"We never feel sympathy for him." I'm not so sure. The monologue by Hans Beckert about how he is a tortured soul, with a force or other "being" inside of him - almost akin to Golem's character in LOTR (of which I definitely seen stylistic/characteristic similarities between) - I think Lang was presenting the case of how powerful criminal compulsion is in the extreme case. And by consequence, presenting a merciful case, not in defence of his crimes, but in defence of the idea of keeping him alive. I found it hard not to feel sympathise with the seemingly authentic, visceral acceptance of what he really is. I guess sympathy is in the eye of the beholder, and whether you can divorce your own visceral emotion from objective reality/mental reality - ironically of which, Hans Beckert was unable to do...
The story heavily implies that Hans is a (for lack of a better term) "predator", and considering that the specific targets match a certain pyschological ailment/ paraphilia (something that people with the disorder couldn't possibly be able to control without intense and mind-altering therapy and medication) this would align with with the whole speech about his uncontrollable urge to kill.
I myself empathize with everyone, even the worst of people. Nobody is born a monster, they are created. How can I judge someone when everyone is different. It's a difficult topic of course, and I can't blame anyone for thinking I'm wrong, but the world isn't black and white, it's complicated.
Significantly, the accuser in the kangaroo trial is guilty of three cases of manslaughter. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is _intent._ But if Beckert acts on compulsion, then is there truly intent?
Great video. The shot at 3:53 is one of my favorites in film. The reflected knives surrounding his head symbolize thoughts of murder plaguing his mind. The camera work in this entire movie is so creative. Remarkable film!
I always thought that the last line in the film "We also must protect our children" spoken by a grieving mother (wearing a dark shroud, giving her the aspect of a fate or muse) might also be interpreted as our collective consciousness telling us that as a society we must also protect our 'children', in other words, people like the Peter Lorre character, by affording them their due rights.
I think it's significant that the child murderer is first caught and tried by the underworld, not the average citizens. In the end, they are all busted together.
I just absolutely love to learn about history as well as film and this channel hits those two marks amazingly well. Keep up the great work I hope your channel becomes even more popular.
I love your series and thank you for including "M". It still gives me chills after seeing it several times over a 50 year span. Again, thank you and keep up the great work you are doing.
One of the greatest movies (ahead of the time) of all time The message still resonates more than 75 years after its release This weekend I was watching TCM and they had a showing of M To my surprise this was a remake (holly wood version) and could not have been more awful than you can imagine Hint to holly wood leave the foreign classics alone
The Remake was terrible because it was remade with the concept of horror rather than the concept of social criticism and all of the other far far deeper elements that are involved in the first film
I have been recommending your channel to all my cinephile friends. Your grasp of history and your grasp of film history/theory is superb. This is an extraordinary resource. I hope once you have finished your 100 Years that you will branch out and keep making videos. I thoroughly enjoy them.
i guess Im asking the wrong place but does anyone know a way to get back into an Instagram account? I was stupid forgot my password. I would love any tricks you can give me!
Hey, this was truly terrific. Any conversation about M always piques my interest and this was very well done. Thank you for the shoutout at the end, also. Appreciate that!
I rarely subscribe to a channel but your commentaries are so impressive that I had no idea how young you are . It's because of this I believe you make these videos out of the love of film as opposed to just merely overly intellectualize movies you may have an understanding of merely because you were taught well.
Great video and your summary of the film M is superb. The "asking us a question" mindset, indeed! In fact, we all have to ask ourselves how a serial killer would be defined, how he does it, why he has his motives and what he does to peoples´ childrens. M was the beginning of Film Noir. It started in the early 1940s and ended in the 50s. Anyway, keep on making more videos!
I was SO impressed with Lorre, when I saw this movie! He had such a deep understanding of this character. He ranges higher than he was credited for as an actor.
Your analisis is very well made. Remember: the film is ALSO about how the structure of SOCIETY (Police vs. Underworld) is put topsy-turvy by the random action of a disturbed but ultimately 'free' INDIVIDUAL. And how this wiil not be tollerated. Personally I found THIS commentary by Lang the most interesting and pertinent. A sick man's mind may be fascinating...but SOCIETY's reaction to instability is even more amazing. Thankyou!
I feel this video didn't really justify the detail of the film. Part of the question of the film was "Who are the worse demons?" because the people you stated who gave the child killer his kangaroo court were mainly criminals who have also killed men, women and children, but for different reasons. They were criminals, but they weren't mentally ill. They didn't even care about the fact that this man was a child killer, but more for the fact that it was interfering with their criminal lives because they were constantly being accused and harassed by the police since one of them could "potentially be the child killer"
Really good video. I teach film & will use this next year. I show M at the beginning of each class, and without fail, at the end of the school year students vote it their first or second favorite film-
I found it incredibly dull and confusing at times. The whole first hour of the movie is about everyone on the town looking at every dude on the street to find the murderer yet the murderer is able to then take a girl, buy her candy, walk her up and down the street with absolutely no suspicion from anyone else. This movie would've have been way better if the murderer wasn't revealed like 20 minutes in and if it was more of a classic mystery. Why do the mob guys put an M on his jacket instead of just takcling him and taking him to the warehouse? Why does the murderer not just take off his jacket after seeing the M on it? So dissapointing
@@jasonbaylor9865 Perhaps the movie is not about the murder/murderer at all. Fritz Lang claimed that this was his essay on the rise of Nazism in the Weimar Republic. The film is not about murder per se but is about the irrational way that crowds of people react to a fear stimulus. & I think there are clear parallels to this is our current political situation.
