluation of Fritz Lang's film noir in Hollywood, in terms of its overall quality, although it has a clear film noir imprint of the same period, is slightly flat compared with those black film noir masterpieces that can be called templates, and it is fair to say that it should be regarded as at the middle level of film noir.
Then again, although Fritz Lang directed a number of film noirs in Hollywood, none of them seemed to have reached the top level of similar works of the same period, but his 1931 German film "Murderer M", which was shot in Germany in 1931, was sharp, dark, cold, and full of thrilling suspense, and was widely regarded as one of the best film noirs — although this film was not included in the traditional category of film noir.
Cover of the French DVD version of the film Scarlet Street (1945).
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