Andy's Film Blog: Fritz Lang

Showing posts with label Fritz Lang. Show all posts

Monday, October 23, 2017

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

A criminal mastermind and master of hypnosis continues to operate his terror based criminal enterprise through telekinesis from his insane asylum cell. Fritz Lang's The Testament of Dr Mabuse, a sequel to a work that launched his career a decade earlier and a character he would revisit years later, is highly influential (so much can be seen from it in subsequent noirs and mysteries) and upset the recently empowered National Socialists so much with its parallels they saw fit to ban it in Germany. The film is a bizarre criminal procedural, made with breakneck pace, frenzied editing, and fantastic special effects. Otto Wernicke is fun as Inspector Lohmann, who played the role prior in Lang's M.
*** 1/2 out of ****

Saturday, April 30, 2016

The Big Heat

The suicide of a high ranking police official seems suspicious to a no-nonsense detective (Glenn Ford) and leads him to the local syndicate which he recklessly investigates, without heed to those around him. Fritz Lang's tough talking b-movie is dated and tame by today's standards though it is really well shot and makes great use of closeups. Ford is well cast as the straight edge family man playing a bizarrely inept and short-sighted character, but is lacking in the acting department. Gloria Grahame is excellent and Lee Marvin is memorable as a ferocious, cowardly hood.

*** out of ****

Friday, January 3, 2014

M

A little girl disappears on her way home from school, the latest in a series of child murders that have tormented Berlin. Feeling the heat from a frantic public, the police initiate a major crackdown on the underworld whose members, both hurting from having their pockets lightened and stirred by their consciences, initiate a citywide manhunt in coordination with the authorities. Born in the tenuous and ever shifting film world circa 1930, Fritz Lang's first foray into talking pictures is nothing short of remarkable. With its brilliant use of light and shadows and an involving socially conscious procedural screenplay meshed with a top-end use of sound all centered on a haunting but not altogether inhuman portrayal by Peter Lorre, M is a dark and thoughtful precursor to film noir.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Metropolis

All modern sci-fi films, particularly Star Wars and Blade Runner, owe a debt of gratitude to Metropolis, Fritz Lang's silent classic from 1927. Rewatching the newly restored version with about 25 minutes of once thought to have been lost footage added, it is truly an expansive visionary masterpiece. The sets, which I believe are a combination of hand drawings and miniatures, are awesome in their scope and the scenes with the thousands of extras, such as the Tower of Babel and the worker's revolt scenes, are grand as well. It is strange watching the reconstructed version, which is still (and probably forever) incomplete because missing segments are filled in with intertite plot cards and new footage is so badly damaged that it is grainy at best. This only adds mystery to the film and enhances the viewing experience. All science fiction aficionados should make a stop here to see the origins of their beloved genre. This is also a must see for film lovers in general.

5/22/10 review Fritz Lang's 1927 Metropolis was both a prime example of German Expressionism and the father of the science fiction film, particularly the futuristic Sci-Fi films. It is Lang's vast and imagined skylines which are the true stars of his silent masterpiece. Seen now, they seem inconceivable at the time, along with a lot of the other sets in the movie. The story is strange indeed as it tells the story of the son of an industrial magnate who falls in love with some kind of supernatural woman of the workers, and then leads a worker's revolt. This had long been an incomplete film as the original had been destroyed and the film had to be reconstructed. Recently, a full but damaged print was found and 25 minutes were added to the movie, making clear a few of the subplots. I'm not sure this has helped the film as it makes it a tad overlong, but it can be sure that Metropolis remains an intricate, intriguing, and beautiful film.
****