@@philiphorne4202 I definitely saw comparisons during the scene where everyone attacked the random dude on the street based on no evidence, but the movie was definitely about the actual murderer. The opening 30 minutes, and the last 50 minutes are all specifically about that one guy who we know is guilty because the movie already revealed it to us. It's not like they are targeting someone innocent anymore, they spend way too much time just catching the guy once they already know who he is
@@jasonbaylor9865 Absolutely True. But the rest of the movie is about two competing attempts at justice, what we could call mob rule that is not based on logic and evidence but on emotionalism and circumstantiality, and then the rule of law and order and the rational accumulation of evidence and fact. So again, with the murder as the impetus, or driving conflict we see various reactions. And then there is the issue of the very very strange ending where we know that M has been given a death sentence and then cut to Elsie's mother who says that none of it really matters because it won't bring the children back and than we need to be sure to take care of our children. & I still puzzle over the ending. Not quite sure---or have not really been convinced by arguments that have been made--about what Lang means by that ending.
@@philiphorne4202 I can see that, to me it was just far too long and didn't make much sense. Guess I was hoping for a more classic "who dunnit" mystery.
What I like about M is that it says, "should you kill a man for something he can't control?" - Versus - "you should kill a man over something he can't control."
It's probably not just that smoking was a lot more "normal" then, but I'd expect it's because the film puts emphasis on how stressed the characters in the film are.
Fritz Lang was not Jewish. It's true that his mother was Jewish but she had converted to Catholicism before Lang was born and Lang was brought up as a Catholic and very much considered himself a Catholic, his full name was Friedrich CHRISTIAN Anton Lang! It's also true that having some Jewish heritage was enough to make you vulnerable to persecution by the Nazis but that doesn't change the fact that Lang was not Jewish, by any reasonable measure, and certainly did not consider himself Jewish. It's also worth noting that his wife at the time, who actually co-wrote the screenplay of "M", was sympathetic to the Nazis and eventually became a member of the Nazi Party.
It's also worth noting that his wife at the time, who actually co-wrote the screenplay of "M", was sympathetic to the Nazis and eventually became a member of the Nazi Party. Note also that they didn't stay together, obviously!
I watch and rewatch M . Its not only Lang who is on fire here ....Peter Lorre bring pathos to a wretched monster ....And the false outrage and pride of killers and thieves as they try to separate themselves from Becķett ...they only cared when their status quo was interupted .
What I love about _M_ is that the villain, while tragic, is still a sadistic child murderer. The police are stymied by their own laws, their own restrictions, unable to fight for what's right because they had no evidence, and a criminal underground, ruthless in their hunt and eventual capture. The Law wants the men who capture M, while the criminals want M because he's everything that they are against; killing and violating children. There is no good. The Law is corrupt. They're clearly failures. The mobsters are clearly our hate against the criminal, but their hate is not law. And the murder himself is troubled, yet a nasty man.
I think Peter Lorre’s performance during the kangaroo trial was so extraordinary that it may have influenced some unintended bias on Lang’s account against capital punishment. However the movie itself, outside of the plot, captures an unfolding reality in the performances, just as evil as Beckert’s acts.
This was my great grandfather's and great uncle's film (the producers Henry and Seymour Nebenzahl of Nero Film). They were Americans living in Germany. The film is a masterpiece.
yet another exceptional work of essay Sir! now that we finally escaped the topic of Universal Ghouls and Goblins and we can focus on sound thrillers and more. cannot wait for the next videos as we step closer and closer towards modern film. although now that i think about it... i guess 100 is a good stopping point for this series to change subject or media area. it is afterall a ceaseless sea of media that only needs a fair amount of good analyzing without overdoing it. and since we have more than 100 years in our memory to title of film. will you be stopping at 1988 or 2015? according to the math attributed to your first two videos? before either retiring or eventually changing or evolutionizing this channel's future content.
So far I have a list going to 2015, because I originally thought of the first video as more of a precursor of film history. After that I am not sure about the future of the channel, but because going on from here most years have at least two films planned I hopefully don't need to decide anything for a little while.
and since by then your personality will be well established and familiar with your viewers, you should be able to make more personal and normal videos after that, with pretty much the same numbered audience. but that just a hunch theory of mine for the probable future. *reputation+collab much?* anyway, for now, good luck on your next one! :3
I saw both back to back. The difference is that the 1951 murderer gives more background to his compulsions. Unfortunately, the real life murder is far more chilling than either film.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_K%C3%BCrten
Interesting. I totally didn't get that detail when I first saw it, I just saw it as a film that confronted the German people with the idea that one of their neighbours could be a child murderer, and that that may have been an alarming idea. At various times in my life I've seen a film come out that proposes an alarming thing that could potentially happen, and then other copycat films come out about the same idea. At one point in the 90s it was meteors striking earth. I kind of thought that the film toned it down a bit by not also having the character rape the children.
