In 1969, as a graduate film student at UCLA, one day our two films to view were "Metropolis" and "M". Our guest speaker was...Fritz Lang. Got him to sign a copy of the screenplay. Needless to say, still have that. He was very interesting and, perhaps surprisingly, very funny.
Wow. The phrase " one picture is worth a thousand words" comes to mind. . Blackmail and The Lodger are both excellent movies too. M is bleak and frightening. It is so realistic.
In an interview, Lorre was asked why he left Germany in the '30's, when he was still very popular there. He said "I left because there was room for only ONE madman there."
funny how a fairly minor scene, when done well, can stick out in your mind and explain alot about a character without any dialogue. too many movies just try and force exposition down your throat or just explicitly state something like "our serial killer is evil and dangerous because he killed an entire special forces team off screen. you should totally be afraid of him"
@@arthas640 - These days, too many people don't pay attention to movies and television shows. They have to be spoon-fed everything, sometimes with airplane or choo-choo noises. When this movie was made, sound was still new. Directors knew how to communicate with imagery. Audiences paid attention.
@@julietfischer5056 I've always preferred dangerous characters to be more like dangerous people in real life rather than the sort of dangerous people you see in comic books. Leon from Leon the Professional seems like a badass even outside of any as kicking: hes calm, hes collected, and hes coldly professional, like the way he calmly cleans and loads a gun, treating it like a tool of the trade. Before Liam Neeson kicks any ass in Taken we already believe hes a badass: the way he instructs his daughter while shes being kidnapped, the way he deliberately chooses each word and speaks each sentence, and the way calmly threatens the kidnapper rather than screaming insults, you know hes a trained killer and not some passionate amateur or simple psychopath or badass wannabe. Even outside off dialogue both characters behave in a calm, collective, proffessional manner and use precise, deliberate movements.
Brando fans: "Brando changed acting forever during the 'Stella' scene in A Streetcar Named Desire. Before that, no actor truly gave a performance that holds up today." Peter Lorre (before the kangaroo court scene): "Halte mein Bier"
Brando was a method actor(In my opinion this means: Look at how good i am)Lorre gave a terrific performance but it didn't take me out of the movie(Look at Daniel Day Lewis acting) None of that with Lorre.
And even before that you had Renée Jeanne Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc, delivering arguably the greatest ever female performance in the history of film.
A fantastic , priceless film that has never been equaled. On a side note Peter lorre 's daughter was almost the victim of a serial killer ( The Hillside Stranglers ). The only thing that saved her was when the killers were passing themselves off as police detectives they asked her for ID. They saw that she had photo of herself and Lorre ; The killers changed their minds about abducting her because they thought the daughter of a movie star might bring too much heat down on them.
@@julietfischer5056 Maybe it was just a simple question. does the guy deserve to have his shit pushed in by you for asking ABOUT the person in question?
@@poppaluv - Are you familiar with the stereotypes about actors and Hollywood? Not to mention the unfortunate reality that serial killers often target prostitutes because they're easy to lure and society doesn't care about them.
A plug here for the Criterion release of 'M'. It is incredibly crisp and probably looks better even than when the film was first shown. All of the scenes seen here are a wee bit fuzzy in comparison. Also, in college I got to watch The Testament of Dr Mabuse and Dr Mabuse, Der Spieler back to back in a theater. Until then, I had no idea I could be so entertained by 4+ hours of silent film.
I had to watch the courtroom scene multiple times to catch the subtitles because I couldn't stop watching Lorre. That level of acting in 1933 Germany blew me away; I did not expect it and can only wish present-day Hollywood could emulate it.
This critic is a genius. I've never met with such intelligence matched with such a love of the topic anywhere else on TH-cam. Bravo! Every one of his presentations is a masterpiece! 🎞️
It never dawned on me how much The Third Man was inspired on elements introduced in M. The balloon seller, the mob picking on the wrong killer suspect, leitmotif, awkward camera angles, a chase, police investigation, the list goes on and on. It's almost like it was a stylistic remake using a new narrative (by Graham Greene) and incorporating the Anglospheric perspective on central Europe.
The Third Man started the tradition of movies quoting other movies. Star Wars was good only because it quoted Hidden Fortress, The Dam Busters, and Triumph of the Will.
I remember I saw this movie for film class back in art college, and I was enthralled by it. It's incredible how modern it feels in terms of how it handles suspense.
I'm really digging these Classic reviews, they have such a unique perspective. Thank You, Dark Corners! It's such a shame that the classic horror actors were never really recognized by Hollywood in their lifetime for the depths of their talent. With proper respect to Lionel Barrymore, how many people remember his performance in "A Free Soul", which was awarded the Best Actor Oscar of 1931, the same year of "Dracula", "Frankenstein" and "M"? Time is the ultimate judge.
I first saw this film on PBS and it stands up through the course of time. I was amazed that the defense the killer gave is still used by many this day.
I ask people about this film and I get blank stares. No one I talk to even knows this film. I thought this a brilliant film in the ways described in this video. Thanks for conforming my sanity on some level.
Yes I agree, It's unusual as the host points out. Usually you hate the villain but despite the heinous crimes Lorre's character commits I didn't hate him. He's pathetic.
It's an awesome movie! I feel one thing really helps to draw the audience into it, and where modern movies often go wrong: All roles in the movie seem like every-day people. The leading actors aren't super models, they aren't staged in 'cool poses' and don't do any superhero stuff like beating up a crowd of opponents - you could walk by them on the street without noticing and somehow that makes them even more relatable. AFAIK a lot of the criminals in the movie were played by actual criminals who also acted as advisors, especially for the heist scene.
I got this film last year on a whim ... and it is my most treasured DVD I have .... it is just as this review has said .... Brilliant !!!!!! I can't say anything more than that .... It helped make me look at movies in a different way ....
Currently studying this film at university, and I have to say, this commentary trumps every single paper, review, or critical study I have read. I have cited you in my essay!
