Varieté

Dupont (as aided by Karl Freund) has a flair for fantastic cinematography, with a number of dazzling images.  There’s a lot of creativity in the shots, particularly in use of the subjective camera.  Some of the trapeze scenes are really wonderful.  Although not as shallow in its original form as it would be in the American release (which excises the first act to make Emil Jannings a more sympathetic character) the story is a rather simplistic and predictable morality play… Still, it’s worth watching for the great photography and the very fine performance by Jannings, some of his more nuanced work.  Rating: 7

IMDb