El doctor Mabuse

What Fritz Lang achieved in his two-part films is undoubtedly exceptional. To this day, I still vacillate between the mastery of Aud Egede Nissen and Gertrud Welcker, who dazzled me more, because only Rudolf Klein-Rogge is a definitive god at first glance. The brilliant story of Mabus continues to be overshadowed by the mere fact that his story was set in the 1990s (!), which really wasn't necessary. So back to the 1920s and nowhere else. (10.02.2009)

This film clearly stands out with its intriguing atmosphere, beautiful, sometimes incredibly dark imagery, and a story that could rival any modern espionage drama. By this time, Fritz Lang had already proven himself as a great filmmaker, and it was evident that we could expect more interesting pieces from him in the future. And that expectation was eventually fulfilled. What can sometimes be hard to bear in the film are the overly theatrical performances, especially towards the end where Mabuse becomes excessively dramatic. It's characteristic of silent films, where his madness is so overtly emphasized. But Fritz Lang truly demonstrates his filmmaking prowess with certain images. "M" is "M". (15.02.2014)