I first saw " M " in 1971 and I thought it was brilliant. Fritz Lang was ahead of his time, touching on a very dark and horrific subject that even in this day and age is seldom explored in the way it's done in this film. To this day " Hall of the Mountain King " is one of my favorite pieces of music.
An absolute classic. According to Lang, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels summoned him to a meeting in 1933 and, despite banning "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse", offered him the job of head of the German film studio UFA to make films sympathetic to the Nazis. Lang fled Germany that night. He later explained this extraordinary offer in the US Movie Press by saying that Goebbels and Hitler had seen his films in the cinema, and were impressed by his ability to manipulate the audience's emotions, especially in "M".
Yeah, I was going to mention that, but the story is at least partly made up and it's hard to tell which bits to believe (there's a good dissection of it in Patrick McGilligan's biography, The Nature of the Beast). Certainly Lang was in and out of Berlin for months after this meeting took place, but whether or not it actually happened, no one knows for sure.
From what I've read, Lang definitely made conflicting comments about why he left Germany, seemingly to play to differing sympathies, especially once was trying to make it in Hollywood.
I'm used to your spot-on, hilarious reviews of cheesy horror B-movies, but I'm blown away by this brilliant analysis of the masterpiece that is "M". More classic reviews, please!
It's pretty easy to rip on bad movies, while we love doing these serious retrospectives they take a little more time and research to put together, but they are being well received so I will be putting more effort into delivering them on a more consistent basis.
This is the first of your reviews I’ve watched that wasn’t from the ‘explicitly bad movie’ category. I love those and find them hilarious, but with this one you’ve earned my respect. Thoughtful and informative, and now I have that tune stuck in my head. Thank you!.
Stunningly superb film. And it may be approaching 100 years old, but it's still as powerful & enthralling as the day it was released. About 10 years ago, my police-officer partner was hosting their monthly team-building movie night for his shift. I talked him into showing "M". The reaction was INCREDIBLE. 15 police officers were hooked from the first moments (that opening scene is INTENSE, and if you're a parent, doubly so). The word of mouth was so positive the Chief came over & watched it. To this day, it is shown to all officers on their force. I don't call many films masterpieces, but this is the dictionary description of one. There's horror, there's humour, there is a portrayal of people as they really are, the police aren't shown as either totally crooked or totally perfect - and the rarity is, neither are the criminals. From my observation when watching it with seasoned cops, the one that has them clapping & going "YES!" or "That's absolutely how things get out of control" is the bus scene (no spoilers, watch the film). If you've never seen "M", WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???
Great review! One thing I'd add is that, unlike virtually all sound movies, the original film had no musical soundtrack, except for the occasional mad whistling from the killer. This makes it remarkably stark, and the restored version recreates the experience.
The same comment is also true for other 1931 films, like Dracula and Frankenstein. But in a year or two, history had turned the page~~ (Think 1933's King Kong)
In those early days, filmmakers tended to go one of two ways: mostly silent or too much talk or song. Lang and Hitchcock were among those who found the middle ground.
There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in 'Fury' that shows the horror of mob violence: a smiling mother holds up her child and points at the burning city jail with Spencer Tracy's innocent victim inside.
Thank you for posting such an intelligent take on this brilliant and often very disturbing film. That it conveys so many dark themes without the need to overt visual violence is something modern directors would do well to learn. The scenes with the ball are some of the best ever made, leaving the viewer having to imagine the horror taking place without ever actually showing it either in sight or sound
that's one of the major problems with many horror movies, they think that quality=body count and that more bodies means a scarier or more horrifying villain. Some of the best horror movies have low body counts because the film makers focused on story/plot over on screen deaths. The Thing, the original Friday the 13, The Fly, nearly all the Universal Monster Movies, Psycho, the Exorcist, and many others each had only a couple on screen deaths or bodies and focused more on the story and characters. Nobody cares if a bunch of unnamed randos or one dimensional cheerleaders get killed, but everyone remembers the kills in Psycho and Silence of the Lambs.
@@arthas640 - Those kills served the plot rather than substituting for it (and let's agree to disagree about the first Friday the 13th). The fifty-leventh jump-scare also is no way to make a movie. We didn't need to see any more victims in this film. We know there's a killer, we know how he finds his victims, and we learn more through the police investigation. The question is who gets to him first?
@@EyeLean5280 - If that's a proper decision, okay. But if they're doing it because murdering someone every ten minutes is easier than telling a story? Get into another line of work.
Such a great film and an great performance by Peter Lorre. I never knew how hard Lang was on him during filming. No wonder his performance was so emotional and amazing.
The way we root for Lorre’s character reminds me of Psycho and the suspense and dread we feel when it looks like Marion’s car might not sink in the swamp. It’s not clear he’s the murderer (we ‘re led to think it’s mom), but we find ourselves pulling for a criminal nonetheless.
Fantastic video. In the original, the film offers viewers with a deeper understanding of the German language another facet because it's thick with the accents spoken in and around Berlin and which underline the different social classes depicted in the movie in a way subtitles cannot transport. (The film never names its setting but there can be no doubt that it takes place in Berlin.)
I have yet to see this film, but just the clips in this video gave me goosebumps. That tracking shot was actually really beautiful, especially knowing how that was not something done in films at the time. I also appreciated your narration and analysis, and I just subscribed so I can see more videos like this one.
There is an amazing awareness of psychological understanding for the killer's POV. A deep comprehension in what must have been very early days of psychology. Risky too, to even attempt pity for a child murderer much less empathy.
I simply love the way this vid exits to a demonic rendition of the "in the hall of the mountain king". the leitmotiv of the film becomes the leitmotiv of the vid. Great vid. I love how this channel balances the fondness for genre film, with the appreciation of true artistry/
Terrific. It's all memorable, and remarkable. (Another film worth catching that stars Lorre is MAD LOVE. Truly unique.) Lorre was a very special presence on film. Combine that with major talents like those of director of M, Fritz Lang, and/or a visual artist like Karl Freund (sp?)...and you have cinema of the macabre, the magical and the monstrous. Thanks for the presentation and commentary!