Truly relevant today, maybe even more as extreme opinions on social media are becoming the norm. Since the film is of public domain, i found it easily on TH-cam, and I was surprised to see the owner of the channel it was on shared a lot of french right-winged nationnalist propaganda and conspiracy theories of all kind. It get to my impression that "M" is used by some people as a piece of evidence for their ideology instead of being one that ask a question with no right or wrong answer.
Brilliant brilliant film. And Lorre creates a really complicated character. I wouldn’t say he’s entirely unsympathetic, exclusively because of Lorre’s performance.
I think you left a comment to me about getting people to believe you. Interesting you chose Cinema here. I was just discussing with someone WHY Hitchcocks movies were so scary! it wasn’t necessarily Just the Storyline with Hitchcock. I have been in a family working in the movie industry and music industry that goes back more than 58 years. I learned how Hitchcock played subconsciously with peoples minds, by ingeniously understanding the rules of filming so perfectly, he stepped out of those rules with disturbing framing, angles, and lighting. Most un suspecting people could not figure out why his style was so disturbing. Some True artists in the industry understood the genius of this, which made him a legend. This technique works with every art form and sets those who realize this apart from other artists. But knowing what I heard about him over the years, and having blown it off as gossip, I see clearly, he was a sick and twisted man, with psychopathic tendencies. When telling others about what is going in with Mc Cain, I refer them to C Span where I watched Lindsay Graham say it in live testimony. maybe if you go on youtube and look up Congressional confirmation testimony on Cavanaugh (sp) /Lindsay Graham/x examination, it will show up, if it hasnt been scrubbed. I have since seen him say it openly on other shows, but not sure which. usually when I watch CSpan, Then I tell people I saw it live streaming from Congress, that ends the dispute right there!!! In videos you see, open the description box below the video. If its a reputable person, most of the time they put the source links there. so many times, by following the links, they lead back to “whitehouse.gov and the transcripts became available through the freedom of information act! Thats the best way to know who to follow, unless they have already earned a huge credibility factor in their reporting, and no one doubts them, but I say they should always name sources! otherwise they are not Journalists, but Opinion people. even Sean Hannity says “I am not a Journalist, I get paid for my opinion! Tucker says that too. in my opinion only, that makes them the best “Journalists” on TV!!! IRONY! haha!!!! thanks for responding. Good luck to you! and by the way, some trusted sites I like are Praying Medic, John B Wells, New show weekly with “Good Dog”, X22 report. and check out Patriots Soapbox 24/7 live Radio show. It is all patriots. they all work for free! The saying WWG1WGA originated there! look in their description box! scroll down past the advertising. each segment begins with prayer. Non denominational. See “The Star Spangled Banner as you’ve Never Heard It Before” Cheers, Friend. 🌟 scuse the bad grammar! in a hurry.
Another question, relevant to the time in which the film was made but more settled upon now was the question of what to do with a person whose nature is at odds with the public will. It is in his nature to kill and he cannot help it as he says, which could be considered a parallel to the type of racist perceptions of social darwinist thinking that was a characteristic of Nazi Germany. Films in this period are considered a premonition of future Germany and this could be an example as germans asked the question of what to do with Jews whose immorality was considered to be a product of their nature as Jews. Safecracker, near the end of the underground trial says they should "obliterate" them. I don't know if anyone else agrees, but I saw a parallel between their mob hysteria and future German perceptions of people they considered a threat to Germany.
Excellent essay on an groundbreaking film. And you pointed out some really important details (like the use of sound) we were taught in Cinema classes when we studied German Expressionism and this film. And all the moral questions this film creates along with the spectacular acting talent of Lorre, give something I feel nowdays movies lack of and when they try to show some of it people go insane naming them the movie of the century and all. Little do they know there are films about 100 years ago that have done that better. The only little thing I would like to correct in the video is about Lang being Jewish. Lang was an Austrian and even though his mother came from a Jewish family indeed, she was baptized and so was he. Jewish connect religion to be called Jewish, so, an overall Austrian and Roman Catholic that even when he gradually loses faith in God never loses the elements of christianic religion he was raised with, can't really be called Jewish. Even if I see your point in how you use this argument. In Lorre's case which was Hungarian but from Jewish family, I agree more that pointing out some connection with the Jewish label when it comes to that period of time when people were hunted for that makes it more meaningful. I just feel that generalizing and labeling some specific people with a label they don't really follow is a little unfitting. But that was a tiny detail I overanalyzed maybe, as a person that has studied a lot on Lang, and it doesn't change how great the video is.
@@rufust.firefly2474 He was not actually considered Jewish, so being called that and this being an argument is unfitting. If you have a better word for this case, by all means. English isn't my native language so, I will accept any correction for the best.
1931 Wow ! This would be a good use for AI, to redo the voices in english, and other languages, with the voice tones of the original actors. Great early coverage of the insanity plea. If he were blinded he wouldn't have those thoughts ?
But it is NOT true... your retina is used to see distressful things on the news to such an effect than it numbs our émotions.. But cinema is a mise en scène maint to steer up emotion and sometimes (very very rarely) to give a slap in the back of your head. In cinema history that’s the only one I can think of. But that was the intent of the director and some are sadistic. Not everything is watchable... and I must say for its documentary value.. fictional pornography on yourporn it’s even worst...
Matt Kalpin you’re welcome man, has happened to me many times with classical music and when I finnaly find the song it feels so good. Enjoy and may I recommend Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns too.
