Filmmaker reacts to M (1931) for the FIRST TIME!
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- čas přidán 4. 09. 2022
- Hope you enjoy my filmmaker reaction to M. :D
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Original Movie: M (1931)
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This one was an absolute filmmaking masterclass.
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Have a great day everyone!
YASSSS!!!! I've been hoping you'd do this one. 🙏
Have you ever warched The Nigth of the Hunter? You wouldn't believe how creepy, beautiful and magic this movie is, and the photography? Every frame should be in a museum.
This one stuck with me from film school. UFA Studios built absolutely everything. The shots were also extremely intentional because sync sound for a feature film was brand new (1929) and an entire art form was created without it up to that point.
@james vs cinema i have been enjoying a lot of your videos keep up the good work, you should react to metropolis, its a silent film directed by fritz lang.
@@susannariera Yes! I'll add another vote for Night of the Hunter, a true classic and an absolute *must* for film lovers.
Fritz Lang was a genius. This was his FIRST non-silent film and his use of sound is masterful! Peter Lorre acts his ass off in this movie! So glad you like it.
"I did not expect to be subjected to this smart of a film." Perfect line, man.
It’s an incredible feeling. Inspiring honestly!
To me it's sad to hear that young people are so far removed from the foundations of our culture that they are surprised by it.
No disrespect to James, it's more a comment on modern pop culture and education.
@@SierraSierraFoxtrot And much credit and respect to James for being willing to explore where few millennials dare to tread - Into the realm of classic cinema. Back in the days of B&W is where the art form was invented, and there were a lot of very smart storytellers back then who invented the visual grammar, the sound and artistic design, the editorial art, and the literary cannon of film that we all know and reference today ("Here's looking at you kid"). So much of what we consume today is rooted in what came before, and once you know the original source materials you see them being quoted and given homage over and over again in the films being made today. I don't know how many baby carriages I've seen bouncing down a staircase in the middle of a gun fight, and I smile and think of Sergei Eisenstein each time I see this this spectacle in a new movie. Keep up the classics James, all of the modern giants of film making totally nerded out on these old films when they were young and aspiring up and comers like you.
@@SierraSierraFoxtrotI'd say its always been the case that most people have no interest in history or culture, and, respectfully, criticising just the young people of today is a little unfair. Case in point, I'd wager that most people, of whatever generation, unless serious film buffs, have never even heard of "M", let alone seen it.
Popular music is what? 75-odd years old?, and film just over 100. Most people, not just youngsters, are probably only aware of music or films from a certain part of that, relevant to their age. Conversely, I'd say a lot of people born in the 60s, like me, would be hard pressed to recognise a post 2000 piece of pop music. How well would anyone of my generation be able to speak about popular culture from a similar time gap before we were born, say 1900? Does that make us culturally ignorant?
By all means, criticise people who aren't prepared to go outside of their "zone" (and especially those who won't watch a film because, "it's in black and white"), but there are any number of young people (well, younger than me!) on CZcams reacting to older films and music, so taking an active interest in the past. Let's take heart that there will be people of every generation that are open to discovering things for the first time, and enjoy the fact that these films can, even now, surprise people of any age on first viewing.
Regards!
@@SierraSierraFoxtrot I wouldn't say "modern pop culture." When I was a teenager in the 1970s, neither my peers nor my parents had ever heard of this film. Certainly it's foundational in film culture, but it's not part of "the foundations of our culture" (whatever "our" means) except in the influence it had on other filmmakers.
This movie is ninety years old and remains the absolute standard for how we're still editing our films today
The final fifteen minutes are the dictionary definition of compelling. By far, my favorite use of social commentary in a film.
The police were desperate for a suspect. The raid allowed them to round up most of the known criminals in town. It also gave the impression the police were doing something, even though they had no legitimate suspect.
German directors made up a large percentage of filmmaking innovations from the early 1910s through the early 1940s, and Fritz Lang was right at the top of that game. M is my favorite picture of his. It’s the granddaddy of psychological thrillers, and is one of the top 5 in that sub genre. So glad you appreciated the brilliant shot composition and script.
He was Ashkenazi Jew/German. He had to flee when his wife (and co-writer), Thea Harbou, joined the Nazi Party. I think it’s important to remember the Jewish side, as it helps to understand some of what he included in his films.
Fun fact: while Peter Lorre was shooting this over several nights, he was starring in a musical comedy during the day!😲
Anyway, thank you for this. This is one of my all-time favorites and Lang & Lorre were great together!