I've been unknowingly watching your videos cause I'm in a silent era/black and white movie phase and man this movie looks awesome. its like 4 different plots connecting to each other and making sense with each plot. Really want to watch this now
@@julietfischer5056 I'm probably going to get this movie on DVD or something. I wanna be able to sit down and watch it without the commercials and all that haha
@@sukmiwang66 - TCM doesn't interrupt movies. But you might want to do your share of pausing and reversing to see how well Lang uses the camera to tell the story.
I've recently watched this film myself and my god, is it incredible. However it got me truly thinking. Something I'd like to add in the ending scene when the films gives perspective to both sides, it truly makes you question how we as people can truly get. We can call the killer a monster, we can say he deserves punishment, it's all justified. But then the crowd wants him killed... That's when the gears start to crank. The criminals mention how if the killer is let off with the authorities, he'll only keep going and repeat the same process. That means "rendering him harmless" should be the answer, right? Truly think about that for a second. Despite the fact the guy is mentally ill, possibly incurable, our minds offer the solution of *killing* him. Now I get it, an eye for an eye. However doesn't that just continue another process that will never stop ourselves? The kind where we always find a way to kill each other? Justified or not, still makes you question if we just want an excuse to have someone die just like the killer presented. Sorry for the rant, just something the movie got me thinking is all. Still loved the movie for its phenomenal writing and the actor for the killer was a top tier performance
Brilliant, thanks. I wrote a stage adaptation of this, but could never figure out who held the rights. One agent insisted she did, but months later admitted she only had rights over stills images.
*This was the oldest serial killer movie I've found: "Os Crimes de Diogo Alves" (The Crimes of Diogo Alves) - 1911 - about murders committed in Portugal around 1840.*
Trivia here: I wonder if Peter Lorre was one of few main actors ever to play in 2 different si-fi submarine movies: "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" (1954) and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1961) --and as a good guy in both!
A brilliant film, decades ahead of its' time. Hitchcock was massively influenced by "M". The film was remade in the 1950s, but it wasn't a patch on the terrifying original. "M" was made in 1931. Unbelievable!
I'm ashamed to say I know this movie only by the scant bit of reputation. What one could get away with back in the day was limited, even now it is limited. Seeing what could be done so far back is astounding and still thought provoking.
An excellent retrospective video worthy of its subject matter. M is definitely a film I will have to see again soon. Thanks for doing such a great tribute to this classic.
Love channel and thank you for doing this particular film. I remember as a very young girl and budding movie nerd seeing this title mentioned and some of the iconic stills but because of age I didn’t full understand the subject even with me recognizing Peter Lorre as I did many of the old stars yet because of my tender age, the gist of the film kind of went over head. Because of than for decades I only remembered this film by its title being disappointed there was no obvious monster. Just couldn’t understand why this title was mentioned in Famous Monsters magazine. And for the younger folks with me becoming familiar with this title in the late 60’s early70’s, the viewpoints of some movies were different and watching a movie when ever you feel like or on demand was unheard of except maybe on the Jetsons. Unless one had means, we were at the mercy of the few channels we had and whoever was doing programming at the TV stations. TV Guide mag was my best friend and I used to scan it weekly looking for unique movies and shows. I really appreciate delving into film so now I can finally get it. Sorry about the mini history lesson but was important to understand just how dedicated movie and TV fans really had to be. Keep up the great work.
funnymom7: Lorre WAS the "monster". The fact that he didn't LOOK like one was why he was so GOOD at it! Roddy McDowell had the same quality when HE played a villain; the baby face and soft voice always seemed to fool people
I used to watch Orson Welles in The TV series called The Orson Welles Great Mistories I am dedicating this TV series to my old school friends who are both sisters and I hope to see them both again very soon to Chris and Hester from Billyxxx
"M" is an incredible film. It's been my favorite movie for a long time. Nowadays it takes a special person to watch a movie like M as it's not the flashy fast paced movies of today.
you guys did a great job with this one...I've watched it at least 10 times and I like it just as much as the first time. knowing this was lang's first sound film only makes it clear that he understood the value of sound integration. Thanks so much for this one. one of your best.
The figure of the police officer Karl Lohmann is based on the legendary world famous Ernst Gennat, director of the Berlin criminal police. Tehre were even rumours, that some of the gangsters were played by members of the infamous "Ringvereine" (criminal gangs).
yer a pretty durn good reviewer. You opened my eyes to points that escaped me after numerous views of this flick. Logan's meticulous talent of observation revealed by his proofreading an incoming document, for example.
Uruguayan-Argentine director Román Viñoly Barreto's 1953 film, The Black Vampire, is a revisionist, "feminist" reworking of Lang's M. Until recently it was a little known film that was rarely, if ever, seen in the USA. A blu-ray of the film was released last November.
You know, I'm still not sure how to feel about the pacing of this movie. I did like the buildup to the manhunt, but the hunt itself may have went on a little too long. I think the trial scene was so incredible that the killer didn't need quite as much time to help humanize him and to grow those seeds of doubt in the viewer. Maybe I wanted to be a little more blindsided by that brilliant, emotional explosion of Peter Lorre. I guess I wanted that to be my turning point on the killer. I really loved this movie, though, despite that little gripe.
The answer is fairly simple: Murnau didn't have the time and money to give the film some proper polish. The Great Depression was in full swing, the political situation was getting worse every day. He couldn't afford to hire an orchestra for a full soundtrack. All these shortcomings turned this movie into a very rough diamond.
I love Lang's films, especially the ones where he could "do what he wanted," although I also wish he could have been more charitable and gracious to his actors. If only he could have done that while giving us the same product.
Thank you. Well put. I was stunned by how far ahead of it's time this film was. Your review presented yet more things I didn't pick up. At work I'm a serial cocker-up so I think I'll memorise Lorre's script for next time I'm having to explain my actions to my poor supervisor. Sad to hear Lang was an arse-hole to his actors. That's a major flaw, but it won't stop me seeking out more of his films. Also sad, I remember reading that the old balloon seller was murdered by the Nazis when they came to power.
The first time I saw it I was amazed. The second time I tried to watch it to see how Lang did it but it's so good I got sucked into the story again and forgot to look for film maker tricks.
