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Blind Husbands
The film with which author, director and actor Stroheim breaks into the prudish, taboo-ridden world of American silent cinema. A punch in the gut to that ‘taste’ that considers itself as “good” as it is ‘moral’. The facades of the love triangle correspond to convention, but the details do not. Behind the farcical flirtation, sexuality emerges as the driving force, as does a possessiveness that has become a compulsive ritual. Stroheim brings American conventionality into collision with European depravity, embodying the latter (in the role of Lieutenant von Steuben) with unmistakable lust and sharp arrogance. He is seduction personified: a sum of contradictions. Villainous, but captivating. An erotomaniac in an imperial uniform, in whom wretchedness and fascination are sensually balanced. Ambivalence made flesh, and film. The man you love to hate. (H.T.)
Restored version by the Austrian Film Museum from 2021
At the piano: Elaine Brennan