This Marlene Dietrich movie is more relevant than ever 

Marlene Dietrich's eyebrows are higher than my hopes and dreams, and just as likely to be real.

"Be sure to let me know if you like stuff like this" YOU COULD LITERALLY MAKE A ENTIRE VIDEO ABOUT MARLENE DIETRICH'S FOREHEAD AND I WOULD WATCH NO MATTER WHAT! That's how good u are!

I desperately needed to watch a bisexual vintage-style icon in a movie this week, and I didn't know it until the moment I saw this video.

I’m so happy that there’s a video on Marlene Dietrich. You can never have too much Marlene Dietrich content.

how dare youtube not notify me about this

My father recalled when Dietrich gave a concert at the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. My dad was an 18 year old cadet. Marlena came out on stage and surveyed her audience of 18 year old men in their summer fatigues and ran off the stage. She came back out and explained she had never before seen so many knobby knees before and thought she was at a Boy Scout jamboree.

My German Film professor and I ARE SCREAMING! Favorite film my professor showed me in that class

I should stop watching videos from this channel, I always end up adding 30 movies to my watchlist

PLEASE do a FULL video of Marelene Dietrich she was such an icon and ageless and beautiful up until the end of her life, thanks.

This is such a good movie. I only wish Cary Grant, Wilder's original choice for the male lead, had accepted it -- Wilder himself dissed John Lund by remarking he was who you ended up with when Grant said no.

Billy Wilder was a genius: No matter whether hilarious comedies, dark dramas or films noirs - he nailed it!

Yes, please. More underrated spotlights. Actually, you do you. I'm happy with everything you cover. Thank you for all that you do.

One example of a good slow joke one that uses slowness instead of speed as part of its punchline. That scene early on when Jean A is packing up her kit and we see her go through the entire process

Marlena was so freakin stunning

Billy Wilder is one of my favorite directors and A Foreign Affair is one of his most underrated films. Both Marlene Dietrich and Jean Arthur are fantastic. Love that you did a video on this great film!

I literally opened RU-vid thinking "when will BKR release a new video" to see this was posted 2 minutes ago. As, the singer-actress-songwriter Beyoncé once said "God is real".

Would love an analysis on 1972’s SOUNDER, in honor of our newly minted ancestor, Queen Cicely Tyson. She should have won the Oscar that year. Sorry, not sorry, Liza.

You do barely mention Jean Arthur here, and she deserves her own video what a fascinating actress. For example: she played ingénue roles into her 40s

watching bkr videos be like: click on the video, give it a like after watching the first 5 seconds, finish the video, be amazed by the quality for like 5 minutes, go to letterboxd and add every picture that was mentioned to your watchlist.

Deep Dive Requests: The Heiress, Rebecca, State of the Union

"Let's go up to my apartment. It's only a few ruins from here." Great lines and classic Wilder humorous cynicism that, of course, these days, seems rather touching and innocent as well. Underrated indeed.

Yes yes more deep-drives if that's what you like doing, all your content is gold.

@9:20ff. This interview by German film critic Prof. Hellmuth Karasek and German film director Volker Schlöndorff (e.g. The Tin Drum) was conducted and filmed in 1988 in Billy Wilder's PARAMOUNT office. There, on the wall, as both an hommage and a permanent reminder, hung a sign with the categorical imperative in the disguise of a question HOW WOULD LUBITSCH DO IT? Lubitsch (NINOTCHKA, TO BE OR NOT TO BE, HEAVEN CAN WAIT etc. etc.) was born in Berlin, Wilder (like many others) had come to Berlin from Austria-Hungary. Friedrich Holländer can also be seen in Wilder's other Berlin film ONE, TWO, THREE (1961). Chance has is that both these films, FOREIGN AFFAIR and ONE TWO THREE, were shot in two of Berlin's most dramatic post WWII phases: Shortly after AFFAIR had been completed in 1948, the Russians, with their notorious Berlin Blockade, cut off two million West Berliners from free West Germany prompting what has become known as the Berlin Airlift, with hundreds of C47s via three air corridors from Frankfurt, Hannover, and Hamburg bringing there everything the West Berliners needed to survice the icy cold winter 1948/1949 (including even coal). And, while shooting ONE, TWO, THREE in 1961, Wilder was interrupted by the Russians' inducing their East Berlin communist German puppets to build the notorious Berlin Wall (August 13, 1961).