Fritz Lang was a hell of a director. He'd already produced a bunch of absolute masterpieces before movies had sound. Even though he struggled after coming to Hollywood, he still made some great films then, too.
The Big Heat is incredibly stylish, probably one of the best film noirs ever made.
@@jculver1674 Very violent and graphic for the time as well.
Destiny, Die Nibelungen, Metropolis, Woman in the Moon, M, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Fury, Man Hunt, and The Big Heat. The list goes on.
Love that you’re exploring the classics. Metropolis is an obvious recommendation considering the director, but you may like the Anime version too.
"M" is a classic, through and through. Fritz Lang's direction is top-notch, and Peter Lorre is so compelling as the killer, you can't take your eyes off him (he became such an iconic figure of creepiness, to the point that his persona became used for comic effect in parodies). This movie uses sound to elucidate (e.g., the killer's trademark whistling "Hall of the Mountain King" by Grieg), whereas in Lang's next movie, "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse," he uses sound to obfuscate. If you're interested, Lang actually has some brief scenes as an actor (playing what else, a film director) in Jean Luc Godard's 1963 film "Contempt" (which was shot in beautiful Capri).
This movie and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse together are a fantastic prophetic portrait of the psyche of Nazi Germany.
I have to add to the suggestions Fritz Lang's first American movie: "Fury" with Spencer Tracy from 1936, which explores similar themes.
I absolutely adore this film! It's aged so well and is still so eloquent and devastating.
Peter Lorre's performance is in this, as the murderer, is stunning.
This movie is SO complicated and so good! Peter Lorre (the guy who played the murderer) Is an incredible actor. He moved to america and was in a lot of hollywood movies as well, and some comedies even. He's actually got really good comedic timing. If you want to see him in a hella dark comedy I suggest watching Arsenic and Old Lace. Its a really good movie
Some examples of movies he was in: "The Maltese Falcon", "Casablanca" and "The Raven" (a horror comedy starring Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and a very young Jack Nicholson).
Yes, please watch Arsenic and old lace. It's a lovely dark comedy
I know am a year late, but, YES! Please, watch "Arsenic and Old Lace", it is such a good movie!
This movie blew me away, I was shocked by how good it was.
Mad props for watching classic Lang!He did another excellent sound flick in Germany,The Testament of Dr Mabuse,that is worth checking out!
IIRC, for the scene where the camera went "through" the window, they had the camera on a wooden plank, pulled the window aside with a string at the last second and pushed the camera through. Fritz Lang truly was a revolutionary filmmaker - and this movie is definitely among my all-time favorites.
The murderer's whistling (of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite) is as far as I recall also the first use of a "Leitmotif" / musical motif for a movie-character (especially diagetically) - something Wagner had introduced to music only ~ half a century earlier.
My favorite part is still Peter Lorre's (who is also in Casablanca) defense at the end - where he basically tells the criminals "who are you to judge me - you have a choice in what you do... you could just as well have an honest job - but you chose to steal, hurt and kill for profit - I am compelled by my demons". Such a powerful moment!
Similar trick in The Empire Strikes Back.
When the camera moves between the legs of the walker, they move in until the legs are outside the frame, then take away the model to make space to continue the camera movement. Since it was a stop motion model and they just invented a robot controlled camera arm, the cut in the middle is super smooth.
Holy crap, I've thought about suggesting this movie to you before, but I was like "he'd never watch it." I should have known! Fritz Lang and Peter Lorre, what a powerful combo.
EDIT: Since you asked for some history, here are a few thoughts. This movie was made right in the middle of a rich art movement in Germany that happened before WWII. Music, theatre, film, dance, everything was thriving and growing by powerful leaps and bounds. What could have come of that if the Nazis had not put a stop to it is anybody's guess. (I've mentioned the show "Babylon Berlin" to you before, that show takes place during this same era and I highly recommend it.)
This was a very early sound film. The first "talkies" came out in 1927, just four years before "M".
The guy who plays the killer, Peter Lorre, had to flee Germany because he was part Jewish and restart his film career in Hollywood. IIRC, he had to memorize his first American films phonetically because he didn't speak English back then. He went on to have a great career, starring in classics like "Casablanca" and "Arsenic and Old Lace".
Director Fritz Lang was extremely influential, perhaps best remembered for "Metropolis." He also fled Germany because of the Nazis a few years after this film was released, mostly because of censorship and because they wanted him to do propaganda films.
This comment deserves an up.
