Customer Reviews

Fritz Lang's M

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"M" is one the rare films where viewing it is compulsory. Director Fritz Lang has you in his grip from first frame to last. This is essentially two films. A child murderer is on the loose in Weimar Germany. Panic and paranoia is rampant among the populace. The police are using state-of-the-art(for the time) techniques to track the killer. The underworld is in a lather. Their efforts to nab the killer are not so much altruistic. Rather he's bad for business. The killer's identity is no secret. As the public speculates as to who the murderer could be Lang reveals pudgy, fey Hans Beckert(Peter Lorre). The second half of the film is a treatise on vigilanteism. It is here that Lang demonstrates his belief in civil justice even in the face of the worst atrocity. Beckert, pleaing for his life, manages to rend your heart while admitting to his monstrosity. There are many powerful images on display here none the least the statement that closes the film by the mother of one of Beckert's victims. This film would be a good pairing with another Lang film that concerns itself with mob rule, "Fury".

Probably the first sound masterpiece. Though it's one of the first to use the new technology, it doesn't feel like it, as the camera is fluid and expressive and the sound effects are utilized perfectly and are even essential to the story. Lang's direction is superb, amping up the suspense and terror by using the cinematography, lighting, and sound together to create a very tense and distinctive atmosphere. Peter Lorre is fantastic in what is really the lead role of the film, making us feel sympathy and pity for a horrific child-murderer. The combination of German expressionism, film-noir tendencies, and social commentary that Lang injects into the film makes for a brilliant and gripping work. Simply a terrific film all-around.

A must-see for any film noir enthusiast. The portrayal of the murderer is way before it's time, clearly showing the struggle between the two opposing sides of the main character. Anyone who loves Peter Lorre (yeah, I know there's a few of us out there!) will love this movie. His reaction when he realizes that he is a marked man is priceless... and it will be a long time before you'll be able to listen to "The Hall of the Mountain King" without getting chills.

This film is about a serial child murder who has killed 8 children in Berlin, Germany. Otto Wernick plays Insp.Karl Lohman the officer tracking the murder. Peter Lorre plays Hans Beckman a sociopath who uses insanty as a ruse. The director Fritz Lang in this film shows how insane the legal defense of insanity is. The serial child murder Hans Beckman could be declared insane spend a few years in an insane asylum. Later, he is delcared sane and let out so he can murder more children. This is a very well made film and it deals with a problem we still have.

Excellent picture (Only drawback is the English subtitles) The ability by Fritz Lang to portray certain events without showing the event, the catchy little tune(whistle) in the background and the excellent job done by Peter Lorre in the title role.

I was so happy to find this movie---I had started watching it once on IFC, and had to leve the house less than halfway through.

This is a great movie. If you do not own this title by Fritz Lang than you are missing out for sure.

You can see this films influence in so much of American cinema today that you have to see this so that you can appreciate what it has done for the film industry.

A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The film opens with a circle of children playing a game that involves a rhyme about a child murderer. This foreshadows the appearance of Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre), a serial killer who preys on children in 1930s Berlin. Initially the audience does not see his face; they merely see his shadow and shots of his body, hearing him whistle "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (ger. In der Halle des Bergkönigs) as he buys a balloon from a blind man and gives it to a little girl named Elsie Beckmann. In the next scene her mother searches frantically as the audience sees the balloon flying up into the telephone lines.

Meanwhile, the police, under Inspector Karl Lohmann, pursue him using such modern police techniques as fingerprinting and handwriting analysis. They also stage raids and round up the usual suspects.

As the police do their work, the criminal underworld of Berlin becomes increasingly concerned about the murder spree. Not only is it bad for business to have the police sniffing around, but it is insulting to be lumped into the same category as a child killer.

Eventually, a race develops between the police and the criminals to catch the killer, who is completely unaware of what is happening. He makes the mistake of whistling again near the same blind balloon salesman. The salesman tells one of the criminals, who tails the killer and, desperate for a way to track him, manages to mark a large letter M onto the killer's coat in chalk.

Now able to track the killer, the criminals pursue him and, after a lengthy search of an office building, finally catch him, bringing him before a kangaroo court. There, Beckert delivers an impassioned monologue, saying that he doesn't want to commit these crimes, and that he should not be punished for being insane. The monologue ends with the line (delivered by Lorre in a near scream) "Who knows what it's like to be me?"

As the criminals are on the point of killing Beckert, the police arrive, snatching him from their grip.

The final image of the film is that of five judges about to give Beckert his sentence. Before the sentence is announced, the shot cuts to three of the victim's mothers crying, with Elsie's mother delivering the moral of the film: that killing the murderer will do no good, and that parents must watch their children more closely.