Fritz Lang

My Netflix has generated a category for "critically-acclaimed foreign dramas" and one for "visually-striking silent films," so clearly I'm doing it right.

Got a favorite Lang film? Insane fan theory? Just want to rave about monocles?

i so far only watched metropolis
and i love the film's dystopia visual
and the 1984esque storyline
ill probably watch M later

I haven't seen much of Lang, but what I have probably puts him in the running for one of my favorite directors. Metropolis is a 10/10 both critically and on a personally scale, with not only beautiful sets and a beautiful message, but a great plot structure as well. It makes me... incredibly happy that somebody found 99% of a full cut (even if it was apparently a strange reshot version for foreign audiences o.O) despite the naysayers and their cynicism.

Dr. Mabuse the Gambler could be a bit plodding at points, but the study of the main character was awesome (making the original, in my opinion, the best of the trilogy); he's a very overlooked villain, and IMO could be resurrected to fit our own generation. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse was also wonderful, although the 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse didn't really hold up (but then, Lang was well on his way to blindness by the time he made it).

I really want to see M. I caught the beginning once, but I had to leave to run an errand. What I did see was pretty chillingly executed.

edited 18th Jul '11 6:47:35 PM by DoctorDiabolical

You must finish M.

Spies and Frau Im Mond are both well worth checking out too.

The only one I've ever seen that I know was his is M. It was amazing.

i just finished M because of this thread
wonderful and genius
i prefer metropolis but m is pretty damn good

M was good, but it felt like it could have used a little tweaking, particularly towards the ending. (I got the same vibe that I get from Ctrl Alt Del, the whole "I'm too good to have other people edit my work" thing.)

I've only seen Metropolis, which I thought was great (barring a certain central performance. You know which one.)

Edit: Sorry, that probably deserves elaboration. I went into the film thinking, probably quite ignorantly, that it couldn't possibly be any good. It'd be too long, or empty, or something. But the thing was great. Damn terrifying at times, and epic, and I loved the central girl (whose name escapes me.). It's a great film, well told.

edited 30th Jul '11 10:37:34 AM by Nicknacks

I just finished watching his two-part "Indian Epic" (The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Tomb of Love)

They're both extremely pretty but otherwise average costume pictures.

My favorite version of Metropolis is the Giorgio Moroder version. I should probably check out the restoration, but the lack of disco in the new score seems like a significant oversight.

I've seen M. Love that movie.

However, I'm taking a class on film noir this semester, and one of the movies we have to watch is Scarlet Street. I watched for about 30 minutes then finally shut it off; it had been that long and it was still all setup, and not in a tense kind of slow-building way - it was just a bunch of people meeting each other and talking to each other and spewing exposition. Boring as hell.