Babylon Berlin is so dope! I’m terrified for the new season now that we’re in the 1930s!
You can actually see the faint edge of the glass moving leftwards as the camera moves in, but it was itself an influential shot, for example, its use in Citizen Kane 10 years later.
And I also very strongly recommend Babylon Berlin, which covers much the same time in Berlin. Its 3rd series, in particular, focuses on the artistic scene in Germany then, again pre-Nazi (although the Nazis are a constant presence, just not yet in power). The diversity of artistic movements is portrayed so well.
Second, the point you make about whether the mentally ill criminal should be punished with treatment and imprisonment or with execution hit home for me. Forty years ago this week (I didn’t realize that until I just typed it out…), my aunt killed herself and my three cousins. To this day, I don’t know what I would have wanted her punishment to be if she had survived. I know what her actions did to my uncle and our entire family so the desire for revenge is there, but also is the knowledge that she was definitely mentally impaired and under severe stress. I don’t think I’ll ever resolve that issue in my head.
There's sick people; and then there's sick people.
This is a very fundamental question within any justice system around the globe. The underlying issue is determinism. To which degree are we free to chose. It's difficult to answer, because it's a matter of personal beliefs. It's also a conflict between approaching justice in terms of harm reduction/punishment and attempting to resocialize offenders or in this case treat the ill.
To me there is no definite right or wrong, but I'm still having a position on this matter. It's drastic and harsh, but we live in a world with limited resources and if some people have commited unforgiving crimes, why should the society in which it happened and by proxy the victims of said crime invest their resources towards a risky attempt of either resocializing or therapy.
To me the societal focus should be on the victims and their pain, rather than the perpetrator. The only important information from the perp should be how the person became a criminal, in order to possibly avoid more crimes.
We watched this in film school especially for the sound design. It was one of the first movies using sound, and Lang uses it very deliberately, from the very first moments: with the mother's call for her daughter ringing out over shot sof empty staircases and washrooms; with the children playing games with gruesome rhymes foreshadowing the action; with the voice of Peter Lorre heard before we see anything but his silhouette ; and sounds keep having tremendous imact in this film, with the blind man identifying the murderers by his voice and whistling his melody... this film not so much revolutionized sound as is invented large pieces of cinematic sound language and conventions that are used to this day.
Also, I personally feel like Joaquin Phoenix watched Peter Lorre before playing the Joker... watcing yourself in the mirror and trying to contort your face into a grin is just such an iconic shot.
I’ll split this into two posts. First, thank you for reacting to this amazing film! This has been one of my favorite movies since I first saw it over twenty years ago. The subject matter, the directing, the cinematography, the editing, and omg, the Peter Lorre!! Just all of it is so damn good. I first saw it on a low-budget public television channel with a crappy print and was mesmerized. Then I bought the Criterion Collection dvd and had my mind blown all over again. It’s the second oldest film I own and one of the few non-English language movies I have on dvd.
For me, it’s a great example of the best of the transitional phase between silents and talkies. Hollywood chose to revert to static cameras to incorporate the sound recording, but Lang retains the beauty of the late silent films’ camera work and doesn’t worry so much about using a lot of dialogue in the more complexly visual scenes. I also appreciate European directors’ willingness to use actors who were not beautiful by Hollywood standards (also see The Passion of Joan of Arc from 1927, the oldest film I own on dvd).
Again, thanks so much for this!
Oooh, James should def watch Jeanne d'Arc! One of the most gut-wrenching, beautiful films of all time.
This is why you're my favorite reactor on CZcams! You're not afraid to explore much older/ foreign films despite less views or up votes. There is so much rich and fulfilling movie history waiting out there, and one more person diving in to the deep end is always welcomed!
Personally, I gotta say that this and Metropolis are 2 of the best films ever made. There are others of course, but these 2 are at the front of the line for me. Fritz Lang was a genius.
Agree!!
The testament of Dr Mabuse and the Nibelungs
Oh, and I forgot that Peter Lorre is the Steve Buscemi of his day. A funny looking guy who became a big screen success who earned his accolades based on his acting abilities, not his stunning good looks. This movie made him famous in Hollywood, and helped him escape nazi germany. He had a great career, now remembered for things like Casablanca, and various Warner Bros. cartoons parodies.
Didn't you recognize a very young Peter Lorre (of Maltese Falcon ) fame as the lead.... a career in the USA of many great horror and dramatic films....
German cinema of that era was considered the world's finest.
