Why do people consider the first two Dr. Mabuse films one film?
 

It honestly confuses me. The two parts may have been released in the same year and have a continuing story, but so do Matrix 2 and 3. Just because that might have been the "original intent" doesn't mean that's what we got.

Re: Why do people consider the first two Dr. Mabuse films one film?
 

Yeah, it's indeed recognized as one film, e.g., on Letterboxd. Interestingly enough, Fritz Lang's Nibelungen isn't.

Valid question. But still, who cares?

Vampires (1915) is a serial film of 10 episodes that had premiered from 1915 to 1916. And yet (thankfully) it's recognized as a film on all movie rating sites.

I do. Which is why I started the thread.

Re: Why do people consider the first two Dr. Mabuse films one film?
 

The second Mabuse film was released a month after the first, so it's not quite the same as the Godfather series, for example.
Also, for modern audiences it's always been sold as one film on DVD, hence the perception that it's one film. Anyone born after 1940 or so is not likely to have encountered one part without the other.

Probably. I tried looking for the two parts separately. Buy I guess since it's fairly obscure in comparison to other German silent films (which isn't the hughest-selling market), as well as other Lang movies, is there really a need to release them separately?

The original 2 acts were just rescued, restored, and released on home video several years ago. Up until then, the most "complete" version commercially available was nearly a full hour shorter. And before then, the film was abridged even further due to lost/missing reels and partially destroyed prints.

That's why it's typically viewed as a single film, because that's the only way it's been shown to audiences for decades.

But you can buy Kino Lorber's recent restored version of it now (on DVD or Blu-ray) which separates the film into its original 2 acts: The Great Gambler and Inferno. But even this release is still just the longest one available, meaning there's still missing footage that hasn't been recovered.