Lang really was a master with the camera, capturing some amazing shots--particularly of Lorre's reactive reflection. Lorre, himself, delivers a chilling performance that is unmatched in his English-language work. While the silences are almost deafening, I will never hear "In the Hall Of the Mountain King" the same way again.
One of my favourite films. Despite its age I get choked up by so many scenes, especially the first ("Elsie?!") and last ones and the blind beggar with the balloon. And while it has a very dark subject matter, this movie is quite hopeful in a way - seeing the city come together to protect its children is strangely comforting - though the ending is rather ambiguously grim in a way. Plus, it's interesting to see how much Berlin has changed and how much it hasn't - especially the dialect.
Stop snoring, you'll wake up the lice!
It holds up well today and is still somewhat relevant. Peter Lorre is great and has an amazing scene near the end. The cinematography is fantastic and there are a lot of amazing shots. The sound is really good too, the use of complete silence really makes me feel uneasy. Definitely worth watching.
An absolute pleasure to watch. Keeps you on your toes from beginning to end.
I love this film, despite its age It looks modern and engage the viewer til the end. The direction is dry but full of details, all going along like clockwork. Definitely Lang is a genius.
It’s an accomplishment in itself that a German movie doesn’t get on my nerves. I like the story, but I didn’t found it particularly exciting. It gets a bit more interesting in the second half, with some good (albeit over the top) performances. I wouldn’t even call it a thriller, to be honest. Is it exceptional? For me, no, but it’s fine.
Underworld chasing the notorious serial killer- it was an intriguing story to follow.It gave a unique perspective to the movie which I believe kept me attached to it.In and all, it depicted something serious like the tailing of a serial killer in a wholesome way and that makes it worth watching.
A little bit of a backstory here: At university my focus was in studying literature and languages, but I had to take a seminar in Introduction to Film Studies. My professor was obsessed with this movie. Especially with it's technicality.
So, we had to watch it. Over and over again. Sometimes just the same scenes about ten times just to analyze camera angles and position of the actors.
And yes, the camera work and really whole direction of the movie is excellently done, but if you have to watch it several times just for this, it becomes a drag.
What I mean by that is, I never disliked the movie, but I also never got the opportunity to appreciate it for what it is. T
That being said, I like to analyze movies, but I'm more interested in the writing than the camera angles (not saying it's not interesting, just not my main focus), after not having watched it for a couple of year I got the chance to experience this film with a slightly different approach and found a new appreciation for it.
It's just a really good and interesting film that deals with a very difficult topic but in such a unique and fascinating way.
It is one of the classics of it's time I'd definitely recommend.
Strange, not at all what I remembered after 10 years. Upon rewatch, this struck me as a pure procedural--we follow the police and a band of criminals all working toward finding Hans Beckert, a serial killer. It was the latter that stood out in my mind--Peter Lorre's performance gets under your skin and I think he brilliantly plays a man in crisis. I didn't find the procedural elements as compelling and I think they could have been edited down slightly, but there are many elements in the film that really worked: the use of sound, the mirror motif, and the interrogation of the role of the state in meting out punishment. Would be curious to read a lot more about the political context Lang was critiquing.
Such a fascinating movie on so many levels.
Themes (tone, impact) 1
Acting and characters 1
Story (writing, direction, pacing) 1
Aesthetic (sets, special effects, score) 1
Enjoyment 1
It's a classic for a reason, but it doesn't work as well today as it must have then. The buildup is great, and it was good cinematography for its time, but the kind of overwrought theatre-like acting by Peter Lorre in the end (while an impressive performance) is a relic of serious dramatic film's awkward growth phase. People screaming into the camera doesn't really work that well anymore. Likewise, the abrupt and contrastingly matter-of-fact ending was obviously supposed to be a door slam ending with the strength of its curt message, but just feels lost in time now, with little impact.
Still, subjective 7/10, and I don't really have any desire to watch it again, unlike, say, Laura (more entertaining despite not being spectacular, or Casablanca .)
A challenge to watch the most popular film on letterboxd from each year, starting from 1930 :film_frames:
1931 - M is noticeably an achievement in filmmaking for its time, and an important watch for anyone who loves the 7th art. The attention to detail is great. I have to say though, the lack of music and the slow pace made it hard to grab my attention and I was lulled to sleep a few times, but i made the effort to finish it, because there are certain movies that you just simply need to know so you can better appreciate everything that came after them!
Shout by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2024-01-13T23:50:13Z
Well deserved classic, a perfect film. Really fantastic, clever script about the nature of justice that functions within the confines of the noir genre. Masterful use of sound and visuals by Fritz Lang, technically it feels very ahead of its time but it’s also very pronounced stylistically. The acting styles and dialogue don’t just feel like they’re from this time period, they feel specific to this film. I’d love to write an in depth analysis about this one someday, but considering that so many papers have already been written about it, I don’t think I could bring much to the table in terms of original thoughts. Just take a chance on it if you’re unsure; don’t let it being a German black and white film scare you away from seeing it.
9.5/10