Great choice here! I'd definitely recommend the same director Fritz Lang's film Metropolis. It's masterpiece levels of great
Noted!! Thanks for the recommendation
@@JamesVSCinema I guarantee you will see a ton of shots that you have already seen referenced in other movies. It's one of the most referenced movies ever made as far as shots being lifted.
The trial scene being 90 years old and still being so prescient is unbelievable
One thing that always strikes me about M is the modern attitudes toward crime and mental illness, especially during the "trial." The arguments against putting him in an asylum and in favor of killing him are the same that you hear today about people of questionable sanity.
I love the sequences that show parallel meetings of the police and the criminal underground. They all want to find the murderer and stop him, and the question becomes who will get to him first.
The shot at 16:44 where Hans Beckert sees the rogues gallery of accusers is one of my favorites. It's so chilling. One of the things that makes it work is lack of sound and motion. There's just an ocean of angry faces. Many of today's filmmakers could learn something about the value of silence and stillness at critical moments.
Peter Lorre was typecast as a creep, and he was good at it. He was also in Casablanca, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Maltese Falcon. and the 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much.
Except we’ve gone backwards. Now there a very few asylums and the insane are released to be the homeless because politicians decided it was much cheaper to just hand out a month’s worth of pills.
I love your openness to new cinematic experiences! It’s kind of rare among CZcams film reactors.
The complexity of the film’s moral vision is impressive. I think it locates the responsibility for criminality in the society as a whole as well as in the individual.
This is a modern approach influenced by all the devello
Bit of trivia: Peter Lorre couldn't whistle so that's director Fritz Lang doing the whistling.
Fantastic reaction! This video is living proof there is no expiration date on great art and, in fact, that's the best thing about it: it's ability to transcend time and communicate. You will find mindblowing stuff going right back to the earliest days of film, the entire history is full of surprises....and DEFINITELY "M" is one of those uber-great movies that just never grow old. You just hit another one such movie, "Paths Of Glory" the other day.....and now this one?! LOVE this channel, James! What a journey it's been since I first subscribed!
Appreciate the love so much!! Thank you!
I sometimes wonder if audiences at the time understood what they were seeing was the beginning of a new era for cinema. Would they notice things like the incredible editing or would the fact it was so good go unnoticed as an audience is immersed in the story? Also, can never praise Peter Lorre's performance enough, the guy absolutely went all in
Fritz Lang was a badass filmmaker back in the day, both in the silent and 'talkie' eras. He made a bucket load of masterpieces in Germany and took his talents to Hollywood later. Absolutely fantastic. Lang also made a series of films covering an insane criminal- Dr. Mabuse- and also features the same actor reprising his role as Inspector Lohmann.
Terrific reaction, James. As usual, you so quickly pick up on so many things - amazingly so on your first viewing. I was so very happy that M made it through on the Patreon poll, so many (and varied) great opinions come together there. My thanks to all who voted for it, and your reactions were so appropriate, which is why many of us have been following you for a long time. Looking forward to more great viewings ahead.
Much appreciate sir! 🙏🏽
F***ing true classic. From camera work to content and subject matter, it is a true study into film. Peter Lorre is incredible.
This movie has one of my favorite opening scenes of all time. That whistling, the shadow, and that mom calling out; and of course that camera work, all unrivaled by most movies
So amazing that someone is finally reacting to this -- simply one of the greatest movies of all time. Thank you, James!! As you said, made in 1931, at the very beginning of the sound era, when most other directors were keeping the camera still and had no idea how to use voices and SFX cinematically, Fritz Lang showed how it should be done.
OMG YEEEESSSS! I love M so much. it's such an absolute POWERHOUSE of a movie!!
"M" was such an innovative movie. You mentioned many other movies with similar scenes as in "M". You have to be aware that "M" was the first for using many techniques that are common today, like split screen, or voice-over from the off and countless other things. All these are common now, but Fritz Lang invented them for "M". "M" is also in many lists of the best 100 movies of all time, often in the top 10 even. And rightfully so.
As to the scene with "you are waking up the lice": This is inside the headquarter of the Beggar's Guild, so it is not surprising there are lice around.
A word about the English subtitles to this movie: When one speaks German like we do one has to say that they are a bit inaccurate at times.
My favorite scene in the movie is the killing of Elsie Beckmann. Today directors would probably show some violence. But how much better is it to show the worrying mother calling for her child, the empty plate, the ball rolling from the bushes and the balloon getting tangled in the telephone wires. Everything that happens to Elsie is just in your imagination, and no violent scene can be more terrifying than this.
