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Special Features
- Theatrical trailer
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Tough stuff from director Fritz Lang (M), making his first American film with this 1936 story of an innocent man (Spencer Tracy) who escapes a lynch mob and then orchestrates his apparent murder at their hands. Tracy is superb, and the film is uncompromising, until studio interference takes some of the wind out of Lang's sails right at the end. But as the portrait of a character who comes to reflect the destiny he is trying to avoid, this is still essential Lang and a pre-noir classic. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
After being falsely accused of kidnapping, Spencer Tracy is put in a small town jail and becomes the focus of a vigilante mob set on lynching him. Striking drama from director Fritz Lang (his American debut) criticizes mob mentality and features superior performances from Tracy, Sylvia Sidney, Walter Abel, and Walter Brennan. 92 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; audio commentary; theatrical trailer. NOTE: This Title Is Out Of Print; Limit One Per Customer.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Fury" was legendary German director Fritz Lang's first American film. He spoke English, but not well enough at the time to write fluid dialogue, so Lang worked on the script with writer Bartlett Cormack, who did the actual writing. Lang and Cormack based this morality tale of mob psychology and revenge on a story outline by Norman Krasna entitled "Mob Rule", but they incorporated some elements of a real lynching case that had recently occurred in San Jose, California. Lang's intention was to give the film a realistic, documentary feel. "Fury" gives the impression of looking at the laws and customs of the United States through foreign eyes, which, of course, it is, but I don't know if Lang meant that to be so evident.
Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy) is a man very much in love with his fiancée Katherine (Sylvia Sydney). The couple are eager to get married but don't yet have enough savings. Katherine takes a job in another city to earn more money, while Joe works hard in Chicago. After over a year of this arrangement, Joe has saved enough money to marry Katherine, and he sets out in his new car to join her. But he is intercepted by police en route and arrested on suspicion of being part of a kidnapping gang. He is held in a small town jail pending further investigation, but gossip spreads of the arrest, and an angry mob descends on the jail. When the mob is unable to break into the cells, they burn and dynamite the jail. Joe is thought to have died in the fire. But he escaped and is determined to avenge his attempted murder by seeing that the lynch mob is prosecuted for murder.
"Fury" isn't the least bit subtle in its message. It states its morals outright, but that doesn't undermine its power. The film is neatly divided into 2 parts: Part one concerns the Fury of the Mob, and part two is about Joe's Fury. The fury of the mob is transferred to its victim, and, although Joe's anger is more justified, "Fury" asserts that it is just as corrosive. At one point, the town barber delivers a monologue on violent impulse. The entertainment value that the public finds in both the lynching and subsequent trial is emphasized. And the state's Governor is reluctant to answer the Sheriff's request for National Guardsmen to protect the jail on account of election politics. The film is generally complimentary of the justice system, but scathingly critical of "mob justice" and vigilantism. "Fury" wasn't a failure when it was released, but neither was it a big success. Looking at it now, I wonder if that may have been because the film is critical of its audience. That's always a recipe for dismal box office. In any case, "Fury" is a smart "social conscience" film of the 1930s that doesn't align itself with any political party or group.
The DVD (Warner Brothers 2005 release): The picture and sound quality are good, but I don't think this is a restored print due to occasional small white specks. The flaws would hardly be noticeable unless you were looking for them, though. There is a theatrical trailer and an audio commentary by Peter Bogdanovich and director Fritz Lang. Yes, Fritz Lang! The commentary alternates between Peter Bogdanovich discussing Lang and the film in the present day and an interview with Fritz Lang that Bogdanovich did in mid-1965. Lang talks about his career, writing and filming "Fury", and differences between American and German filmmaking. Lang's commentary is quite a treat and very interesting. Bogdanovich is also interesting, as he fills in some of the gaps in Lang's comments. The audio commentary is definitely worth a listen. Subtitles for the film are available in English, Spanish, and French.
Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy) is a man very much in love with his fiancée Katherine (Sylvia Sydney). The couple are eager to get married but don't yet have enough savings. Katherine takes a job in another city to earn more money, while Joe works hard in Chicago. After over a year of this arrangement, Joe has saved enough money to marry Katherine, and he sets out in his new car to join her. But he is intercepted by police en route and arrested on suspicion of being part of a kidnapping gang. He is held in a small town jail pending further investigation, but gossip spreads of the arrest, and an angry mob descends on the jail. When the mob is unable to break into the cells, they burn and dynamite the jail. Joe is thought to have died in the fire. But he escaped and is determined to avenge his attempted murder by seeing that the lynch mob is prosecuted for murder.
"Fury" isn't the least bit subtle in its message. It states its morals outright, but that doesn't undermine its power. The film is neatly divided into 2 parts: Part one concerns the Fury of the Mob, and part two is about Joe's Fury. The fury of the mob is transferred to its victim, and, although Joe's anger is more justified, "Fury" asserts that it is just as corrosive. At one point, the town barber delivers a monologue on violent impulse. The entertainment value that the public finds in both the lynching and subsequent trial is emphasized. And the state's Governor is reluctant to answer the Sheriff's request for National Guardsmen to protect the jail on account of election politics. The film is generally complimentary of the justice system, but scathingly critical of "mob justice" and vigilantism. "Fury" wasn't a failure when it was released, but neither was it a big success. Looking at it now, I wonder if that may have been because the film is critical of its audience. That's always a recipe for dismal box office. In any case, "Fury" is a smart "social conscience" film of the 1930s that doesn't align itself with any political party or group.
