Fritz Lang's final movie saw him return to one of his greatest creations, the enigmatic criminal master Dr. Mabuse. Much like the influence this villain has over people in the movies, so was the influence he had over Lang, who made three distinct Dr. Mabuse movies in three different periods of his life.
In The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse we go to post-war Germany. Mysterious, ingenious crimes are succeeding one after another, so brilliant in technique that the police remember the crimes of Dr. Mabuse, just before Hitler took over.
Meanwhile a rich American industrialist is in Germany to close a deal. At the Luxor Hotel he saves a woman from committing suicide. But this altruistic gesture plunges him into a world of deception, blackmail, voyeurism and international crime.
Trying to get to the bottom of this is Commissioner Kras, with the help of a shifty insurance salesman and a blind psychic.
Lang's movies have always been ahead of their time. His silent movies showed an amazing understanding of the language of cinema, and when sound came he incorporated it into the movie as a storytelling tool and not just an excuse for talking heads. In this movie we see the genesis of modern thrillers like the Bond franchise: secret criminal empires, shadowy villains, cars with intricate gadgets, the use of secret cameras to spy on people, unique weapons. But even after fifty years, here it still looks fresh and bold.
Much like The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, this is one of the best thrillers I've ever seen. It's suspenseful, it's surprising, and it's intelligent. Kras is not the moronic policeman we see so often in cinema; he's clever, he's good at deducing things. And Dr. Mabuse is always one step ahead, always has contingency plans, knows everything. How distant he is from the barely-articulate villains of our times.
Any film lover will do himself a favor by watching this neglected gem.
In The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse we go to post-war Germany. Mysterious, ingenious crimes are succeeding one after another, so brilliant in technique that the police remember the crimes of Dr. Mabuse, just before Hitler took over.
Meanwhile a rich American industrialist is in Germany to close a deal. At the Luxor Hotel he saves a woman from committing suicide. But this altruistic gesture plunges him into a world of deception, blackmail, voyeurism and international crime.
Trying to get to the bottom of this is Commissioner Kras, with the help of a shifty insurance salesman and a blind psychic.
Lang's movies have always been ahead of their time. His silent movies showed an amazing understanding of the language of cinema, and when sound came he incorporated it into the movie as a storytelling tool and not just an excuse for talking heads. In this movie we see the genesis of modern thrillers like the Bond franchise: secret criminal empires, shadowy villains, cars with intricate gadgets, the use of secret cameras to spy on people, unique weapons. But even after fifty years, here it still looks fresh and bold.
Much like The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, this is one of the best thrillers I've ever seen. It's suspenseful, it's surprising, and it's intelligent. Kras is not the moronic policeman we see so often in cinema; he's clever, he's good at deducing things. And Dr. Mabuse is always one step ahead, always has contingency plans, knows everything. How distant he is from the barely-articulate villains of our times.
Any film lover will do himself a favor by watching this neglected gem.