Billy Wilder at the most close to the bone...BERLIN 1945/6 Marelene too. Jean Aurther was able to hold her own against the glamour wall that is Marlene. One of my all time favourite films. Thank you soooo much for featuring it on your very well researched and sophisticated channel.

My favorite scene is when Marlene sings “Black Market”.

OMG, yes more please! Robert Osborne on TCM said Jean Arthur didn't like the movie until a second viewing many years later! Also, the fashions in the film became a challenge on "Project Runway"! Your videos are in-depth perfection! Thank you for quality entertainment!

This is just an extraordinary review and deep dive -- thanks so much, I learned a lot. This film and Wilder could be seen as the originator of "too soon?" but the bitter humor is something lost now -- a specific Berlin humor that's satirical and rueful. Ernst Lubitsch personified this in some of his work, but Wilder was more cutting and less sentimental. Dietrich respected him enormously, as she did Orson Welles, and as you say in your comments, told Wilder "only for you!" would she play a Nazi sympathizer. Dietrich recorded one album of Berlin songs and it's worth finding to hear the witty, sexy, and longing sound of the Berlin that was destroyed. Thanks again for this great piece.

I love Marlene, when I was in film school we did a whole week of her movies in our cinema room

As a person who lives in Venezuela. A country strange now to everyone that has leave. You opened my eyes to something very close to home....weird the power of cinema huh

i could watch a thousand of your deep dives and still want more

We talk about most snubbed genre in the category of best actress is the "Horror/Thriller" and why? how? from Sissy Spacek in Carrie (lucky gal been nominated) nowadays and that give us great performances like Toni Collette in Hereditary Lupita Nyong'o in Us Elisabeth Moss in The Invisible Man & Shirley Riley Keough in The Lodge Samara Weaving in Ready Or Not Jennifer Lopez in Boy Next Door Sophia Lillis in Gretel & Hansel

You had me at "Mommy Dearest". I'm here for it! Love your channel!

I was hoping to see more Marlene Dietrich content, I'm soooo happy!

I can’t believe that you’re talking about this film! It was one of the subjects for my ba thesis. Truly a gem

Indiscreet (1958) absolutely deserves a deep dive of any kind, even if it's just to show the scene where Ingrid screams... just throwing that out there!

Thank you so much for recommending this fascinating film! I immediately watched it. It's the first Marlene Dietrich film I've ever seen and I loved every minute of it. I'd totally be down with you exploring some more underrated masterpieces.

One of my favorites also. Jean Author holds her own, along with Marlene

I was about to go to sleep (it’s 1:00 AM where I live) but welp, here we are!

Brilliant! Please do more deep dives into individual movies. You have such a unique and well-informed perspective and I do appreciate it a lot. Thank you!

Great deep dive! I hope to see more. I haven’t seen other video essayists tackle the era as effectively as you, so this kind of narrowed focus is exciting to see you flirt with.

I would love to see more deep dives. The way you dissect a film makes it seem brand new again.

Would love more movie deep dives! I recently saw Pillow Talk for the first time and loved it, even with the horrible gaslighting and assault scene in the car. That could be a good one! Also more people need to know about Gentlemen Prefer Blondes! It's straight up one of the best comedies ever!

wow this is perfect-im currently writing a short story set among gis in immediate post war berlin. Thanks for saving me some research time bkr!

More deep dives please. I’m always keen to discover overlooked or underrates movies from the 40’s or the 50’s!

Honestly more deep dives on specific films would be amazing if they are as good as this one. I've meaning to get more into Marlene Dietrich's films so this was happy coincidence.

Specific films or Oscar races, bring on ALL the deep-dives. I love your channel! I've seen A Foreign Affair, but unlike Wilder's more popular movies I wasn't aware of the context surrounding it, and I think that makes it a different experience. Must rewatch now.

As an older person I love this movie. Marlene Dietrich is wonderful and sings some of her best songs. There is so much to love in this movie.

This is such an underrated film and one of my favorites. I'm also surprised to see some of my the footage from my "Berlin in the 20s" video at 15:25! hahah that was a labor of love I edited together at age 17 and now it's finally serving a purpose :)

Thank you so much for this precious deep dive in Billy Wilder‘s most overlooked film: Iconic when Marlene is singing ,Black Market’ in the underworld of debris, rubble and ashes of bombed-out Berlin. Her golden dress is Hollywood-assimiliated Weimar Years glamour resurrected from the still dead then and now. When Marlene sings ,Illusions’ the Wilder Touch is best captured: Bittersweetness paired with slightly cynical sadness after all hope was lost but it still echoes. A Wilder‘esque quote from Marlene after thoughts of hers if she should have stayed in Germany after 1933: ,Maybe I could have talked him (Hitler) out of it.‘ This movie is haunting in all the right ways: Dark, funny, touching and desperate. Thank you for putting it on the map again 🥰

I'm such a fan. And yes, please do more of this kind of analysis. Thank you for your work and time dedicated for this channel.❤

you should definitely do more deep dives!! love this and always love hearing your passion for marlene!!