@@crisbolanos8812 That's gorgeous as well. I'll have to go through his whole catalogue, I bet there's a lot that I'll recognize from one place or another.
Haha wanna know how cool I am? I just looked it up and I realized where I'd first heard it: it plays during Giles' presentation about the Gentlemen in the episode "Hush" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Beckmann tries to conceal his crimes by taking victims to remote locations and killing them; Beckmann taunts the community through letters to the newspaper; Beckmann doesn't seek treatment or kill himself; Beckmann targets children not women his own age or older?
Saw the movie (and of corse your video) and absolutly liked it. Reason, because answers are sometimes really difficult. If someone would kill my son... I don't know what I would do and yet I think mental illness is a real thing. Justice should not be spoken by the victims. But the end of the movie was also very touching. So... i really liked to see the different point of views and that this is a problem to anyone involved
Hey Stefano, thanks for considering donating, there should be a link to my patreon in information box below the video, but if not here is the link www.patreon.com/onehundredyearsofcinema
Oh okay, the one in the description isn't showing up as a hyperlink! Sorry, what's your upload schedule like? I can't find anything about it :) So I can figure out the monthly cap since it's a per-episode patreon
So far I haven't had a real schedule, but from here on I will be releasing a video to patreon at the first of every month with a patreon exclusive video(which won't me change) and then releasing the main video to TH-cam on the 5th.
i think most people would say he needs psychiatric help, he should be locked up or to execute him. id say if hes seeking help and has committed no crime then get him help, but after he commits the crime the judgment should be swift and he should be permanently prevented from doing harm again. by what means this is achieved are less important to me.
good video, but you need to improve your audio recording and mixing, compressing the dynamic range on your vocal track and normalizing it would easily improve the audio
yeah, the whistling part was a bit difficult to hear. 4:01 but personally i managed to hear it anyway, but watching it, i figured someone would point it out
I liked how you laid out the outline. My feeling is that he showed that he knew right from wrong. Read this prototype for the murderer. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_K%C3%BCrten
"We never feel sympathy for him." I'm not so sure. The monologue by Hans Beckert about how he is a tortured soul, with a force or other "being" inside of him - almost akin to Golem's character in LOTR (of which I definitely seen stylistic/characteristic similarities between) - I think Lang was presenting the case of how powerful criminal compulsion is in the extreme case. And by consequence, presenting a merciful case, not in defence of his crimes, but in defence of the idea of keeping him alive. I found it hard not to feel sympathise with the seemingly authentic, visceral acceptance of what he really is. I guess sympathy is in the eye of the beholder, and whether you can divorce your own visceral emotion from objective reality/mental reality - ironically of which, Hans Beckert was unable to do...
Right on as perLang's 1975 interview:th-cam.com/video/or0j1mY_rug/w-d-xo.html
The story heavily implies that Hans is a (for lack of a better term) "predator", and considering that the specific targets match a certain pyschological ailment/ paraphilia (something that people with the disorder couldn't possibly be able to control without intense and mind-altering therapy and medication) this would align with with the whole speech about his uncontrollable urge to kill.
I myself empathize with everyone, even the worst of people. Nobody is born a monster, they are created. How can I judge someone when everyone is different. It's a difficult topic of course, and I can't blame anyone for thinking I'm wrong, but the world isn't black and white, it's complicated.
There is honor among thieves.
Significantly, the accuser in the kangaroo trial is guilty of three cases of manslaughter. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is _intent._ But if Beckert acts on compulsion, then is there truly intent?
Great video. The shot at 3:53 is one of my favorites in film. The reflected knives surrounding his head symbolize thoughts of murder plaguing his mind. The camera work in this entire movie is so creative. Remarkable film!
Nice catch, since you've made that interesting interpretation, for me it symbolizes how everyone in the city wants his head
For such a small channel, this channel has such high quality
Thank you! that's really kind!
for so little time left, there is sure much to do...
Wait a minute! Switch that around... reverse it
one of the best cinema channels in YT
@@rufust.firefly2474 Hail, Hail Freedonia, Land of the Braaaaaave aaaaaand Freeeeee
I always thought that the last line in the film "We also must protect our children" spoken by a grieving mother (wearing a dark shroud, giving her the aspect of a fate or muse) might also be interpreted as our collective consciousness telling us that as a society we must also protect our 'children', in other words, people like the Peter Lorre character, by affording them their due rights.
I think it's significant that the child murderer is first caught and tried by the underworld, not the average citizens. In the end, they are all busted together.
Their plan was really convoluted
The last scene with the mothers is also chilling
It’s so fucking sad
I just absolutely love to learn about history as well as film and this channel hits those two marks amazingly well. Keep up the great work I hope your channel becomes even more popular.
I love your series and thank you for including "M". It still gives me chills after seeing it several times over a 50 year span. Again, thank you and keep up the great work you are doing.
Amazing! I absolutely love all your video essays, keep up the good work!
