The Blue Light (1934)

Junta is hated by the people in the village where she lives, especially by the women, who suspect her of being a witch. Only she can climb the nearby mountains to a cave high up, whence a mysterious blue light glows when the moon is full. Many young men of the village have died trying to follow her. She is soon driven out of town, and takes to living in the mountains. Eventually, she shares the secret of the blue light with one man, and he betrays it.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Chapter Selections, the original German version (79 min)with English subtitles, rare English silent version (52 min), Still Gallery, Dolby 2.0 audio.

Very personal

Seems to me as a great movie of its time! Not much about compicated story, more about feelings. You feel like listing an old black and white photo- album with artistical pictures that actually do move! // Enjoy Pavel February 13, 2008

A fairy tale on film

"The Blue Light" is a beautiful fairy tale, a faux Mitteleuropean fable with a Brothers Grimm feel. Junta, played by Leni Riefenstahl, is a beautiful outcast in mid 19th century northern Italy. A child of nature who lives in the mountains, she is believed to be a witch by the townspeople in the valley. She alone can climb to the mysterious blue light that appears on the mountain peak during the full moon. The young men of the village are as mysteriously drawn to the light as she, but one by one fall to their deaths in their attempts to reach it. Into this mystical little valley comes our young, German traveler who falls in love with Junta but ultimately destroys her in a way I won't reveal.

The story can be interpreted in a lot of ways, I suppose: capitalism vs. tradition, civilization vs. nature, a celebration of incipient fascist primitivism, et al. Like all good fairy tales, symbolism and archtypes abound. However, I like it simply because I think it's beautiful. From Leni Riefenstahl- speaking Italian!- to the mountain to the faces of the Brueghelian peasants, this movie delights the senses and intoxicates the imagination.

For fans of the movie, I recommend getting the CD "Res Gestae" by Eric Owens, who has a song called "Junta" inspired by this film. Some lines: Another mother's son heeds the call/ Another mother's son scales the wall/ Another mother's son takes a fall/ Another cross is hoisted on the wall. It's a good one.

And for all those hesitant to buy this because of all the reviews criticizing the quality: the new DVD released in 2006 is fine. Those people were referring to some earlier VHS edition. Unfortunately, amazon.com has combined reviews for two essentially different products. October 3, 2007

DVD is beautiful

I'm disappointed that Amazon can't put the right reviews with the right movies. The ones I have read seem to be several years old and to refer to a public domain VHS copy. Well, I don't know about the VHS copy, but the DVD copy is beautiful and the movie is both moving and a masterpiece.

Mountain climbing films are not the greatest genre ever invented, but you owe it to yourself to see The Blue Light. If you want to make it a double feature, I would recommend: The White Hell of Pitz Palu, SOS Iceburg and/or from America, Erich Von Stroheim's Blind Husbands.

Enjoy! August 30, 2007

Young men lured to their death

This is a story of love and trust and mistrust written by Leni Reifensthal. You see the results of exploitation. The situation can be related to today.

When the moon is full at night one can see a mysterious blue light coming from the mountains. For some reason this holds fascination for the young men of the town and if they are not watched carefully they will peruse the light. No matter how skilled they are they are destined to fall to their doom in this pursuit.

There is an outcast girl Junta (Leni Reifensthal) who knows the secret of the blue light. She is followed to its source and you will nave to watch to film to find out what happens.
August 12, 2006

WARNING! Practically Unwatchable due to poor film quality.

This version of the Blue Light is practically worthless except for the serious film student

As others have mentioned we have seen hints of how beautiful it COULD be from restored clips in "The Wonderful, Horrible Life of LR".

Hopefully someone will come out with a restored DVD version soon. August 4, 2004

More reviews at Amazon.com ...