"The Blue Angel" is another amazing German film from this time. It's still a heart breaker, and not in the usual way of most films.
Really good film. When it comes to german movies I also recommend "It happened in broad daylight" from 1958. It's also fantastic.
This is the third "court" film you've seen in the last couple of weeks, each of them masterpieces, each different: Rashomon, Paths of Glory, M. Each from a superb director, Kurosawa, Kubrick, and Lang.
"It happened at broad daylight" is another great german movie about a child molester. Another good one is the korean movie "Memories of murder".
The most influental film of all times regarding science fiction is probably "Metropolis", also directed by Fritz Lang.
The director of this film, Fritz Lang was a TV pioneer also, he filmed "I Love Lucy"
An excellent example of all perspectives being both valid and flawed in their approach. Superb artistic execution as a whole!
I love Lorre here and elsewhere but it's actually pretty low on my Lang list. I would drop dead on the spot if I saw Scarlet Street, The Big Heat, or most unlikely of all, Metropolis.
All great Lang films. I also like Woman in the Window of his American films. But Metropolis and the Dr Mabuse films are also terrific.
@@brettcoster4781 Woman in the Window a lot of people say is just a test drive for Scarlet Street a year later with Robinson, Bennett and Duryea and I do agree it's the masterpiece of the two, but I think Woman in the Window almost was. It just has that unfortunate copout ending. Even so it is kind of fun to view it as the more positive parallel universe version of Scarlet Street, like what that movie would look like if it wasn't bleaker than the bottom of the ocean.
I've been hoping you would react to this one. Loved hearing your commentary on the brilliant camerawork! I'd been watching the best of American classic films for years when I got around to M, and it blew me away. Aside from Fritz Lang's masterful filmmaking, the willingness to tackle a very difficult subject with psychological realism (and one that has only begun to be understood in the last couple of decades at that!) is something that you don't see in American film until AT LEAST the late 1950s. Lang was one of the many Jewish (and non-Jewish) filmmakers who fled Germany with Hitler's rise to power, and completely changed the landscape of American film. Film noir is especially influenced by Weimar cinema of the 1930s. It's too bad Lang's American films, while good, can't match his earlier work--M, Dr. Mabuse, Metropolis, Die Nibelungen.
One of the greatest films ever made. Fritz Lang was a genius and a revolutionary filmmaker. His other films are worth checking out for sure. ("METROPOLIS" would be on the short list of greatest films ever made, as well) The subject matter was as tough as could be... and ALL the relevant questions are asked. It doesn't have all the answers, but the genius of this (aside from the acting / direction / cinematography) was the empathetic thread throughout. You get ALL points of view. AMAZING FACT: Fritz Lang actually employed actual criminals for that court scene. He guaranteed their safety to film them. He also went through the police and they agreed, provided that he tell them the where and when, so they could arrest them afterwards. Lang agreed, but told the police the wrong time, because he made a deal with the criminals that he agreed to keep. Peter Lorre was an amazing actor... (You could see his other work The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and others).
Great stuff, James. Always love your reactions and thoughtful commentary. I'd also recommend STRANGER THAN FICTION, PLEASANTVILLE, CINEMA PARADISO... all three of those films will blow you away... They all have humor, but serious themes flow throughout. Beautiful camera work, writing, etc. Speaking of which... if you want to explore more great films from the 30s... you've got to hit Charlie Chaplin... another genius. "CITY LIGHTS," "MODERN TIMES," "THE GREAT DICTATOR," and "THE GOLD RUSH," are all MUST-SEE films. Cheers!
IIRC the criminals also assisted with the heist scene. They basically re-enacted a break-in they did years before.
In the window shot, there's a pane of glass that is pulled away that you can see, but the cameras of that era could absolutely not fit through that pane of glass. The wall was designed so that the part with the window pane could be moved, and once they pull the pane of glass out, they moved the entire chunk of wall with the camera to get that continuous shot into the room. It's one of my favorite 'trick' shots in a movie.
While Hollywood was still treating sound as a novelty Lang made it an integral part of the movie. Peter Lorre's performance was so convincing peole in Berlin who saw him on the street would throw rocks at him.
Ah, this is why I love your channel so much, reactions to movies like this. Thanks, James.