One of the greatest movies (ahead of the time) of all time The message still resonates more than 75 years after its release This weekend I was watching TCM and they had a showing of M To my surprise this was a remake (holly wood version) and could not have been more awful than you can imagine Hint to holly wood leave the foreign classics alone
The Remake was terrible because it was remade with the concept of horror rather than the concept of social criticism and all of the other far far deeper elements that are involved in the first film
Exactly, same shit with Godzilla and Oldboy. Fucking classic masterpieces, thank god Kurosawa's films are untouched
@@diffusewings4937 can't believe spike lee is remaking kurosawa's high and low 😡
this movie is one of the few movies from 30s and before that has actually risen in the sight and sound list... this shows how timeless this movie is
I have been recommending your channel to all my cinephile friends. Your grasp of history and your grasp of film history/theory is superb. This is an extraordinary resource. I hope once you have finished your 100 Years that you will branch out and keep making videos. I thoroughly enjoy them.
Awesome video on an awesome movie!
i guess Im asking the wrong place but does anyone know a way to get back into an Instagram account?
I was stupid forgot my password. I would love any tricks you can give me!
@Gregory Ace instablaster :)
Hey, this was truly terrific. Any conversation about M always piques my interest and this was very well done. Thank you for the shoutout at the end, also. Appreciate that!
I'm surprised you didn't mention Peter Kürten (the "Vampire of Düsseldorf") as one of the inspirations for M.
according to fritz lang, in his interview with peter, bogdanovich, this was not true, just something reviewers of the film said.
In other words, Peter Cureton did not embody the essence of what M conveys any more than Manson understood what the Beatles were writing songs about
There were several serial killers in Germany 1910 to 1933. Kürten was just one.
It really is unfortunate that this channel is currently dormant. Here’s hoping there will be more material in the future.
I rarely subscribe to a channel but your commentaries are so impressive that I had no idea how young you are . It's because of this I believe you make these videos out of the love of film as opposed to just merely overly intellectualize movies you may have an understanding of merely because you were taught well.
Great video and your summary of the film M is superb. The "asking us a question" mindset, indeed! In fact, we all have to ask ourselves how a serial killer would be defined, how he does it, why he has his motives and what he does to peoples´ childrens. M was the beginning of Film Noir. It started in the early 1940s and ended in the 50s. Anyway, keep on making more videos!
I was SO impressed with Lorre, when I saw this movie! He had such a deep understanding of this character. He ranges higher than he was credited for as an actor.
Great video. I look forward to each one of your vids. Fritz Langs Scarlett Street is one of my top 5 favourite films of all time
OMYGOSH I LOVE HOW THIS POPPED UP ON MY RECOMMENDATIONS! BEST FIND EVER!
Very good synopsis and analysis of 'M', which is an exceptional early example of a crime-thriller.
Dude, thank you so much. Watching this has helped me out with a reflection paper I'm writing. You're channel is awesome!
Your analisis is very well made. Remember: the film is ALSO about how the structure of SOCIETY (Police vs. Underworld) is put topsy-turvy by the random action of a disturbed but ultimately 'free' INDIVIDUAL. And how this wiil not be tollerated. Personally I found THIS commentary by Lang the most interesting and pertinent. A sick man's mind may be fascinating...but SOCIETY's reaction to instability is even more amazing. Thankyou!
Lang's 1975 interview:th-cam.com/video/or0j1mY_rug/w-d-xo.html
I'm late to the game to your channel but when I did find it, I instantly subscribed this is top tier film dissection.
Excellent work keep it up!!
Thank you for your time.
I feel this video didn't really justify the detail of the film. Part of the question of the film was "Who are the worse demons?" because the people you stated who gave the child killer his kangaroo court were mainly criminals who have also killed men, women and children, but for different reasons. They were criminals, but they weren't mentally ill. They didn't even care about the fact that this man was a child killer, but more for the fact that it was interfering with their criminal lives because they were constantly being accused and harassed by the police since one of them could "potentially be the child killer"
I like seeing how the killer effects the town, rather than seeing the killer himself.
You really shouldn't have sprung that Buñuel eyeball on people without warning.
Really good video. I teach film & will use this next year. I show M at the beginning of each class, and without fail, at the end of the school year students vote it their first or second favorite film-
I found it incredibly dull and confusing at times. The whole first hour of the movie is about everyone on the town looking at every dude on the street to find the murderer yet the murderer is able to then take a girl, buy her candy, walk her up and down the street with absolutely no suspicion from anyone else. This movie would've have been way better if the murderer wasn't revealed like 20 minutes in and if it was more of a classic mystery. Why do the mob guys put an M on his jacket instead of just takcling him and taking him to the warehouse? Why does the murderer not just take off his jacket after seeing the M on it? So dissapointing
@@jasonbaylor9865 Perhaps the movie is not about the murder/murderer at all. Fritz Lang claimed that this was his essay on the rise of Nazism in the Weimar Republic. The film is not about murder per se but is about the irrational way that crowds of people react to a fear stimulus. & I think there are clear parallels to this is our current political situation.
@@philiphorne4202 I definitely saw comparisons during the scene where everyone attacked the random dude on the street based on no evidence, but the movie was definitely about the actual murderer. The opening 30 minutes, and the last 50 minutes are all specifically about that one guy who we know is guilty because the movie already revealed it to us. It's not like they are targeting someone innocent anymore, they spend way too much time just catching the guy once they already know who he is
@@jasonbaylor9865 Absolutely True. But the rest of the movie is about two competing attempts at justice, what we could call mob rule that is not based on logic and evidence but on emotionalism and circumstantiality, and then the rule of law and order and the rational accumulation of evidence and fact. So again, with the murder as the impetus, or driving conflict we see various reactions. And then there is the issue of the very very strange ending where we know that M has been given a death sentence and then cut to Elsie's mother who says that none of it really matters because it won't bring the children back and than we need to be sure to take care of our children. & I still puzzle over the ending. Not quite sure---or have not really been convinced by arguments that have been made--about what Lang means by that ending.