Yes please... more in-depth explorations to these (forgotten) gems!

YES!!!! We want more deep dives on specific films!!!

This video was wonderful! I will definitely be finding “A Foreign Affair” to watch! And I love the deep dive on one film!

These single film focus videos are nice-they complement the Best Actress videos by offering the whole picture for a particular movie. Yes, it would be a treat to see more, if you were inclined! ✨

All of your videos are brilliant but this feels especially brilliant. Thank you so much for putting in all the effort to make these videos so excellent!

Definitely do more deep dives like this. I’m always looking for underrated gems to watch

I loved this video! If you want to keep making deep dives on specific films, I will absolutely watch them!

I love pieces about specific films. There's so many I'd love to see you do, but honestly I'd watch any of them you'd upload. Keep up the good work. Be Kind Rewind is the one channel I endlessly wait to see their newest upload. I'm still waiting on that Marilyn Monroe video by the way, and I want to see your work surrounding the highly discussed 1950 Oscars where Judy Holliday beat Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson.

If I may ask you, please make a video about Cassavetes-Rowlands collaboration and how their impact on current filmmaking is still huge. It's nice if you put 47th Academy Awards (I love to see this analysis and a closer look to the other big colaboration that year, Bergman-Ullmann) as a context, but I still think they deserve a standalone video. Thanks for always making great contents! Wish all the best on you!

Hi BKR! I enjoy watching your "film essays" as they are very informative, very well edited and quite entertaining. I like how you seamlessly blend film critique, film analysis, political history, biography and production background without sounding difficult to people unfamiliar with old Hollywood movies. Your enthusiasm for the subject is palpable so I do hope you do more of this type of short film as it gives a fresh perspective into old movies.

i'm very pleased with the tip, Wilder is my favorite director (and THE reason why I become a screenwriter) and this film always passed me by, and looks amazing

I'm so pleased to find your review and behind-the-scenes piece about this movie. I'm a 70 year old film buff, and 'A Foreign Affair' has been a favorite of mine for some time. There are many reasons to love it. It could be the initial harrowing bird's eye view of ruined Berlin, The satiric portrayal of Jean Arthur as the constipated American congresswoman completely lacking empathy for the suffering, starving survivors of WW2, or the harsh, cynical lyrics of "Black Market" sung by the incomparable Lili Marlene. Thank you for this post. This film is an underappreciated masterpiece.

I absolutely loved this installment. Recently a friend and I were discussing classic films and some of our favorite actresses from the era. And of course, Marlene Dietrich's name came up as one of his favorite actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. He specifically mentioned A Foreign Affair as his favorite Wilder and Dietrich film. While he was able to pique my interests with his synopsis of the film, your critique of the film, as well as the accompanying historical commentary has caused me to place this film in the number 1 spot of the next film to watch. I was unaware of Wilder and Dietrich both being from Berlin. Also I found it incredibly interesting the given Wilder's track record, the studio basically gave him carte blanche to make the film as he wanted to make it. And your historical and political context are invaluable in explaining the choices Wilder made in casting as well as cinematography. (I mean the footage of post War Berlin are unbelievable!) Absolutely loved the deep dive on a single film. Keep it up!

I love the idea of focusing on a movie that not many are aware of. I would love it if you could do "The Misfits" Monroe's last completed film. It was not well received at the time, but it has been reevaluated in recent times and is now considered a masterpiece specifically the performances of the leads. I think it would be an intriguing look.

I am glad you are moving slightly away from the Oscars. I love all the Oscars videos and I think they are a great outline for providing a wider context but I believe there is so much more to look at than just the Oscars.

Because I’m a bit of a Jean Arthur fan I always wanted to see A Foreign Affair which thanks to this video I now know this was the wrong way to see the film. It’s DEFINITELY a Marlene Dietrich Film. Now I know better!

