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Features: DVD, Black & White, Mono Audio
A simple, haunting phrase whistled off-screen tells us that a young girl will be killed. "Who is the murderer?" pleads a nearby placard as serial killer Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) closes in on little Elsie Beckmann... In his harrowing masterwork , Fritz Lang merges trenchant social commentary with chilling suspense, creating a panorama of private madness and public hysteria that to this day remains the blueprint for the psychological thriller. The Criterion Collection is proud to present a new restoration of this landmark film.
"The Psycho of its day." J Hoberman, The Village Voice
"***** Classic." Video Movie Guide
Editor's Note
In Fritz Lang's startling and exquisite film M, fear stalks the streets of Berlin in the form of a serial child murderer whose grisly accomplishments are so heinous even the criminal minds of the underworld want him dead. Filmed in post-Weimar Germany during the infancy of the Nazi state, this tale of moral depravity serves not just as an allegory for the need of justice for all, but as an ominous foreshadowing of the sort of societal hysteria that leads to cultural witch hunts. Originally titled "Morder Unter Uns" ("Murderers Among Us"), M was one of Peter Lorre's (CASABLANCA) first major film roles. Fritz Lang's expressionistic eye plunges into the dark cityscape of Berlin, as he follows the killer whistling down the street, seducing small children with toys and candy, and eventually fleeing for his life. A city paralyzed by fear, and a vast criminal underground network of blind beggars, thieves and murderers, as well as an unforgettable climax notable for its startling statement about the murderous nature which resides within human beings, are all rendered in Lang's painterly cinematography of sharp angles, dark corners and breakneck pacing.
Plot Summary
In Lang's chilling masterpiece about a serial child killer who terrorizes a German town, Lorre gives an unforgettable performance as the modern psychopath, Franz Becker, who attempts to attain the dignity of a tragic hero, despite his uncontrollable urge to kill. Often credited for starting both the serial killer and the police procedural film genres, M is also notable for its startling statement about the murderous nature which resides within human beings.
| Features | A Physical History Of M | | Audio Commentary By German Film Scholar Eric Rentschler, Author Of The Ministry Of Illusion: Nazi Cinema And Its Afterlife, And Anton Kaes, Author Of The BFI Film Classics Volume On M | | Audio: German Mono | | Claude Chabrol's M Le Maudit, A Short Film Inspired By M | | Conversation With Fritz Lang, An Interview Film By William Friedkin | | Interview With Harold Nebenzal, The Son Of M Producer Seymour Nebenzal | | New And Improved English Subtitle Translation | | New, Restored High-Definition Digital Transfer | | Plus: A Booklet Featuring An Essay By Film Critic Stanley Kauffmann, A 1963 Interview With Lang, And The Script For A Missing Scene | | Stills Gallery, With Behind-The-Scenes Photos, And Production Sketches By Art Director Emil Hasler | | Subtitles: English |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Home Vision/Public Media |
| Release Date: 12/7/2004 |
| Running Time: 110 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1931 | | Catalog ID: 030 | | UPC: 00037429197820 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: German | | Available Audio Tracks: German | | Available Subtitles: English | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Chicago Sun-Times
"...What a haunting film it is..." 08/03/1997 p.5Total Film
"...M is a dazzling film that, seven decades on, remains as innovative as it is unsettling..." 11/01/2003 p.124 Premiere
"...The genius of M is that despite the movie's expanded sensorial universe, it's what you don't see or hear that makes this Berlin crime thriller so terrifying..." 12/01/2003 p.4 Sight and Sound
"The film itself remains as potent as ever. What's really striking is the eerie pathos of Peter Lorre's performance." 12/01/2003 p.62 |
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