@@philiphorne4202 I can see that, to me it was just far too long and didn't make much sense. Guess I was hoping for a more classic "who dunnit" mystery.
What I like about M is that it says, "should you kill a man for something he can't control?" - Versus - "you should kill a man over something he can't control."
That makes no sense, I think you meant to say, what he could vs what he could not control
Does it really matter
what a great video study. you just found yourself an avid fan and subscriber. great work.
Incredible amount of smoking in M. The men were thinking.
When photographing a scene especially black and white smoking is a diffuser for the light source
Yeah I'll say
It's probably not just that smoking was a lot more "normal" then, but I'd expect it's because the film puts emphasis on how stressed the characters in the film are.
"Astonishing" is indeed the word.
Thanks for this :) Always valuable content, I love it.
Ngl i was kinda cheering for the mafia
Fritz Lang was not Jewish. It's true that his mother was Jewish but she had converted to Catholicism before Lang was born and Lang was brought up as a Catholic and very much considered himself a Catholic, his full name was Friedrich CHRISTIAN Anton Lang! It's also true that having some Jewish heritage was enough to make you vulnerable to persecution by the Nazis but that doesn't change the fact that Lang was not Jewish, by any reasonable measure, and certainly did not consider himself Jewish. It's also worth noting that his wife at the time, who actually co-wrote the screenplay of "M", was sympathetic to the Nazis and eventually became a member of the Nazi Party.
It's also worth noting that his wife at the time, who actually co-wrote the screenplay of "M", was sympathetic to the Nazis and eventually became a member of the Nazi Party.
Note also that they didn't stay together, obviously!
I watch and rewatch M . Its not only Lang who is on fire here ....Peter Lorre bring pathos to a wretched monster ....And the false outrage and pride of killers and thieves as they try to separate themselves from Becķett ...they only cared when their status quo was interupted .
Lang's 1975 interview:th-cam.com/video/or0j1mY_rug/w-d-xo.html
As well as the man who laughed I wonder if M was also used as inspiration for the character of the joker from DC comics.
i dont think so, there are hardly any matches between the two
Wow what a great analysis! Your very talented thank you for sharing! 🙌🏾🙏🏾
Great content. Your channel deserve more attention !
All those kino wannabes said Joker just remade taxi driver but it really remade this
How does this channel not have more subscribers
Just found this channel and I love it!
I recently watched the film and I think the real question the film was asking “what kind of society are we in right now?”
What I love about _M_ is that the villain, while tragic, is still a sadistic child murderer. The police are stymied by their own laws, their own restrictions, unable to fight for what's right because they had no evidence, and a criminal underground, ruthless in their hunt and eventual capture. The Law wants the men who capture M, while the criminals want M because he's everything that they are against; killing and violating children.
There is no good. The Law is corrupt. They're clearly failures. The mobsters are clearly our hate against the criminal, but their hate is not law. And the murder himself is troubled, yet a nasty man.
I think Peter Lorre’s performance during the kangaroo trial was so extraordinary that it may have influenced some unintended bias on Lang’s account against capital punishment. However the movie itself, outside of the plot, captures an unfolding reality in the performances, just as evil as Beckert’s acts.
My favorite all time film.
Damn dude. How bout a content warning on that Adelusuian Dog?
Later,Lorre Dubbed his voice in English for the German Film.
Quality content my friend keep it up and you’ll soon go big!
Oh, geez. I was so not prepared for that clip from Un Chien Andalou at the start of the video.
This movie was really good I think it’s really one of the best
This was my great grandfather's and great uncle's film (the producers Henry and Seymour Nebenzahl of Nero Film). They were Americans living in Germany. The film is a masterpiece.
By the way, Lang doesn't "ask the questions." He was the producer. The script was by Thea von Harbou. She was also the whistler.
I love this channel
yet another exceptional work of essay Sir!
now that we finally escaped the topic of Universal Ghouls and Goblins and we can focus on sound thrillers and more.
cannot wait for the next videos as we step closer and closer towards modern film. although now that i think about it...
i guess 100 is a good stopping point for this series to change subject or media area. it is afterall a ceaseless sea of media that only needs a fair amount of good analyzing without overdoing it. and since we have more than 100 years in our memory to title of film.
will you be stopping at 1988 or 2015? according to the math attributed to your first two videos?
before either retiring or eventually changing or evolutionizing this channel's future content.
So far I have a list going to 2015, because I originally thought of the first video as more of a precursor of film history. After that I am not sure about the future of the channel, but because going on from here most years have at least two films planned I hopefully don't need to decide anything for a little while.
and since by then your personality will be well established and familiar with your viewers, you should be able to make more personal and normal videos after that, with pretty much the same numbered audience.
but that just a hunch theory of mine for the probable future. *reputation+collab much?*
anyway, for now, good luck on your next one! :3
th-cam.com/video/FwH5HjgS9JU/w-d-xo.html
There is a newer version that was done in the 1950's, but this is much "darker"
I saw both back to back. The difference is that the 1951 murderer gives more background to his compulsions. Unfortunately, the real life murder is far more chilling than either film.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_K%C3%BCrten
@@ledagrasso5169 Yes, and you gotta love the 1951 cast!