An outstanding video. Thank you for introducing me to this film.---Not as complex as "M" but still an excellent movie about a serial killer is "The Spiral Staircase" (1946) starring Dorothy McGuire. The film is even more noteworthy because of the realistic, believable way it dealt with a serial killer at a time when there was probably not as much information or understanding of the subject as there is now.
I must protest dismissing the opening sequence of Broadway Melody as unnecessary. It's a brilliant showcasing of sound, as you walk in which you are confronted by a cacaphony of various musical performances in a music publisher's office. It leads to an impromptu singing of the title song by Charles King. It's one of the best parts of a rather sluggish film.
Another early sound film that plays with the new medium is The Big Trail, John Wayne's first starring film. Early on, you are with a covered wagon caravan forming up for the trip west as the camera dollies forward past the various wagons, the ambient sound changes constantly. When I first saw M during college (shown on 16mm in my German class), I was struck by the clouds of tobacco smoke at the police and criminal meetings. A great linking device. Otto Wernicke's Inspector Lohmann also appears in Lang's 1933 The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
I feel like when I first saw this as a teenager I wasn't impressed but many years later everything you are pointing out I can think of dozens of similar techniques from dozens of scenes in movies from every decade. I look forward to watching this again with a more keen insight.
M was featured on Jay Ward's "Fractured Flickers" as a short film about a smoking addict trying to quit smoking but is being harassed by Mad Men [as in Madison Avenue Ad Agents] via installing a small radio in his hat
I haven't seen this in the comments, so I'll provide some historical background, though this comment is rather late in the game: - The city's name is not mentioned, but shown by settings, the other characters, the fat policeman and the accent it is Berlin, the Berlin of the Weimar Republic, probably after the "Black Friday". - Those criminals that organise their own manhunt are members of the so-called Ringvereine, criminal associations not unlike Mafias with a rather strict code of honour and structure. They dominated the underworld of Berlin. While there were similar organisations elsewhere in Germany at that time, Berlin was the center. - The fat policeman, Inspector Lohman in the subtitles but "Kommissar Lohman" in the original, is based on the real life police legend Ernst Gennat, "the Buddha of the Alex(anderplatz)", that being the location of Berlin's central police directorate up to the end of WWII. Gennat pioneered scientific policing and was the father of what we'd call profiling today. He caught more than one serial killer, Peter Kürten for example, and actually coined the term Serial Killer. There are Wikipedia articles in both English and German about his life and career. He managed to stay on after the Nazis took over but seems to have managed to not get his hands dirty. He died just before the war due to colon cancer. Hope this helps.
Do you know if the depiction of Lohman as having a sense of humor about his work was based on what was known about Gennat? I find it to be one of the most engaging aspects of the film. I haven't seen it in awhile and just watched Losey's 1951 remake which is good but not equal at all. I was thinking that that humor was one of the qualities most lacking in the remake. Thanks for your comments. I knew it was Berlin, too.
The Hillside Stranglers. One of the women they abducted in order to rape and murder had a photo of herself sitting in her father’s lap. That grandfather? Peter Lorre. The serial killers were such fans of his that they let her go unharmed.
In 1969, as a graduate film student at UCLA, one day our two films to view were "Metropolis" and "M". Our guest speaker was...Fritz Lang.
Got him to sign a copy of the screenplay. Needless to say, still have that. He was very interesting and, perhaps surprisingly, very funny.
To call you lucky would be an understatement. That script is probably worth a small fortune.
@@Sam-lm8gi Ran around like crazy trying to find something from Metropolis. No time :(.
Uh, WOW!
Wow. The phrase " one picture is worth a thousand words" comes to mind. . Blackmail and The Lodger are both excellent movies too. M is bleak and frightening. It is so realistic.
I’m not surprised that he was funny. Not at all.
In an interview, Lorre was asked why he left Germany in the '30's, when he was still very popular there. He said "I left because there was room for only ONE madman there."
Mike Grossberg he was also a Jew, even the director left, he was a Jew also.
@@markthemovieexpert466 And?
@@dildonius .....and it was Nazi Germany? lol
@@dildonius And the other madman he was referring to was Adolf Hitler?
@@CoffeeConnected Hitler was not "mad"--his reach just exceeded his grasp.
Beckert's shadow over his own wanted poster is one of my favorite shots in any movie.
funny how a fairly minor scene, when done well, can stick out in your mind and explain alot about a character without any dialogue. too many movies just try and force exposition down your throat or just explicitly state something like "our serial killer is evil and dangerous because he killed an entire special forces team off screen. you should totally be afraid of him"
@@arthas640 - These days, too many people don't pay attention to movies and television shows. They have to be spoon-fed everything, sometimes with airplane or choo-choo noises.
When this movie was made, sound was still new. Directors knew how to communicate with imagery. Audiences paid attention.
@@julietfischer5056 I've always preferred dangerous characters to be more like dangerous people in real life rather than the sort of dangerous people you see in comic books. Leon from Leon the Professional seems like a badass even outside of any as kicking: hes calm, hes collected, and hes coldly professional, like the way he calmly cleans and loads a gun, treating it like a tool of the trade. Before Liam Neeson kicks any ass in Taken we already believe hes a badass: the way he instructs his daughter while shes being kidnapped, the way he deliberately chooses each word and speaks each sentence, and the way calmly threatens the kidnapper rather than screaming insults, you know hes a trained killer and not some passionate amateur or simple psychopath or badass wannabe.
Even outside off dialogue both characters behave in a calm, collective, proffessional manner and use precise, deliberate movements.
Brando fans: "Brando changed acting forever during the 'Stella' scene in A Streetcar Named Desire. Before that, no actor truly gave a performance that holds up today."
Peter Lorre (before the kangaroo court scene): "Halte mein Bier"
That would be 'Nicht mein Bier' - 'Not my beer'.
How many Bogart movie's were great because Peter Lorre was in them?
How many other stars were stars because of Peter Lorre?