As you rightly observed, this movie is also a commentary on the time. 1931 is the period of the Great Depression, with unemployment rates high, crime rates high, political instability in Germany, where seldom a government lasted longer than a year, and which gave rise to Nationalsocialism. The movie does a great job in describing this all-encompassing insecurity and anxiety, from the mothers fearing for their children, to the authorities fearing for their reputation and their control of the situation to the crime syndicates fearing for their shady business, and the rise and acceptance of desperate and extreme measures.
That's awesome you picked up on the shots being like stills in photography back in those days. and speaking of Mads Mikeklson, a great interesting film of his is "Valhala Rising". And a super underrated film from the 30's is "Vampyr" from Carl Theodore Dryer, it's a serious dark surreal horror film that's on par with films like Nosferatu. But again, awesome review as always James.
I'm so stoked that you're continuing to give classic movies like this a chance. I'm 27 and it's so hard to find people my age to converse with regarding classic masterpieces like this. Keep up the great work.
I watched this in film studies, and my professor explained to us that the director made this in response to the peoples reactions towards the rise of Nazi regime. It essentially is a political film without being too on the nose and though I wouldn’t watch this movie again, you can’t disregard how amazing this movie is from editing, use of sound, and Peter Lorre’s monologue.
there was no Nazi regime in 1931
@@jorgjorgsen7528 But there definitely WAS the meteoric rise of the Nazi Party. They had become the primary opposition party in the German parliament by 1930 with roughly 20% of the votes going to the Nazis, and Hitler narrowly lost to Field Marshal Paul Von Hindenberg in 1931's Presidential election, 37% of the vote, to Hindenberg's 53%.... NO other Presidential Candidate came EVEN CLOSE to Hitler's challenge to the old War hero.
Lang would have witnessed all this. The rise of the Nazi Party from some small backroom parochial party of disillusioned old veterans, nationalists, small town farmer barons and other fringe elements, in the early 1920s, to becoming the second biggest party in Germany by 1930, despite it's new leader, Adolph Hitler, having attempt a coup, and being imprisoned of treason.
To a great many worldly, educated, intellectual Germans of the era, (as we know from the words of so many of them that we see in letters diaries and essays of the time), it seems, knew how absolutely absurd that was, and how shocking. Knew how dark Germany's future was becoming with disillusionment with Democracy, and the nostalgic longing among far too many Germans for some kind of national greatness, and strong authoritative State.
So, the OP is right.... he says the RISE of Nazi Regime. The entity which would become the Nazi Regime, WAS absolutely, at the HEIGHT of its RISE to power in 1931-1932.... and would cement that power in 1933.
@@jorgjorgsen7528 The Nazis were on the rise in 1931.
@@Apis4 But there was no "regime" thats what i wrote
@@mikecaetano But there was no "regime" thats what i wrote
2:45 do you mean the 1985 film? It's russian I believe and it's absolutely haunting and devastating, a must watch imo.
It should be shown in schools, and not just film schools.
Yes!
And James has already reviewed Come and See.
In the one take where the camera goes through the glass, you can see the glass move to the left. But to pull off something like that it's not just a tiny glass part that's removed, that whole set piece had to come apart for the camera and cameraman to go through. Also, the shot in the movie where M is just standing there and the truck goes by and he vanishes possibly the first use of that in cinema history.
Great reaction. Fritz Lang was a master and very modern. My film professor from Berkeley wrote the BFI book on "M" which will tell you all.
This is one of the few films that I brand as "turns your soul into spaghetti"
It’s great you take time to react to movies like this, incredible pieces mostly forgotten outside serious film circles.
Thank you for doing movies like this one and Stalker that are out of the normal consciousness
Lang is up there with Kubrick and Kurosawa in my list. M is a masterpiece in so many ways and Lorre’s was outstanding.
This movie had a big impact on me the first time I saw it. Excellent!
This is an absolute masterpiece! Especially considering the year this movie was made. Fantastic directing, cinematography, acting, editing and story telling. That is also the case for another Fritz Lang movie: Metropolis (1927). The first time I have seen this movie, I could not believe that it had been made in 1927! It looks so ahead of its time.
A friend of mine is a law professor at a University, and he shows this film to his students every year as a discussion topic. It explores so many themes related to crime and punishment, societal corruption, the criminal mind, legal vs. vigilante justice, etc. It was made over 90 years ago and it seems to get more relevant every year. And it's a cinematic masterpiece to boot.
