History Creator / FritzLang

Lang left Germany when [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Hitler came to power]] – often claiming that he left the same night Goebbels asked him to join the Nazi party, although all available evidence disputes this – and started over in Hollywood.[[note]]At the same time Lang was leaving Germany, he and von Harbou got divorced; she stayed in Germany and wrote screenplays until the end of the war.[[/note]] While he made significant contributions to the FilmNoir and {{Western}} genres there with such films as ''You Only Live Once'', ''Film/{{Fury|1936}}'', ''Western Union'', ''Film/TheWomanInTheWindow'', and ''Film/TheBigHeat'', Lang felt stifled by the restrictive studio system and returned to postwar West Germany, where he continued to make films until he went blind in the mid-1960s.

* ''Film/TheWomanInTheWindow'' (1944).

* TheRival: Considered Creator/AlfredHitchcock as such, though it may have been one-sided on Lang's part. While Hitchcock admired Lang's movies (enough that he visited Lang on the set of ''Metropolis'' while preparing his own first movie) and readily admitted to his influence, Lang resented the younger director's fame as "the Master of Suspense," feeling Hitchcock had unfairly stolen the title from Lang by copying themes and motifs originated by Lang. Which didn't stop Lang from enjoying at least some of Hitchcock's work; he once named ''Film/{{Rebecca}}'' among his favorite movies and admitted that it influenced his own ''Film/SecretBeyondTheDoor''.

Lang left Germany when [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Hitler came to power]] – often claiming that he left the same night Goebbels asked him to join the Nazi party, although all available evidence disputes this – and started over in Hollywood.[[note]]At the same time Lang was leaving Germany, he and von Harbou got divorced; she stayed in Germany and wrote screenplays for the Nazis until the end of the war.[[/note]] While he made significant contributions to the FilmNoir and {{Western}} genres there with such films as ''You Only Live Once'', ''Film/{{Fury|1936}}'', ''Western Union'', ''Film/TheWomanInTheWindow'', and ''Film/TheBigHeat'', Lang felt stifled by the restrictive studio system and returned to postwar West Germany, where he continued to make films until he went blind in the mid-1960s.

* ''The Return of Frank James'' (1940).

** Even in his American films, he often had this archetype, especially his Thirties films with Creator/SylviaSidney. Later examples include Creator/JoanBennett, Creator/GloriaGrahame, Creator/AnneBaxter, and Creator/IdaLupino. Lang's favorite actress to work with in Hollywood was Creator/BarbaraStanwyck, even though they made just one film together.

** Even in his American films, he often had this archetype, especially his Thirties films with Creator/SylviaSidney. Later examples include Creator/JoanBennett, Creator/GloriaGrahame, Creator/Anne Baxter, and Creator/IdaLupino. Lang's favorite actress to work with in Hollywood was Creator/BarbaraStanwyck, even though they made just one film together.

** Even in his American films, he often had this archetype, especially his Thirties films with Creator/SylviaSidney. Later examples include Creator/JoanBennett, Creator/GloriaGrahame, Creator/Anne Baxter, and Creator/IdaLupino. Lang's favorite actress to work with in Hollywood wasCreator/BarbaraStanwyck, even if they made just one film together.

** Even in his American films, he often had this archetype, especially his thirties films with Sylvia Sidney. Later examples include Creator/JoanBennett, Creator/GloriaGrahame, Anne Baxter, and Creator/IdaLupino. Lang's favorite actress to work with in Hollywood was Creator/BarbaraStanwyck, even if they made one film.

Even if you've never seen one of Fritz Lang's films, chances are that [[PopCulturalOsmosis you've seen a reference to or parody]] of one of them, most likely ''Metropolis'' or ''M''.

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fritzlang_791.jpg]]

Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-German director known for his trope-making films in the Golden Age of German and Hollywood cinema. After trying first to be an architect and then a painter, Lang got into the film industry after serving in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, as both a writer and actor before becoming a director. In the early 1920s, he met his second wife, screenwriter Thea von Harbou, who he collaborated with on all his films for the next decade. This period included ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'', ''Die Nibelungen'', the [[Film/DrMabuseTheGambler Dr. Mabuse series]], and ''Film/{{M}}'', which are probably his most famous works and made him the most famous, influential and celebrated film director of the [[UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic Weimar era]].

Lang left Germany when [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Hitler came to power]] -- often claiming that he left the same night Goebbels asked him to join the Nazi party, though available evidence disputes this -- and started over in Hollywood.[[note]]At the same time Lang was leaving Germany, he and von Harbou got divorced; she stayed in Germany and wrote screenplays for the Nazis until the end of the war.[[/note]] Though Lang made significant contributions to the film noir and western genres with films like ''You Only Live Once'', ''Fury'', ''Western Union'', ''Film/TheWomanInTheWindow'', and ''The Big Heat'', he felt stifled by the restrictive studio system and returned to postwar West Germany, where he continued to make films until he went blind in the mid-1960s.

!!!Films by Fritz Lang include:

!! Tropes created, typified, or recurring in his work include:

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* ''{{Harakiri}}'' (''Madame Butterfly''), 1919: Indulging Lang's love of Japanese culture with a surprising lack of stereotypes.