Just watched the film today for the first time and your video was a welcome view
Interesting. I totally didn't get that detail when I first saw it, I just saw it as a film that confronted the German people with the idea that one of their neighbours could be a child murderer, and that that may have been an alarming idea. At various times in my life I've seen a film come out that proposes an alarming thing that could potentially happen, and then other copycat films come out about the same idea. At one point in the 90s it was meteors striking earth. I kind of thought that the film toned it down a bit by not also having the character rape the children.
Great video!
He doesn't control his actions, but he could seek for help, he could go to psychologist/psychiatrist.
Great analysis
I love this movie. I was just talking about it the other day to a friend and a couple of my (adult) kids.
Truly relevant today, maybe even more as extreme opinions on social media are becoming the norm. Since the film is of public domain, i found it easily on TH-cam, and I was surprised to see the owner of the channel it was on shared a lot of french right-winged nationnalist propaganda and conspiracy theories of all kind.
It get to my impression that "M" is used by some people as a piece of evidence for their ideology instead of being one that ask a question with no right or wrong answer.
Excellent video
Brilliant brilliant film. And Lorre creates a really complicated character. I wouldn’t say he’s entirely unsympathetic, exclusively because of Lorre’s performance.
The head gangster's hand movements are very familiar.
I think you left a comment to me about getting people to believe you. Interesting you chose Cinema here. I was just discussing with someone WHY Hitchcocks movies were so scary! it wasn’t necessarily Just the Storyline with Hitchcock. I have been in a family working in the movie industry and music industry that goes back more than 58 years. I learned how Hitchcock played subconsciously with peoples minds, by ingeniously understanding the rules of filming so perfectly, he stepped out of those rules with disturbing framing, angles, and lighting. Most un suspecting people could not figure out why his style was so disturbing. Some True artists in the industry understood the genius of this, which made him a legend. This technique works with every art form and sets those who realize this apart from other artists. But knowing what I heard about him over the years, and having blown it off as gossip, I see clearly, he was a sick and twisted man, with psychopathic tendencies. When telling others about what is going in with Mc Cain, I refer them to C Span where I watched Lindsay Graham say it in live testimony. maybe if you go on youtube and look up Congressional confirmation testimony on Cavanaugh (sp)
/Lindsay Graham/x examination, it will show up, if it hasnt been scrubbed. I have since seen him say it openly on other shows, but not sure which. usually when I watch CSpan, Then I tell people I saw it live streaming from Congress, that ends the dispute right there!!! In videos you see, open the description box below the video. If its a reputable person, most of the time they put the source links there. so many times, by following the links, they lead back to “whitehouse.gov and the transcripts became available through the freedom of information act! Thats the best way to know who to follow, unless they have already earned a huge credibility factor in their reporting, and no one doubts them, but I say they should always name sources! otherwise they are not Journalists, but Opinion people. even Sean Hannity says “I am not a Journalist, I get paid for my opinion! Tucker says that too. in my opinion only, that makes them the best “Journalists” on TV!!!
IRONY! haha!!!! thanks for responding. Good luck to you! and by the way, some trusted sites I like are Praying Medic, John B Wells, New show weekly with “Good Dog”, X22 report. and check out Patriots Soapbox 24/7 live Radio show. It is all patriots. they all work for free! The saying WWG1WGA originated there!
look in their description box! scroll down past the advertising. each segment begins with prayer. Non denominational. See “The Star Spangled Banner as you’ve Never Heard It Before”
Cheers, Friend. 🌟 scuse the bad grammar! in a hurry.
Another question, relevant to the time in which the film was made but more settled upon now was the question of what to do with a person whose nature is at odds with the public will. It is in his nature to kill and he cannot help it as he says, which could be considered a parallel to the type of racist perceptions of social darwinist thinking that was a characteristic of Nazi Germany. Films in this period are considered a premonition of future Germany and this could be an example as germans asked the question of what to do with Jews whose immorality was considered to be a product of their nature as Jews. Safecracker, near the end of the underground trial says they should "obliterate" them. I don't know if anyone else agrees, but I saw a parallel between their mob hysteria and future German perceptions of people they considered a threat to Germany.
good stuff!
Watch the movie in HD here:
th-cam.com/video/ooM0oGuHUsE/w-d-xo.html
M is my favorite thriller of all
Excellent essay on an groundbreaking film. And you pointed out some really important details (like the use of sound) we were taught in Cinema classes when we studied German Expressionism and this film. And all the moral questions this film creates along with the spectacular acting talent of Lorre, give something I feel nowdays movies lack of and when they try to show some of it people go insane naming them the movie of the century and all. Little do they know there are films about 100 years ago that have done that better.
The only little thing I would like to correct in the video is about Lang being Jewish. Lang was an Austrian and even though his mother came from a Jewish family indeed, she was baptized and so was he. Jewish connect religion to be called Jewish, so, an overall Austrian and Roman Catholic that even when he gradually loses faith in God never loses the elements of christianic religion he was raised with, can't really be called Jewish. Even if I see your point in how you use this argument. In Lorre's case which was Hungarian but from Jewish family, I agree more that pointing out some connection with the Jewish label when it comes to that period of time when people were hunted for that makes it more meaningful. I just feel that generalizing and labeling some specific people with a label they don't really follow is a little unfitting.
