Fritz Lang (Da Capo Paperback) [Paperback]

Lotte Eisner (Author)

Book Description

Series: Da Capo Paperback | Publication Date: August 22, 1986

Fritz Lang, almost alone among his fellow continental refugees, was able to make outstanding films in both his native Germany and his adopted Hollywood. The director of Metropolis and M and Dr. Mabuse came to America in 1934 and began a long and distinguished career that included such films as You Only Live Once, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, Ministry of Fear, Rancho Notorious, and The Big Heat. He is a key figure in the history of film noir, bringing to the screen a fatalist's vision of a menacing world of criminals, misfits, and helpless victims, and providing a distinctive visual look to every film he directed. This film-by-film study of Lang's oeuvre by one of the great film historians combines personal insight—Eisner and Lang had a long standing friendship—with deep historical understanding of Lang's roots in German culture and cinema. Both true modernists, Eisner and Lang are perfectly matched, as this book clearly demonstrates.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)

About the Author

Lotte H. Eisner was born in Berlin, leaving Germany in 1933 to become a French citizen. Associated for many years with the Cinematheque Francaise, she was the author of The Haunted Screen and Murnau.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 22, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306802716
• ISBN-13: 978-0306802713
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #986,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In-depth Fritz with pictures, December 25, 2001

By 

bernie "xyzzy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fritz Lang (Hardcover)

You already now something of Fritz Lang or you would not be reading this. Lotte Eisner goes further in depth in which Fritz is and what he has accomplished through the years.
There is a small Fritz Lang: Autobiography

Then the book is chronologically divided between the German years 1919-1933 and the American period of 1936-1956. Then it goes to the German years of 1959-60.
Because I have a large collection of German silent films this book is a must in helping understand those messages that are not intrinsic to the viewer.

10 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Void of any real content, June 17, 2005

By 

MortIIsManiac (A dark dungeon in Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fritz Lang (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

I picked this book up awhile back, it was pretty thick so I looked forward to reading it. Once I got around to it I was pretty suprised. The book lists ever movie Lang made and then gives 4 to 5 pages of text and pictures. The majority of this text just describes scenes from the movie. Now, the question is A) If you havnt watched one of the movies why would you spoil it by reading about its scenes? and B) If you have watched one of the movies why would you read a description of something you've already seen? The sections of the book that are unlike this a very short and hardly worth looking at. To me this seems like a cofee-table book, only much longer, and less usefull.