@@grogery1570
He's so underappreciated. Have you seen Three Strangers? A B that I watch every year on Chinese New Year. Don't miss it! 🎏
Brando was a method actor(In my opinion this means: Look at how good i am)Lorre gave a terrific performance but it didn't take me out of the movie(Look at Daniel Day Lewis acting) None of that with Lorre.
And even before that you had Renée Jeanne Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc, delivering arguably the greatest ever female performance in the history of film.
A fantastic , priceless film that has never been equaled.
On a side note Peter lorre 's daughter was almost the victim of a serial killer ( The Hillside Stranglers ). The only thing that saved her was when the killers were passing themselves off as police detectives they asked her for ID. They saw that she had photo of herself and Lorre ; The killers changed their minds about abducting her because they thought the daughter of a movie star might bring too much heat down on them.
Dan D Doty Wasn't she a prostitute back then?
No.
@@chadcastagana9181 - Yeah, all actors' daughters are hookers. Jeez. Even if she was, what's your point? That she deserved to be murdered?
@@julietfischer5056 Maybe it was just a simple question. does the guy deserve to have his shit pushed in by you for asking ABOUT the person in question?
@@poppaluv - Are you familiar with the stereotypes about actors and Hollywood? Not to mention the unfortunate reality that serial killers often target prostitutes because they're easy to lure and society doesn't care about them.
A plug here for the Criterion release of 'M'. It is incredibly crisp and probably looks better even than when the film was first shown. All of the scenes seen here are a wee bit fuzzy in comparison.
Also, in college I got to watch The Testament of Dr Mabuse and Dr Mabuse, Der Spieler back to back in a theater. Until then, I had no idea I could be so entertained by 4+ hours of silent film.
The most terrifying serial killer movie ever made. Disarming in its simplicity
The last thing I would call this film is simple
@@rufust.firefly2474 It is simple, which makes it more effective
Don't mistake simplicity for your possible familiarity with Strokes used in this film for the first time
@@rufust.firefly2474 ?
I wouldn't call it THE most terrifying. But it's definitely up there.
I had to watch the courtroom scene multiple times to catch the subtitles because I couldn't stop watching Lorre. That level of acting in 1933 Germany blew me away; I did not expect it and can only wish present-day Hollywood could emulate it.
I think it's too theatrical for modern audiences.
It was released in 1931, not 1933.
This critic is a genius. I've never met with such intelligence matched with such a love of the topic anywhere else on TH-cam. Bravo! Every one of his presentations is a masterpiece! 🎞️
It never dawned on me how much The Third Man was inspired on elements introduced in M. The balloon seller, the mob picking on the wrong killer suspect, leitmotif, awkward camera angles, a chase, police investigation, the list goes on and on.
It's almost like it was a stylistic remake using a new narrative (by Graham Greene) and incorporating the Anglospheric perspective on central Europe.
The Third Man started the tradition of movies quoting other movies. Star Wars was good only because it quoted Hidden Fortress, The Dam Busters, and Triumph of the Will.
I remember I saw this movie for film class back in art college, and I was enthralled by it. It's incredible how modern it feels in terms of how it handles suspense.
I'm really digging these Classic reviews, they have such a unique perspective. Thank You, Dark Corners!
It's such a shame that the classic horror actors were never really recognized by Hollywood in their lifetime for the depths of their talent. With proper respect to Lionel Barrymore, how many people remember his performance in "A Free Soul", which was awarded the Best Actor Oscar of 1931, the same year of "Dracula", "Frankenstein" and "M"? Time is the ultimate judge.
I first saw this film on PBS and it stands up through the course of time. I was amazed that the defense the killer gave is still used by many this day.
I ask people about this film and I get blank stares. No one I talk to even knows this film. I thought this a brilliant film in the ways described in this video. Thanks for conforming my sanity on some level.
This is such a great movie..every horror fan needs to see it...every movie fan needs to see it
edhock65. Get a life! Before you see this movie you might want to read about Peter Kurten, the real killer this film was based on.
Yes I agree, It's unusual as the host points out. Usually you hate the villain but despite the heinous crimes Lorre's character commits I didn't hate him. He's pathetic.
@@chadcastagana9181 - So? It's a great movie. Kurten was a monster.
I saw this with my dad on Chicago tv in the early 70s. Even as a little kid I knew I had seen something exceptional.
@@chadcastagana9181k?
It's an awesome movie! I feel one thing really helps to draw the audience into it, and where modern movies often go wrong: All roles in the movie seem like every-day people. The leading actors aren't super models, they aren't staged in 'cool poses' and don't do any superhero stuff like beating up a crowd of opponents - you could walk by them on the street without noticing and somehow that makes them even more relatable.
AFAIK a lot of the criminals in the movie were played by actual criminals who also acted as advisors, especially for the heist scene.
I got this film last year on a whim ... and it is my most treasured DVD I have .... it is just as this review has said .... Brilliant !!!!!! I can't say anything more than that .... It helped make me look at movies in a different way ....
Currently studying this film at university, and I have to say, this commentary trumps every single paper, review, or critical study I have read. I have cited you in my essay!
Director of photography Fritz Arno Wagner also shot the horror classic NOSFERATU for F.W. Murnau.
I first saw " M " in 1971 and I thought it was brilliant. Fritz Lang was ahead of his time, touching on a very dark and horrific subject that even in this day and age is seldom explored in the way it's done in this film. To this day " Hall of the Mountain King " is one of my favorite pieces of music.
5:04 The thing I love about the "unreliable witness" scene is that they DON'T point out that Elsie wasn't even wearing a hat.
An absolute classic. According to Lang, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels summoned him to a meeting in 1933 and, despite banning "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse", offered him the job of head of the German film studio UFA to make films sympathetic to the Nazis. Lang fled Germany that night. He later explained this extraordinary offer in the US Movie Press by saying that Goebbels and Hitler had seen his films in the cinema, and were impressed by his ability to manipulate the audience's emotions, especially in "M".