This was one of the smartest, most insightful analyses of this film that I have ever seen. The fine line between justice and vengeance is presented so brutally, so shockingly, and you saw that beautifully. And the internal battle between compulsion and choice reaches into everyone who is brave enough to take it in. Peter Lorre's performance as the murderer is to say the least, a once in a lifetime performance. It's just sad that such a singular, overwhelming talent was relegated to villain/monster roles because of his masterful work here. I believe he could have excelled at many roles. I also learned quite a bit about the movie (not an easy thing to say since it has been a favorite of mine for 25 years) from your reaction. I had missed so much about WHY the movie is so excellent (timing, layering, editing and the conflict and cooperation between the three sides who all want the murderer, but each for their own selfish reasons that have nothing to do with justice). The movie's analysis of the murderer's psychosis was something else that I had missed. Thanks for showing me how brilliant this really difficult film is.
I grew up on the stereotype of Peter Lorre established in "The Maltese Falcon" (1941). So I was blown away by his performance in this film the first time I saw it back in the nineties. Lorre and Lang fled Germany soon after the Nazis took power. Both men made their way to Hollywood where they found varying degrees of success. The subtext of "M" points directly to the fascist menace threatening the children of Germany, with the understanding that every character in the film willing to set aside the rule of law was thus guilty of failing the future, extending to the audience thus coaxed into cheering for vigilantism. Insidious, but brilliant. Other films by Lang that you ought to watch include "Metropolis" (1927), "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse" (1933), "Fury" (1936), "Ministry of Fear" (1944), "Clash by Night" (1952), "The Big Heat" (1953), "Human Desire" (1954), and "While the City Sleeps" (1956). Other films with Peter Lorre in the cast that you ought to watch include "Crime and Punishment" (1935), "Stranger on the Third Floor" (1940), "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), "Casablanca" (1942), "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944), "Quicksand" (1950), and "Beat the Devil" (1953). By the way, "Come And See" (1985) is a Russian film. If you're interested in a German film from the eighties about WWII, check out "Das Boot" (1981), made more timely by the recent passing of director Wolfgang Petersen.
A crazy fact about this movie: it saved Peter Lorre's daughter's life. In the 70s she ran into a pair of serial killers who later became known as the Hillside Stranglers alone, but they decided let her go because she was Peter Lorre's daughter and they were fans of this film.
Wow, this is a very nice surprise! It's such a great film and doesn't get talked about much at all these days unfortunately.
I'm kind of late on this, but I'd highly recommend Lang's Destiny if you liked this. He made it ten years prior and it often goes under the radar (along with Spione and Dr Mabuse the Gambler)
It's been said by plenty before, but his use of sound here was so ahead of it's time. He managed to hold onto the intuitive conventions of his silent film roots whilst using the new tool of sound to communicate pieces of information previously impossible to convey.
The simple idea that you hear the mother calling for Elsie as the images of the vacant surroundings dressed with her belongings flash by is so effective in communicating that fear. It's not pretentious or anything though, he's just utilizing a new tool in a very smart and subtle way.
Excellent reaction as always 👍
I watched this movie in my highschool film class years ago.....that ending has never left the back of my mind.
The old masters invented cinema, everyone else is just copying.
Fun trivia fact:
The girl singing surrounded by other children in the start of the movie became the first lady of Israeli theatre, Hannah Maron.
In 2011 she set a Guinness world record for the longest career in theatre... she was on stage for 83 years.
She died in 2014.
one of the things i love about your comment sections aside from being able to hear about others' thoughts about the movie itself, is finding movie recs! so excited to add so many mentioned titles to my own watchlist even though i'm nowhere near finishing them at all
it wows me whenever you upload a new reaction video and it's of a classic i really enjoyed! makes me wonder what you have _already_ seen, lol. have you seen any Bergman films? "Persona" or "The Seventh Seal" would honestly be an amazing start! (and sorry if you've answered this same question anywhere else!)
Yep. Dude needs to see _Persona._ It's a two hour film school.
Hi James! I'm happy that you've been acquainted with Fritz Lang!
As my first comment on youtube, I'd like to recommend The Passion of Joan of Arc to you. It's a silent film from 1928, directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. He's using some interesting camerawork for the time. Try to find a version with Richard Einhorn's soundtrack.
An absolute masterpiece
So happy to see you doing some of the old films that were ground breaking in their time.
An extraordinary film. M for mesmerising.
Germany in 1931 was suffering a massive recession like so many other countries and Adolf Hitler was just two years away as Chancellor. You can see why the atmosphere is pretty febrile.
Such a superb film. I was so psyched for you to get to the title reveal. Probably the most sophisticated film made up to that time. There are no bad Fritz Land movies!