This is one of my all time favorites & helped develop my interest in "old" films. It's hard to find it other than on TCM a few times of year, and I always forget to record it. But you can find Marlene singing the superb Ruins of Berlin on YT

You just gained a subscriber and Eureka just sold a blu-ray of this film, thank you for putting the time in to make such an informative video.

I absolutely loved this video, thank you so much for making such a great content. Is always a happy moment to watch a new video from you! And yes please I would love more videos talking about specific movies. I love this Billy Wilder movie and I have never listen anybody talking about it, so this was a great surprise 😊. My favorite Billy Wilder movie is “Love in the afternoon.” Thank you.

Your videos are one of the only things that I look forward to these days

No question about it. More deep dives like this would be very welcome.

THANK YOU! Studied film under the uniquely gifted Jeanine Basinger at Wesleyan in the 1980s which is where I first saw this film. Have loved it ever since (as did my 80-something father-in-law who used to speak about it with me as a hidden gem that deserved way more praise than it received) I read in a Wilder biography - I think it was Wilder in Hollywood by Zolotow, but can't promise as it was about 20 years ago - that he very much wished to make a documentary about the holocaust circa 1945. As you pointed out, he was Jewish and lost many family members, he was in the war (as was his artistic brother William Wyler) until the end and saw the ruins of Berlin and other cities/nations first-hand. He met people who were double victims of the Nazis and the Russian soldiers who created their own atrocities as they "liberated" eastern Europe. He was denied permission and this was a great loss to him and to all of us. I have always suspected that this is part of the depth and complexity of A Foreign Affair. Not that he would ever sacrifice his artistry as a filmmaker! But this is why Foreign Affair has those moments like the walk from the police station between Marlene and Jean, where amid the shadows Marlene says [paraphrase], "Do you know what it was like to be a woman in Berlin when the Russians came?" There are other references and I'd love to speak more at length. I think one of the achievements of this film is how it demonstrates how relatively quickly the righteous and committed Congresswoman Frost becomes entangled in the complexity and moral shades of gray in Berlin. (read: American public who wasn't there had best beware of judgmental assumptions!) I so respect what you're doing here and wish I had the time to devote myself to same. I've loved film all my life and the study of it only enhanced my wish to give back. Thank you for doing the work for those of us who have other burdens and commitments which make it hard to contribute as we might wish. You do quality work! - Doug Oxenhorn (crooner62@hotmail.com)

Yes! More single-movie deep dives!

Thank God for BKR.. I needed this. Foreign Affair is one of my favorite movies and your thoughtful and sensitive analysis was like Christmas in July, okay February. Now I'm going to see if Netflix has it!

I appreciate your content so so much. Yet it did pain me to hear the subtle suggestion, that the people of Berlin in the aftermath of world war 2 do not deserve sympathy because... Nazis. This is not denying the horrible crimes of the Nazis, just putting out there that not everyone living in Berlin at the time was a Nazi or even supported them. I know it‘s so tempting to judge a country by their leadership, but I personally think it does not do a lot of people and individual experiences justice. That’s just food for thought. Your content is so unique and brilliant, I would probably chug down on more generalizations just to enjoy all the good stuff.

A great study in human nature. Berliners trying to forget and doing what’s necessary to survive, soldiers taking advantage of “opportunities”, politicians doing the same. With a backdrop of past horror and present destruction, human nature remains human nature.

I been waiting for this one, turn it up 💃🏻

I love this movie. I knew those songs were something special, but thanks for bringing their full meaning out for me!

All of your videos are excellent. The most refreshing thing about them is that you always pronounce names correctly. After seeing so many AI-voiced videos and videos done by people who don't do their homework, I always enjoy your work.

I reallu enjoyed this. I think on your typical best actress videos, it's the 'deep dive' academic aspect of it that I really enjoy about it. I would enjoy that on actors, supporting actors, directors.... & I really enjoyed the deep dive on a specific film. Thank you!

I would love for you to do a breakdown of Black Narcissus. In regards to eroticism.

I first saw the film as a child when it came out; I was seven years old. It was the strangest thing I ever saw, and I'll never forget the impression it made on me. But I've seen it two or three times since, and I can say only that it's a MASTERPIECE. The reason it had trouble being accepted when it came out is because it was utterly BRILLIANT. Brilliance always competes with Mediocrity. The "mediocre" at the time were all those who lacked the insight to judge it for the great work of art that it was -- AND IS

I will watch just about any video from the channel and this was another great one. I’ve seen the film and enjoyed it but can’t say it’s a personal fave. I might have to rewatch as this deep dive made me think about it more

I would be happy to watch your videos on anything. They’re always golden. Also, Marlene is one of my all time favourite Bicons. Her, and Tallulah Bankhead.