Yeah, I was going to mention that, but the story is at least partly made up and it's hard to tell which bits to believe (there's a good dissection of it in Patrick McGilligan's biography, The Nature of the Beast). Certainly Lang was in and out of Berlin for months after this meeting took place, but whether or not it actually happened, no one knows for sure.
From what I've read, Lang definitely made conflicting comments about why he left Germany, seemingly to play to differing sympathies, especially once was trying to make it in Hollywood.
I'm used to your spot-on, hilarious reviews of cheesy horror B-movies, but I'm blown away by this brilliant analysis of the masterpiece that is "M". More classic reviews, please!
It's pretty easy to rip on bad movies, while we love doing these serious retrospectives they take a little more time and research to put together, but they are being well received so I will be putting more effort into delivering them on a more consistent basis.
This is the first of your reviews I’ve watched that wasn’t from the ‘explicitly bad movie’ category. I love those and find them hilarious, but with this one you’ve earned my respect. Thoughtful and informative, and now I have that tune stuck in my head. Thank you!.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Stunningly superb film. And it may be approaching 100 years old, but it's still as powerful & enthralling as the day it was released. About 10 years ago, my police-officer partner was hosting their monthly team-building movie night for his shift. I talked him into showing "M". The reaction was INCREDIBLE. 15 police officers were hooked from the first moments (that opening scene is INTENSE, and if you're a parent, doubly so). The word of mouth was so positive the Chief came over & watched it. To this day, it is shown to all officers on their force. I don't call many films masterpieces, but this is the dictionary description of one. There's horror, there's humour, there is a portrayal of people as they really are, the police aren't shown as either totally crooked or totally perfect - and the rarity is, neither are the criminals. From my observation when watching it with seasoned cops, the one that has them clapping & going "YES!" or "That's absolutely how things get out of control" is the bus scene (no spoilers, watch the film). If you've never seen "M", WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???
Great review! One thing I'd add is that, unlike virtually all sound movies, the original film had no musical soundtrack, except for the occasional mad whistling from the killer. This makes it remarkably stark, and the restored version recreates the experience.
The same comment is also true for other 1931 films, like Dracula and Frankenstein. But in a year or two, history had turned the page~~ (Think 1933's King Kong)
In those early days, filmmakers tended to go one of two ways: mostly silent or too much talk or song. Lang and Hitchcock were among those who found the middle ground.
There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in 'Fury' that shows the horror of mob violence: a smiling mother holds up her child and points at the burning city jail with Spencer Tracy's innocent victim inside.
Thank you for posting such an intelligent take on this brilliant and often very disturbing film. That it conveys so many dark themes without the need to overt visual violence is something modern directors would do well to learn. The scenes with the ball are some of the best ever made, leaving the viewer having to imagine the horror taking place without ever actually showing it either in sight or sound
See that, modern filmmakers? There's no need to rack up an onscreen body count when you have a good story.
that's one of the major problems with many horror movies, they think that quality=body count and that more bodies means a scarier or more horrifying villain. Some of the best horror movies have low body counts because the film makers focused on story/plot over on screen deaths. The Thing, the original Friday the 13, The Fly, nearly all the Universal Monster Movies, Psycho, the Exorcist, and many others each had only a couple on screen deaths or bodies and focused more on the story and characters. Nobody cares if a bunch of unnamed randos or one dimensional cheerleaders get killed, but everyone remembers the kills in Psycho and Silence of the Lambs.
@@arthas640 - Those kills served the plot rather than substituting for it (and let's agree to disagree about the first Friday the 13th). The fifty-leventh jump-scare also is no way to make a movie.
We didn't need to see any more victims in this film. We know there's a killer, we know how he finds his victims, and we learn more through the police investigation. The question is who gets to him first?
Unless one is trying to appeal to that audience that doesn't care about story and only wants to see a body count.
@@EyeLean5280 - If that's a proper decision, okay. But if they're doing it because murdering someone every ten minutes is easier than telling a story? Get into another line of work.
@@julietfischer5056 Well, I'm with you, I don't watch slasher films. But for better or worse, there's money to be made in them.
Such a great film and an great performance by Peter Lorre. I never knew how hard Lang was on him during filming. No wonder his performance was so emotional and amazing.
The way we root for Lorre’s character reminds me of Psycho and the suspense and dread we feel when it looks like Marion’s car might not sink in the swamp. It’s not clear he’s the murderer (we ‘re led to think it’s mom), but we find ourselves pulling for a criminal nonetheless.
Fantastic video. In the original, the film offers viewers with a deeper understanding of the German language another facet because it's thick with the accents spoken in and around Berlin and which underline the different social classes depicted in the movie in a way subtitles cannot transport. (The film never names its setting but there can be no doubt that it takes place in Berlin.)
I have yet to see this film, but just the clips in this video gave me goosebumps. That tracking shot was actually really beautiful, especially knowing how that was not something done in films at the time. I also appreciated your narration and analysis, and I just subscribed so I can see more videos like this one.
Watched this video several times now, always get something new from it. Excellent piece of work, worthy of the film it covers.
There is an amazing awareness of psychological understanding for the killer's POV. A deep comprehension in what must have been very early days of psychology. Risky too, to even attempt pity for a child murderer much less empathy.
I simply love the way this vid exits to a demonic rendition of the "in the hall of the mountain king". the leitmotiv of the film becomes the leitmotiv of the vid. Great vid. I love how this channel balances the fondness for genre film, with the appreciation of true artistry/
WOW! Fantastic commentary, as usual! I haven't seen this movie in years, I gotta look it up!
Thanks. Links in the description below if you want to buy it... but the whole film is on youtube for free as well.
I've seen a lot of your stuff and this, I believe, is some of your finest work as a critic.
What an absolutely fantastic review of such an important influecncial film. Well done guys, a definitive ten out of ten.
Terrific. It's all memorable, and remarkable. (Another film worth catching that stars Lorre is MAD LOVE. Truly unique.) Lorre was a very special presence on film. Combine that with major talents like those of director of M, Fritz Lang, and/or a visual artist like Karl Freund (sp?)...and you have cinema of the macabre, the magical and the monstrous. Thanks for the presentation and commentary!