11:40 if you look closely it's not a cut, they quickly pull the window away, physically. It goes right to left across the screen.
If you liked this one then you would absolutely LOVE The Night of The Hunter, one of my favorite black and white films ever. It’s about a preacher who moves from town to town killing young woman because “god is permitting him to do so”
Seconded. A must. He'd dig it.
This film reminds me of many other films from historical events that I’ve read of over the years. But as someone who doesn’t have children yet I already felt a sense of urgency seeing the last scene of M. Protecting and saving the innocent is something that I’ve strived for as long as I can remember. This film was an amazing period piece along with being a film I’d watch on my own time.
Also check out The Testament of Dr Mabuse, which is kind of an unofficial sequel to M, with the same police detective Lohmann. Mabuse leading his crime empire from his prison cell gives huge Hannibal Lecter vibes.
One of my favs all time. Glad you got to this.
Fritz Lang was a master of cinematography and showcases more in Metropolis.
Very grateful to be introduced to this film in 2005ish and I went on a journey from there on classic cinema. Can’t wait to see you react to more golden age films
Was made to watch this as part of my Film Genres class in college. Been one of my all-time favorites since.
Wow. That is a great film staring Peter Lorre! Fist film about a serial murderer of children.
Yes James! Been waiting for some more old ones! Thank you!
Great vid! A lot of younger critics prefer Joseph Losey's remake of M. That would make for a sick follow-up video. You would literally be the only channel on YT doing a Joseph Losey reaction 😎
Love that you are checking out these older films James..they really are excellent :)
This movie scared me when I was young. But the thing that was great the police and the crime organization were both trying to stop the killer
I gasped audibly with excitement when this came up on my feed.
My brother mad me watch this film a few years ago. I was blown away. The film itself is very smart, but that ending! It’s something we still grapple with. How do we as a society handle people that commit heinous crimes but that are themselves victims of emotions and voices most of us have never felt or fought? Especially when what they took can never be given back? Such a powerful and thoughtful film!
Fritz Lang was a fantastic director! I think "M" is probably his smartest film but I'm personally more partial to "Metropolis" (1927) partially because the special effects are incredible but partially because of Bridgette Helm's amazing performance. If you're ever able to watch it, try to track down the longest version you can find -- there are several edits/cuts out there, most of which are not from Lang himself.
_M_ is widely regarded as Lang's masterpiece, even by Lang himself. It is also Peter Lorre's finest work, mostly because it was the most complex character he was ever offered. Once he emigrated to the US his looks, accent, and vocal timbre kept him from being cast in leading roles.
Since you're going back to foundational films I suggest you watch Sergei Eisenstein's _Battleship Potemkin_ (1925). It is generally considered the greatest silent film. It is certainly the most quoted one. It is also the best introduction to Eisenstein's work.
I'm so glad someone I watch finally did a reaction to this one! (I don't take credit for that, mind you; this is widely regarded as a masterpiece, as it should be.) Thank you so much for reacting to it and giving it the attention and observation it deserves.
First saw this as a young teen, I found it amazing.
I modern movies there is no smoking. This movie reminded me, that this wasn't always the case.
Directed by the great Fritz Lang who also directed my favorite film. The 1927 silent classic “Metropolis”
Thank you for reacting to the film "M". My favorite movie from the early 1930s, for 50 years now. I just love everything about "M".
Love from Germany ♥️ 🤗
On his album "Little Criminals" Randy Newman wrote a song titled "In Germany Before The War" based on this movie, Here's a sample of the lyrics:
"A little girl has lost her way with hair of gold and eyes of grey. I'm looking at the river but I'm thinking of the sea"
Fritz Lang is one of the main inspiration of Hitchcock in terms of studying the hided pulsions inside people. He explored human psychology et considered that people lost their humanity when they packed together in mass and mob. He studied police cases and M was made up after one of this cases at Germany in 1930. His whistle and his hand is supposed to be an uncontrol manifestation of his pulsions. And Peter Lorre (the actor who played M) was chosen because of his innocent face. He was also a talented actor from theatre and later, he played a small role in Casablanca. If you like movies like that, I highly recommand you "The Night of the Hunter", a masterpiece, apotheose of Hollywood expressionism and, also, main inspiration of Spike Lee for "Do the right thing". And ofc, ifw you want to watch an other Fritz Lang masterpiece, go check "Metropolis". This thing is like a blockbuster silent film. It's litterally a german dystopic version of Star Wars