The DVD (Warner Brothers 2005 release): The picture and sound quality are good, but I don't think this is a restored print due to occasional small white specks. The flaws would hardly be noticeable unless you were looking for them, though. There is a theatrical trailer and an audio commentary by Peter Bogdanovich and director Fritz Lang. Yes, Fritz Lang! The commentary alternates between Peter Bogdanovich discussing Lang and the film in the present day and an interview with Fritz Lang that Bogdanovich did in mid-1965. Lang talks about his career, writing and filming "Fury", and differences between American and German filmmaking. Lang's commentary is quite a treat and very interesting. Bogdanovich is also interesting, as he fills in some of the gaps in Lang's comments. The audio commentary is definitely worth a listen. Subtitles for the film are available in English, Spanish, and French.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
A very unusual M-G-M film from 1936: because of its theme of social consciousness, it seems much more a likely candidate for Warner Brothers. It's a dilly with an outstanding performance by Tracy as the wrong man: En route to see his fiancee, Katherine (Sylvia Sidney) Joe Wheeler (Spencer Tracy) is arrested as a suspected kidnapper and is jailed pending trial. The evidence against him is strickly circumstantial: he possess a bill from a ransom statement. Then a mob forms around the jail, but Sheriff Ellis (Walter Brennan) manages to disband them & send them home... And that's all I'm going to give out plot-wise. Obviously, there is a whole lot more to this famous film in which Fritz Lang made is American directorial debut. This was Lang's favourite American film - and rightfully so: it demonstrates his directorial genius in wasting NOT A FRAME of film, telling his story with sharp cross-cutting between victims and tormentors, while unravelling the mindless and murderous passion of a mob out of control. Sylvia Sidney is excellent as usual as Katherine: this was her sole role for M-G-M. The film awakened America to what the reality of mob violence means. The original working titles for the film were THE MOB & MOB RULE. For a great companion piece, view the excellent Lang production YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE with Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney made the next year, in 1937: it's available on video.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
The film begins as a fairly routine romance: Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney fall in love, are forced to separate for a time, and plan their reunion. All goes well until Tracy is arrested on a kidnapping charge. When Tracy is taken to the small-town jail, the local gossip begins. From this point, the film becomes a gritty, raw study of mob violence. The direction and action are relentless. Watching Tracy's reaction to the happenings around him is one of the pleasures of the film. Compare the way the local people act to the recent acts of violence we see today. (Have things changed much?) FURY is powerful, forceful, and memorable.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
'FURY' IS TWO THUMBS UP!
It deals with the fury of a mob which - unfortunately, happened in the States since the settling of the WEST. Spencer Tracy gives one of his best performance. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Hugo da Costa
1.0 out of 5 stars
This film clicks nowhere, a waste of Spencer Tracy
This film does not work at all. Toto doesn't even help it. A very poorly conceived and executed plot. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Alan K. Sumrall
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Spencer Tracy Movie
Recommend to anyone who is a Spencer Tracy fan. This movie is a little different for him...shows what a great actor he was.
Published 6 months ago by Jeaneen Heiskell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!
This is a good movie; what movies should be about. Spencer Tracey's is at his best!!! If you like old movies than this is a must see.
Published 6 months ago by Arlene Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lang's First US Film is a Classic
Fury is Fritz Lang's first US film. Lang was one of the fathers of film noir and was called the "Master of Darkness" by the BFI. Read more
Published on July 4, 2010 by Dr. James Gardner
4.0 out of 5 stars
A nice twist on the `morality tale'; until...
Being a gigantic fan of Spencer Tracy, I was chomping at the bit to watch this film when it aired on TCM yesterday. Read more
Published on April 6, 2010 by Andrew Ellington
5.0 out of 5 stars
A seethingly-angry and ultimately great film from Fritz Lang
The Bottom Line:
A twisted and incredibly interesting film about an ordinary man (you know he's ordinary because he's played by Spencer Tracy) who is seemingly roasted... Read more
A twisted and incredibly interesting film about an ordinary man (you know he's ordinary because he's played by Spencer Tracy) who is seemingly roasted... Read more
Published on October 25, 2009 by One-Line Film Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The FURY of Fritz Lang
Director Fritz Lang's first American film deals with mob psychology (not unlike M (1931)), the morality of vengeance, and the fragility of our social fabric. Read more
Published on March 9, 2009 by ronzo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mob Mentality Yes, But This Film is Also About "The Other"
I agree with the many reviewers who focus on the lynching aspect of the morality tale spun so expertly by Fritz Lang. Read more
Published on July 24, 2007 by Todd and In Charge
5.0 out of 5 stars
INDICTMENT OF MOB RULE!
German born diector Fritz Lang's first American film tells the story of how mass hysteria can led to tragic results. Read more
Published on April 17, 2006 by Arlene Raquel
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