Don't forget Lorre's "The Beast with Five Fingers" too.
One of your best reviews yet, great job, i think this review itself may be flawless
I've been unknowingly watching your videos cause I'm in a silent era/black and white movie phase and man this movie looks awesome. its like 4 different plots connecting to each other and making sense with each plot. Really want to watch this now
TCM runs it every once in a while. It's available on DVD from Amazon. And it is a damn good movie.
@@julietfischer5056 I'm probably going to get this movie on DVD or something. I wanna be able to sit down and watch it without the commercials and all that haha
@@sukmiwang66 - TCM doesn't interrupt movies. But you might want to do your share of pausing and reversing to see how well Lang uses the camera to tell the story.
I've remembered this film since I first saw it many decades ago and added it to my library the first chance I had. It's just a masterpiece.
As a massive Fritz Lang fan, your review was just magic!
I've recently watched this film myself and my god, is it incredible. However it got me truly thinking.
Something I'd like to add in the ending scene when the films gives perspective to both sides, it truly makes you question how we as people can truly get. We can call the killer a monster, we can say he deserves punishment, it's all justified. But then the crowd wants him killed... That's when the gears start to crank.
The criminals mention how if the killer is let off with the authorities, he'll only keep going and repeat the same process. That means "rendering him harmless" should be the answer, right? Truly think about that for a second. Despite the fact the guy is mentally ill, possibly incurable, our minds offer the solution of *killing* him. Now I get it, an eye for an eye. However doesn't that just continue another process that will never stop ourselves? The kind where we always find a way to kill each other? Justified or not, still makes you question if we just want an excuse to have someone die just like the killer presented.
Sorry for the rant, just something the movie got me thinking is all. Still loved the movie for its phenomenal writing and the actor for the killer was a top tier performance
Brilliant, thanks. I wrote a stage adaptation of this, but could never figure out who held the rights. One agent insisted she did, but months later admitted she only had rights over stills images.
*This was the oldest serial killer movie I've found: "Os Crimes de Diogo Alves" (The Crimes of Diogo Alves) - 1911 - about murders committed in Portugal around 1840.*
Another great job, guys! Really enjoying this series.
Excellent! Your love of cinema is contagious!
Possibly the most disturbing horror film ever.
Not really a horror film. It's more of a drama.
Such a good movie! One of my favourites!
Peter Lorre...........
_nuff said_
Trivia here: I wonder if Peter Lorre was one of few main actors ever to play in 2 different si-fi submarine movies: "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" (1954) and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1961) --and as a good guy in both!
A brilliant film, decades ahead of its' time. Hitchcock was massively influenced by "M".
The film was remade in the 1950s, but it wasn't a patch on the terrifying original.
"M" was made in 1931. Unbelievable!
I'm ashamed to say I know this movie only by the scant bit of reputation. What one could get away with back in the day was limited, even now it is limited. Seeing what could be done so far back is astounding and still thought provoking.
This is one of my favorite movies ever.
Lorre said that after the film if went for a walk parents would hustle their children away from him
@Taiwanlight - At least for any other role.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) was actually the first serial killer film
An excellent retrospective video worthy of its subject matter. M is definitely a film I will have to see again soon. Thanks for doing such a great tribute to this classic.
This is the best movie review I have ever seen!
The documentaries you make are so damn good.
This is a brilliant look at a masterpiece. Well done dude.
Love channel and thank you for doing this particular film. I remember as a very young girl and budding movie nerd seeing this title mentioned and some of the iconic stills but because of age I didn’t full understand the subject even with me recognizing Peter Lorre as I did many of the old stars yet because of my tender age, the gist of the film kind of went over head. Because of than for decades I only remembered this film by its title being disappointed there was no obvious monster. Just couldn’t understand why this title was mentioned in Famous Monsters magazine. And for the younger folks with me becoming familiar with this title in the late 60’s early70’s, the viewpoints of some movies were different and watching a movie when ever you feel like or on demand was unheard of except maybe on the Jetsons. Unless one had means, we were at the mercy of the few channels we had and whoever was doing programming at the TV stations. TV Guide mag was my best friend and I used to scan it weekly looking for unique movies and shows.
I really appreciate delving into film so now I can finally get it. Sorry about the mini history lesson but was important to understand just how dedicated movie and TV fans really had to be.
Keep up the great work.
funnymom7: Lorre WAS the "monster". The fact that he didn't LOOK like one was why he was so GOOD at it!
Roddy McDowell had the same quality when HE played a villain; the baby face and soft voice always seemed to fool people
I used to watch Orson Welles in
The TV series called
The Orson Welles Great Mistories
I am dedicating this TV series to my old school friends who are both sisters and I hope to see them both again very soon to Chris and Hester from Billyxxx
"M" is an incredible film. It's been my favorite movie for a long time. Nowadays it takes a special person to watch a movie like M as it's not the flashy fast paced movies of today.
When I first bought the Criterion DVD in the late 90's I was astounded by this one. And hearing Lorre speak German is still a wonder to me somehow.
This is one of my favorite movies. Peter Lorrie gives a genius performance. Great critque as well.
Such thorough and engaging analysis- didn't want to miss a word!
you guys did a great job with this one...I've watched it at least 10 times and I like it just as much as the first time. knowing this was lang's first sound film only makes it clear that he understood the value of sound integration. Thanks so much for this one. one of your best.
The figure of the police officer Karl Lohmann is based on the legendary world famous Ernst Gennat, director of the Berlin criminal police.
Tehre were even rumours, that some of the gangsters were played by members of the infamous "Ringvereine" (criminal gangs).
yer a pretty durn good reviewer. You opened my eyes to points that escaped me after numerous views of this flick. Logan's meticulous talent of observation revealed by his proofreading an incoming document, for example.
I watched this film over a year ago and it still haunts me in the best way possible.
Absolutely to the point, what a viewer must be looking for in this amazing sound directed movie!
The best thing about these reviews is their accessibility..anyone can watch and learn from them and be entertained at the same time.
