Movies That Matter: “M” (1931)

Fritz Lang's masterpiece is a watershed moment for film

Film Video M

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10 Comments

  • rachelmontalvo-av says:

    The restored version is absolutely gorgeous. Truly stunning.

  • bio-wd-av says:

    Fun aside but this movie is based loosely on a real person.  An early example of a serial killer who was called the Vampire of Duesseldorf.  The cop who caught him, who is the basis of the main cop in the film, is perhaps the first person to use the phrase serial killer. 

  • dudebra-av says:

    This is a fantastic movie.If you love film, this is a must see. Peter Lorre is repulsive and hypnotic at the same time.

  • imoore3-av says:

    I have this movie on DVD. It’s nerve-wracking, to say the least…but it’s a must-see.I also have Columbia’s 1951 remake. To be honest, it’s not as gripping as the original.

  • jonesj5-av says:

    I just rewatched this on Saturday. In addition to being an absolute masterpiece, it’s also a pretty good way to work on your German. The phrasing is simple (like, phrase book level simple), and the actors speak distinctly most of the time. It occurred to me that this was most likely intentional since sound was so new. The dialogue was such that it could have been on intertitles. (This is not a knock, it’s just interesting in terms of thinking about the place this movie occupies in film history.)

    • marcus75-av says:

      It was Lang’s first sound film, so that would seem to explain the silent-film-like dialogue. Apparently most of his experimentation with the new technology was in post-production (editing, sound design, etc.).

      • jonesj5-av says:

        I was explaining that to my husband, who commented on the odd experience of watching a movie with no musical soundtrack.

    • hectorelsecuaz-av says:

      I bought this film well before I ever learned any German, I’ll have to give it another whirl! Practising languages with film is one of m favorite things.

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