M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder

English title: M

Also known as: M le maudit

Genre: crime thriller (in black and white)

With: Gustaf Gründgens (Schränker the Safecracker), Peter Lorre (Hans Beckert), Otto Wernicke (Inspector Lohmann), Ellen Widmann (Frau Beckmann), Inge Landgut (Elsie Beckmann), Theodor Loos (Inspector Groeber), Friedrich Gnaß (Franz the burglar), Fritz Odemar (the Cheater), Paul Kemp (the Pickpocket with Six Watches), Georg John (Heinrich, the blind beggar), Rudolf Blümner (the defender)

Director: Fritz Lang

Screenplay: Thea von Harbou and Fritz Lang (based on an article by Egon Jacobson)

Release: 1931

Studio: Nero-Film AG

Rating: -

MBiS score: 9.0/10 

 

Maniacs Are Bad for Business 

 

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Story-line: when several children disappear and it becomes apparent that a serial killer is on the loose, the government pressures the police commissioner to get results, arrests are made willy-nilly and impatience grows among the citizenry.

Pluses: credible acting all around, modern and active direction, an ingenious, well-written screenplay rich in suspense, pointed dialogues and effective tos-and-fros, able cinematography and editing, good production values and a high-impact ending.

Minuses: if this film doesn’t click for you early on, it will once you reach the halfway point.

Comments: teaming up with Thea von Harbou, his screenwriting partner for the great METROPOLIS, Fritz Lang (1890-1976) proves with this formidable film that inventive and captivating moviemaking already ruled a century ago. What struck me most in M is that its story-line focuses less on the killer – he is identified early on but remains in the shadows until the third act – than on the reaction to his crimes and the frantic attempts to stop him. As I reflect on this work of art, I am reminded of a comment made by Paul Schrader a few years back… that most commercial films are devoid of interest. Considering Schrader’s vast contribution to cinema, I respect his opinion and share his love for the classics. More than a movie, M is a marvel, a monument, a masterpiece. 

 

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Metropolis

Genre: futuristic fable (silent, in black and white)

With: Gustav Fröhlich (Freder Fredersen), Brigitte Helm (Maria/Machine Man), Alfred Abel (Johann ‟Joh” Fredersen, Freder’s father),  Rudolf Klein-Rogge (C.A. Rotwang, the inventor), Fritz Rasp (the Thin Man), Theodor Loos (Josaphat), Erwin Biswanger (Georgy, number 11811), Heinrich George (Grot, Guardian of the Heart Machine)

Director: Fritz Lang

Screenplay: Thea von Harbou and Fritz Lang (based on Thea’s novel)

Release: 1927

Studio: Universum Film (UFA)

Rating: G

MBiS score: 9.1/10 

 

‟Head and hands need a mediator.” 

 

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Story-line: Freder, whose father rules the great and modern Metropolis, realizes that he owes his pampered lifestyle to a worker underclass slaving away beneath the surface of the city.   

Pluses: convincing performances by Gustav Fröhlich, Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel and a reliable cast, formidable direction by one of cinema’s greatest helmers, a faultless, very active and well-developed screenplay imbued with symbolism and moral undertones, amazing visuals and special effects, imaginative production values (notice those art deco stylings), an evocative musical score that supports the action and a breathless final act.

Minuses: METROPOLIS doesn’t meet today’s moviemaking standards – along the way, it was altered by misdirected hands – but zealous restoration work has saved it from the brink and made it very watchable. The fact that this is a silent movie doesn’t detract from its value; in my mind, it was probably as demanding on actors as talkies would be later on.

Comments: visually astonishing, intellectually stimulating and always captivating, METROPOLIS illustrates the struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, altruism and thirst for power. In our age that glorifies everything that has come out in the last fifteen minutes and easily forgets the rest, it may seem unpalatable to sit down and watch a century-old movie like this one but, once you get down to it, you will understand why this particular picture has been hailed as one of the greatest ever made. Fritz Lang and crew have produced something colossal, magical and admirable, a milestone in cinematic history.      

 

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