Sternberg is the director responsible for creating the eternalized image of Marlene Dietrich ñ half mysterious, half knowing, and all woman. He was commonly recognized as difficult to work with because of the elaborate artificiality of his imagery that nevertheless bespoke an emotional reality. Anatahan was Sternberg’s final film, and this print is a reconstruction using outtakes that were removed during its initial release because of censorship fears. The film tells the story of a group of Japanese sailors and one woman who are marooned on a remote island not knowing that WWII has ended. The woman, in true Sternberg fashion, becomes the manifestation of all womankind. And although he filmed on location, von Sternberg mostly used artificial sets, as befit his visual style. David Thomson writes: “Very rarely seen, Anatahan is a masterpiece, to rank with the Dietrich films. For total absorption in style, remorseless interest in sexual existence, subtle conviction of hopelessness and amorality, Sternberg now stands clear as one of the greatest directors and the first poet of underground cinema.”
This article appears in July 21 • 2000.