[[index]]

* TheBully: Lang had a reputation for being hard to work with, and he often put the stars of his films through very rough treatment. Two notable examples:
** For ''Metropolis'', a robot suit was made using a moldable synthetic wood putty, sculpted onto a plaster body cast of Brigitte Helm. Lang insisted that she wear it for the scene in which Rotwang presents the robot to Fredersen and shot nine days' worth of takes, even though the suit pinched and scratched Helm whenever she moved. She eventually asked Lang why she had to play the robot, since no one would ever know whether or not she was in the suit. Lang simply replied, "I'd know."
** For ''M'', Lang shot more than 20 takes of the scene in which Hans Beckert is dragged into the distillery to face a "trial" by the criminals who have been hunting him. By the last one, Peter Lorre (the actor playing the character) was begging him to stop. Lang shot Beckert's monologue scene immediately afterward, with Lorre drawing on how shaken and unnerved he was.

[[caption-width-right:280:A HighClassGlass ''and'' an EyepatchOfPower.[[note]]Unfortunately, [[Film/YoungFrankenstein not on the same eye.]][[/note]]]]

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* ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'', 1927: The most famous silent film of all time and codifier of countless tropes. Its influence can be seen everywhere from ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' to ''Film/BladeRunner''.

* ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'', 1927: The most famous silent film of all time and codifier of countless tropes. Its influence can be seen everywhere from {{Superman}} to ''Film/BladeRunner''.

* CanonWelding: ''M'' and the ''Dr. Mabuse'' films take place in a SharedUniverse due to the presence of Detective Lohmann in both.

* TheBully: Lang had a reputation for being hard to work with, and he often put the stars of his films through very rough treatment. For example:

** For ''Metropolis'', a robot suit was made using a moldable synthetic wood putty, sculpted onto a plaster cast of Brigitte Helm. Lang insisted that she wear it for the scene in which Rotwang presents the robot to Fredersen and shot nine days' worth of takes, even though the suit pinched and scratched Helm whenever she moved. She eventually asked Lang why she had to play the robot, since no one would ever know whether or not she was in the suit. Lang simply replied, "I'd know."

** For ''Metropolis'', a robot suit was made using a plaster cast of Brigitte Helm's body and a moldable synthetic wood putty. Lang insisted that Helm wear it for the scene in which Rotwang presents the robot to Fredersen and shot nine days' worth of takes, even though the suit pinched and scratched Helm whenever she moved. She eventually asked Lang why she had to play the role, since no one would ever know whether or not she was in the suit. Lang simply replied, "I'd know."

* ''Film/{{M}}'', 1931: His first talkie and one of his most famous films, about a serial child killer. The story is largely shown from his point of view.

Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-German director known for his trope-making films in the Golden Age of German and Hollywood cinema. After trying first to be an architect and then a painter, Lang got into the film industry after serving in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, as both a writer and actor before becoming a director. In the early 1920's he met his second wife, screenwriter Thea von Harbou, who he collaborated with on all his films for the next decade. This period included ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'', ''Die Nibelungen'', the [[Film/DrMabuseTheGambler Dr. Mabuse series]], and ''Film/{{M}}'', which are probably his most famous works and made him the most famous, influential and celebrated film director of the [[UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic Weimar era]].

Lang left Germany when [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Hitler came to power]] -- often claiming that he left the same night Goebbels asked him to join the Nazi party, though available evidence disputes this -- and started over in Hollywood.[[note]]At the same time Lang was leaving Germany, he and von Harbou got divorced; she stayed in Germany and wrote screenplays for the Nazis until the end of the war.[[/note]] Though Lang made significant contributions to the film noir and western genres with films like ''You Only Live Once'', ''Fury'', ''Western Union'', ''Film/TheWomanInTheWindow'', and ''The Big Heat'', he felt stifled by the restrictive studio system and returned to postwar West Germany, where he continued to make films until he went blind in the mid-1960's.

* ''Die Spinnen'' (''The Spiders''), 1919-1920: An early adventure serial; only the first two parts out of four were ever filmed. Currently the earliest surviving work of Lang. A MessageInABottle reveals the existence of a LostWorld and its treasures. A sportsman from San Francisco embarks on a treasure-hunting expedition, but has to compete with the eponymous criminal organization to get there.

** This is especially the case in ''Destiny'', ''Die Nibelungen'' (which makes Kriemhild and not Siegfried the hero), ''Spione'', while his film ''Frau im Mond'' shows women astronauts far before rocket science, space travel and gender barriers would make it happen in the Soviet Union and the United States.
** Even in his American films, he often had this archetype, especially his thirties films with Sylvia Sidney. Later examples include Creator/JoanBennett, Creator/GloriaGrahame, Anne Baxter and Creator/IdaLupino. Lang's favorite actress to work with in Hollywood was Creator/BarbaraStanwyck, even if they made one film.

* ''Film/FrauImMond'' (''Woman in the Moon''), 1929: Lang's final silent, a journey to the moon with uncanny resemblances to the actual Apollo missions.

Even if you've never seen one of Fritz Lang's films, chances are that you've seen a reference to or parody of one of them, most likely ''Metropolis'' or ''M''.