For many cinephiles, the name Fritz Lang is synonymous with the futuristic 1927 silent classic Metropolis (the restored, reconstructed version gets a theatrical release later this year). For the director himself, however, his finest work can be seen in the 1931 German thriller, M (Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder).
Written by Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou (who also wrote Metropolis, as well as Lang's superb Dr Mabuse series), M was a landmark in cinema. Not only was it Lang's first sound picture (he started back in 1919), it was the sophisticated way he used the camera, the lighting, and the editing that proved film was more than just a new entertainment medium - it was an art form.
A spate of child killings has the citizens of Berlin terrified. Peter Lorre (long before he became a parody of himself in Roger Corman's Vincent Price-led Poe vehicles) gives a powerhouse performance as the murderous Hans Beckert, who is chased by the authorities and a vigilante mob before the city's criminals capture him and put on trial in their own court of law.
Whilst not the first film to deal with the hunt for a serial killer (Hitchcock did that in 1927's The Lodger), Lang's film is so multi-layered, the result is more than just a thriller. Part horror (Lorre's Beckert whistling 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' whilst luring an innocent into his web still chills me); part procedural crime drama (the police use the new technique of fingerprinting in their investigation); part social drama (the city's tenement dwellers turn vigilante mob); and part Brechtian (the guild of beggars judge one of their own), M remains one of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time and, almost 80 years on, is still a refreshing sight to behold today.
This stunning, newly-restored, high-definition transfer of the original German version is an important addition to the growing Masters of Cinema catalogue.
The special features accompanying the release are superb, especially the inclusion of the original 1932 British release, featuring alternate takes and Lorre's first performance in English. I watched this before viewing the restored version and, boy, what a difference. But special, just the same.
Fritz Lang + Peter Lorre + A masterclass in the art of film = A must-have.
M also shows at NFT2 at the BFI Southbank http://youtube.com/v/cIj3Bk0bhL8