But that was a tiny detail I overanalyzed maybe, as a person that has studied a lot on Lang, and it doesn't change how great the video is.
A little unfitting? Who boy
@@rufust.firefly2474 He was not actually considered Jewish, so being called that and this being an argument is unfitting. If you have a better word for this case, by all means. English isn't my native language so, I will accept any correction for the best.
@Cine Mairon a very good point and well made.
@@grahameanderson6913 Thank you very much, I appreciate your kind words.
Lang set the futuristic bar. He was the Kubrick of his time.
Very pertinent examination of a sub genre of film
The eyeball slice makes me cringe every time 😭😭😭
We all control our own actions. If you cant control your own actions then that's when the law and the people have the power to make decisions for you.
From which movies are the initial shots taken?
you let me love this movie bro
Such an engaging series
1931 Wow ! This would be a good use for AI, to redo the voices in english, and other languages, with the voice tones of the original actors. Great early coverage of the insanity plea. If he were blinded he wouldn't have those thoughts ?
Very cool video. Having the option “D. Be sentenced to life in prison.” is the world in which I would like to live.
Lori's character would never live out any sort of life in prison you dumb shit
Go hug a rainbow you wimp.
My answer is death over life and you're calling me a wimp? You worm! You up start!
YO ITS THE EMESIS BLUE MOVIE
Like the "utilitarian" aspects you mentioned ... hadn't thought of it in that sense before .-) ... classic cinema, Langs second best :-)
Jesus dude at least put a warning up before showing someone's eye being sliced open with a razor
That's a fair shout. Just a heads up, don't watch the video on Japanese horror, it gets pretty eye-stabby.
@@onehundredyearsofcinema
Yeah I didn't mean that to come across as harsh it just shook me
It's a cow's eye, but yes, it's gross.
uhm that movie is so famous have you not seen that like a thousand times before
But it is NOT true... your retina is used to see distressful things on the news to such an effect than it numbs our émotions.. But cinema is a mise en scène maint to steer up emotion and sometimes (very very rarely) to give a slap in the back of your head. In cinema history that’s the only one I can think of. But that was the intent of the director and some are sadistic. Not everything is watchable... and I must say for its documentary value.. fictional pornography on yourporn it’s even worst...
What piece is the violin from starting around :45? I've had that in my head for years but I can't find it.
Danse Macabre - Camille Saint-Saëns
@@crisbolanos8812 Oh my god dude thank you so much. It's been bothering me for like 10 years
Matt Kalpin you’re welcome man, has happened to me many times with classical music and when I finnaly find the song it feels so good. Enjoy and may I recommend Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns too.
@@crisbolanos8812 That's gorgeous as well. I'll have to go through his whole catalogue, I bet there's a lot that I'll recognize from one place or another.
Haha wanna know how cool I am? I just looked it up and I realized where I'd first heard it: it plays during Giles' presentation about the Gentlemen in the episode "Hush" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Nice use of the classical music, my dude.
M is one of best Classics film
Beckmann tries to conceal his crimes by taking victims to remote locations and killing them; Beckmann taunts the community through letters to the newspaper; Beckmann doesn't seek treatment or kill himself; Beckmann targets children not women his own age or older?
I think that leather jacket is from matrix
Saw the movie (and of corse your video) and absolutly liked it. Reason, because answers are sometimes really difficult. If someone would kill my son... I don't know what I would do and yet I think mental illness is a real thing. Justice should not be spoken by the victims. But the end of the movie was also very touching. So... i really liked to see the different point of views and that this is a problem to anyone involved
City Lights was the way better film of that year.
Then you must take control of them for him...otherwise he kills again.....
There's no Patreon page link? :(
Hey Stefano, thanks for considering donating, there should be a link to my patreon in information box below the video, but if not here is the link www.patreon.com/onehundredyearsofcinema
Oh okay, the one in the description isn't showing up as a hyperlink!
Sorry, what's your upload schedule like? I can't find anything about it :) So I can figure out the monthly cap since it's a per-episode patreon
So far I haven't had a real schedule, but from here on I will be releasing a video to patreon at the first of every month with a patreon exclusive video(which won't me change) and then releasing the main video to TH-cam on the 5th.
i think most people would say he needs psychiatric help, he should be locked up or to execute him.
id say if hes seeking help and has committed no crime then get him help, but after he commits the crime the judgment should be swift and he should be permanently prevented from doing harm again.
by what means this is achieved are less important to me.
good video, but you need to improve your audio recording and mixing, compressing the dynamic range on your vocal track and normalizing it would easily improve the audio
Thank you! I am really looking to improve the audio, so any tips are really helpful!
yeah, the whistling part was a bit difficult to hear. 4:01
but personally i managed to hear it anyway, but watching it, i figured someone would point it out
Gimme a break.
Killing a kiddie murderer is not utilitarian
In which film was the scene where the eye was cut off
un chien andalou by luis buñuel!!
yes and the great Salvador Dali
th-cam.com/video/054OIVlmjUM/w-d-xo.html
I liked how you laid out the outline. My feeling is that he showed that he knew right from wrong. Read this prototype for the murderer. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_K%C3%BCrten