Uruguayan-Argentine director Román Viñoly Barreto's 1953 film, The Black Vampire, is a revisionist, "feminist" reworking of Lang's M. Until recently it was a little known film that was rarely, if ever, seen in the USA. A blu-ray of the film was released last November.
Hello Mr , thank you very much for histoire cinematic horror vidéos
You know, I'm still not sure how to feel about the pacing of this movie. I did like the buildup to the manhunt, but the hunt itself may have went on a little too long. I think the trial scene was so incredible that the killer didn't need quite as much time to help humanize him and to grow those seeds of doubt in the viewer. Maybe I wanted to be a little more blindsided by that brilliant, emotional explosion of Peter Lorre. I guess I wanted that to be my turning point on the killer. I really loved this movie, though, despite that little gripe.
The answer is fairly simple: Murnau didn't have the time and money to give the film some proper polish. The Great Depression was in full swing, the political situation was getting worse every day. He couldn't afford to hire an orchestra for a full soundtrack. All these shortcomings turned this movie into a very rough diamond.
I love Lang's films, especially the ones where he could "do what he wanted," although I also wish he could have been more charitable and gracious to his actors. If only he could have done that while giving us the same product.
Wow! Great job guys! You should be proud!
I am German and this is my favorite movie!
Thank you. Well put. I was stunned by how far ahead of it's time this film was. Your review presented yet more things I didn't pick up. At work I'm a serial cocker-up so I think I'll memorise Lorre's script for next time I'm having to explain my actions to my poor supervisor. Sad to hear Lang was an arse-hole to his actors. That's a major flaw, but it won't stop me seeking out more of his films. Also sad, I remember reading that the old balloon seller was murdered by the Nazis when they came to power.
Hey Dark Corners! You are head and shoulders above the average TH-camrs! Subscribing, and wishing you well going forward.
Thanks Bart!
The first time I saw it I was amazed. The second time I tried to watch it to see how Lang did it but it's so good I got sucked into the story again and forgot to look for film maker tricks.
Excellent analysis! Greetings from Germany!
Yes, this is a great film. And it's really good at showing how little certain things have changed, even after 100 years.
what a beautiful review man
I’m going to rewatch; haven’t seen this since my dad rented it from the library on VHS
An outstanding video. Thank you for introducing me to this film.---Not as complex as "M" but still an excellent movie about a serial killer is "The Spiral Staircase" (1946) starring Dorothy McGuire. The film is even more noteworthy because of the realistic, believable way it dealt with a serial killer at a time when there was probably not as much information or understanding of the subject as there is now.
great great great movie. not one bloody scene is shown but it delivers
Quote I read ages ago......"Every audience member fills in what the worse that could be happening"
You do any videos on The Testament of Dr. Mabuse?
Lohmann reappears in that film, and he's pretty cool there as well.
I must protest dismissing the opening sequence of Broadway Melody as unnecessary. It's a brilliant showcasing of sound, as you walk in which you are confronted by a cacaphony of various musical performances in a music publisher's office. It leads to an impromptu singing of the title song by Charles King. It's one of the best parts of a rather sluggish film.
Randy Newman wrote an art song based on "M" Titled "In Germany Before the War"with the tag line
"I'm looking at the river but I'm thinking of the sea
Great song. I didn't it's connection to "M"
Another early sound film that plays with the new medium is The Big Trail, John Wayne's first starring film. Early on, you are with a covered wagon caravan forming up for the trip west as the camera dollies forward past the various wagons, the ambient sound changes constantly.
When I first saw M during college (shown on 16mm in my German class), I was struck by the clouds of tobacco smoke at the police and criminal meetings.
A great linking device.
Otto Wernicke's Inspector Lohmann also appears in Lang's 1933 The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
"even now, 86 years after its release, it remains ahead of its time." Wait....what? ;)
Have to watch this again!! Amazing movie! Amazing performance by Peter Lorre,!! Great direction of course!!
I feel like when I first saw this as a teenager I wasn't impressed but many years later everything you are pointing out I can think of dozens of similar techniques from dozens of scenes in movies from every decade. I look forward to watching this again with a more keen insight.
Both Ernst Lubitsch and Rouben Mamoulian were also doing pioneering work with sound around the same period.
M was featured on Jay Ward's "Fractured Flickers" as a short film about a smoking addict trying to quit smoking but is being harassed by Mad Men [as in Madison Avenue Ad Agents] via installing a small radio in his hat
crazy how albert fish was killing when this movie was in theaters....
I haven't seen this in the comments, so I'll provide some historical background, though this comment is rather late in the game:
- The city's name is not mentioned, but shown by settings, the other characters, the fat policeman and the accent it is Berlin, the Berlin of the Weimar Republic, probably after the "Black Friday".
- Those criminals that organise their own manhunt are members of the so-called Ringvereine, criminal associations not unlike Mafias with a rather strict code of honour and structure. They dominated the underworld of Berlin. While there were similar organisations elsewhere in Germany at that time, Berlin was the center.
- The fat policeman, Inspector Lohman in the subtitles but "Kommissar Lohman" in the original, is based on the real life police legend Ernst Gennat, "the Buddha of the Alex(anderplatz)", that being the location of Berlin's central police directorate up to the end of WWII. Gennat pioneered scientific policing and was the father of what we'd call profiling today. He caught more than one serial killer, Peter Kürten for example, and actually coined the term Serial Killer. There are Wikipedia articles in both English and German about his life and career. He managed to stay on after the Nazis took over but seems to have managed to not get his hands dirty. He died just before the war due to colon cancer. Hope this helps.
Do you know if the depiction of Lohman as having a sense of humor about his work was based on what was known about Gennat? I find it to be one of the most engaging aspects of the film. I haven't seen it in awhile and just watched Losey's 1951 remake which is good but not equal at all. I was thinking that that humor was one of the qualities most lacking in the remake. Thanks for your comments. I knew it was Berlin, too.
The Hillside Stranglers.
One of the women they abducted in order to rape and murder had a photo of herself sitting in her father’s lap.
That grandfather?
Peter Lorre.
The serial killers were such fans of his that they let her go unharmed.