M (1931)
Directed by: Fritz Lang.
Produced by: Seymour Nebenzal.
Written by: Thea von Harbou & Fritz Lang.
Director of Photography: Fritz Arno Wagner.
Edited by: Paul Falkenberg.
Released by: Criterion Collection.
Language: German with English subtitles.
Country of Origin: Germany. 110 min. Not Rated.
With: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut & Gustaf Gründgens.

DVD Features: Commentary by German film scholars Anton Kaes, author of the BFI volume on M & Eric Rentschler, author of The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife. Conversation with Fritz Lang (50 Min.), directed by William Friedkin. Claude Chabrol's "M le Maudit," a short film inspired by M, plus an interview with Chabrol. Classroom tapes of M editor Paul Falkenberg discussing the film. Interview with Harold Nebenzal, son of M producer Seymour Nebenzal. "A Physical History of M," a comparison of aspect ratios & the French language version. Stills gallery. Restored high-definition digital transfer. Booklet (32 pages) with an essay by film critic Stanley Kauffmann, a 1963 interview with Lang, the script for a missing scene & contemporaneous news articles

A string of murders force the police and crime lords to work together to smoke out the slayer of young girls, Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre). Even the homeless pitch in, spying on all those who approach the young. Eventually, the film becomes less about finding the pedophile and more about which side of the law will prevail.

A character study of the rarest form, director Fritz Lang deconstructs Hans Beckert not by showing us what he does, but what he forces others to do. Lorre gives an undeniably resonating performance. His portrayal of Beckert, a man who has long come to terms with the monster that he is, serves as an incredibly lucid backdrop for Lang's greater study - society's self-righteousness as its own worst enemy.

M obviously lacks a hero. What can be made of the fact that the killer is caught by a group including a burglar, a beggar, a pickpocket, and a cop? The harsh reality that it "takes one to know one" is as alarming as the haunting tune (Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King") Beckert whistles as he searches for his next victim.

DVD Extras: A group of lectures from editor Paul Falkenberg and a short remake of the film that aired on French television in the early ‘80s provide the most entertaining set of extras. They are a great counterpart to the dry, theoretical commentary from German film scholars Eric Rentschler and Anton Kaes. An interview with Lang conducted by director William Friedkin is a compelling take on the impact of M as well as what is perhaps the director's most famous film, Metropolis. An interview with Harold Nebenzal (son of producer Seymour Nebenzal) sticks mainly to the film’s financing. Michael Belkewitch
February 3, 2005