Yes, please! Love this kind of movie analysis, and love discovering “new” movies 🎥 lol

More deep dives in forgotten classics. Please and thank you.

Just finished SarahZ and imagine my delight to see BKR is up next!

I truly don't care which movie you do, I just really appreciate the deep dives into movies I've heard about, but never got around to watching.

Your ability to blend history, cinema info, and a clear love of movie making and performing is something of a super power. As far as something I would love to see you dig into is Hollywood's history of glorifying, sexifying, and abandoning Black actresses. While I am grateful AF for television, because several of these queens found a second act, or wound down their careers, on TV, Hollywood (not independent films, and not Tyler Perry Studios) dedicates too much exposure for too long to white actresses. If it was really all about box office sales, they would do a better job with marketing. Specific actresses: Pam Grier, Halle Berry, I dare say Dorothy Dandridge had she not died so soon, and Hattie McDaniel barely got a shot after winning the Oscar. While Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Sanaa Lathan, and some more Black actresses could have broken the cycle here, we won't know for a little while. Thanks for asking, and keep shining. We're grateful.

You hit the key points in this film perfectly. I remember sitting there and seeing Berlin from the window of the DC3 and then realizing that what I was about to see was far more serious than I had been expecting. It played out perfectly for me from there. I’ve seen it many times since.

This is one of my favorite films, as well, way underrated, up there with "The Third Man" and "The Search," in terms of subject and milieu, and timely in ways one might not automatically expect. Thanks so much for shedding light on it. Am now waiting for BKR to catch up with Margaret Sullavan, all in good time. BKR is the berries.

just... wow. every single one of your videos is so amazing! i'm loving the deep dives, and it always amazes me how eloquent and knowledgeable you are.

I can't believe they copy striked BKR. This is educational content. I've learned so much about film from this woman and she is literally encouraging us to watch this fairly obscure movie. This is only going to drive people to the copyright holders content. It's nonsense and it's harassment.

Love this! The deep dive into Oscar winners is great but I'm totally into you talking about individual films. Maybe it's the postwar setting and the subject matter but this reminds me of Veronika Voss - maybe a Fassbinder series in the future?

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant as usual! Thank you for your work! What a fascinating nugget of confrontational filmmaking!

Dear BKR, Thank you for doing a dive into one of my personal favorite films. As much as this was a homage to a Berlin that no longer existed, it was at the same time a scathing jab into the duplicity, cultural ignorance, and abounding hypocrisy of American Conservative politics, ergo the reaction to its release in certain quarters of the American Military and body Politic. Having a Grandfather who used to beguile family members with stories of his time in the European Theater, his stories of the German people and his time as a soldier in Berlin were what I found most fascinating as a kid. The men stationed there were not "children", many of them had been killing German's not long before they were positioned in Berlin, it took them time to "....let go of the trigger....." as my Grandfather would say. Wilder understood this better than any Congressional Fact Finding tour, or stateside mid-level Pentagon Propaganda officer. The only character I had issues with was the actor John Lund as Captain Pringle, I found the characterization shallow and uninteresting, and I am unable to determine if this was Wilder scripting the character that way, or if it was Lund's poor acting ability, also I found Jean Author's character Congresswoman Frost's "ignorant naiveté" almost unbelievable, but perhaps that was intentional.

Brilliant essay. Criterion & Kino would be wise to hire you. Would love to see deep dives on _Dodsworth_ , _Bagdad Cafe_ , or Powell/Pressberger films like _Black Narcissus_ & actresses like Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Ellen Burstyn, or Julie Christie

I'd love to hear your takes on individual films. I really do love your videos. The editing, the writing, the film history. Yes, please!

Thanks for this. Wonderful stuff, particularly about Frederich Hollaender who was news to me. If I ever saw this movie it was on late-night TV a thousand years ago, so I'm about to hunt it out and watch it again. Your research and tone are really welcome, particularly since a lot of viewers weren't even born when Billy Wilder was alive. I recall standing in a Blockbuster in the '80s, watching two teenagers shuffle through the stacks. One held up a copy of 'Sunset Boulevard' and said, "How about this? I hear it's good." The other one said, "Naah, my girlfriend won't watch anything isn't in color."