14th Hall of Fame

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M (Fritz Lang, 1931)

I'd been wanting to watch this for a long time, so I was glad to see it nominated. It's an interesting film, and not at all what I expected. I've never seen Peter Lorre look so young, or so creepy! He's an under-sung actor and I've enjoyed him in everything I've seen him in. I kind of thought he would have more screen time, but when the camera was focused on him...he truly fit the role. I like to image what audiences back in the day would have thought of this movie...I bet it gave them nightmares.

I love that photo I used. Take a close look at it and you can see the artistry that went into just that one camera shot. Fritz Lang was the master of German Expressionism and it's easy to see where American Film Noir got it's first starts. See how the child killer has his back to us and we can only see his face in the reflection, that's genius. Then look what's in the shop...mask, another symbol for this movie, and check out the angle of those mask...they're all aligned to look down at the little girl, like they are watching her. The entire movie has choice scenes like this one.

The ending really surprised me, not so much what happened in the story, but for the way it was done, very diffferent. I won't say more as I'm curious if anyone else thought the same as I did.

I didn't love this movie, though I did enjoy it...for me it's strength is it's place in cinema history.
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Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Just finished watching M. Been decades since I saw this and scarcely remember most of it.

Should anyone be interested, or need it, there is an excellent, full version WITH subtitles on youtube. M

I'll most likely post my favorable review tomorrow.
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Glad you liked the cinematography, Citizen.

Potential spoilers for M below.
The ending really surprised me, not so much what happened in the story, but for the way it was done, very diffferent. I won't say more as I'm curious if anyone else thought the same as I did.
Lang seemed to have a fascination with criminals, and I think the film's ending really highlights that interest. It offers a critique on the entire justice system and its treatment of the insane, as well as giving the audience an insight into the mind of a serial killer.

A long time ago I read an interpretation of the ending by a German film theorist who saw it as a warning about the rise of fascism in Germany, basically seeing the entire film as a reflection of the time it was made in. While certain elements of that may be present in the film, as a whole I think that reading is far too limited, and ignores a lot of what the film was trying to accomplish. For me, Lang is questioning the audience about their perception of evil.

We're being asked what we think is just, considering the killer's deranged mental state. Does he deserve to be killed, to be locked away for life, or should we attempt to cure his mental afflictions? Is it even possible to cure him? The film shows us the differing opinions of the groups involved in the manhunt, without judging or trying to imply that one side is right. It doesn't provide any concrete answers, asking the viewer to decide for themselves. Personally, I think it's much more interesting this way, and appreciate that the film didn't try to feed us a specific moral message.



M

I knew about this movie and wanted to see it long ago therefore I was glad it was nominated here. I’ve never seen any Fritz Lang’s movie, at least I think I don‘t. On the other hand I’ve seen László Löwenstein aka Peter Lorre in several movies. I think, his performance in M was flawless. What he did in front of that mob jury was magical. All that speech and emotions. I was truly enjoying that. I must say about that whistle that it stuck in my head. I was whistling that for myself all day along . I read, Lorre himself hated the movie because people labeled him as being a child killer ever since.

The movie is about a child killer in a German city and about the manhunt. We see right away who is the killer so it was more about police department searching the killer in all wrong places. And then the mob comes to the scene. They are tired of constant police raids as it interferes with their business. Then they start to hunt the killer down. And then this mob jury comes and I think this was the scene that makes this movie very different from all other similar movies.

I don’t think I will revisit the movie however I found it very enjoyable. I think it ever stays in a cinema history as it should be.
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I must say about that whistle that it stuck in my head. I was whistling that for myself all day along .
Apparently, Fritz Lang dubbed the whistling himself. Due to his self-described lack of ability to carry a tune, he thought his off key whistling was perfect for the murderer.



Does anyone have any memories of M being featured heavily in a documentary? I know that's how i ended up watching it but i can't for the life of me remember what it was.





Black Snake Moan (2006)
Dir. Craig Brewer
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake

Black Snake Moan is reminiscent of 70s exploitation films, without actually travelling down that road. Its over-the-top nature could easily be played purely for laughs, but despite a few humorous moments, the film does take itself just seriously enough for the dramatic moments to have weight. Both Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci play rather clichéd characters, however that fact never bothered me because they both give simply outstanding performances. Unfortunately the best thing I can say about Justin Timberlake is that he wasn't absolutely horrible, but luckily his screen time is fairly limited.

While I thought that the film's start was a little boring, once Rae and Lazarus crossed paths, it really came to life. Scenes that sound absolutely ridiculous on paper are given credibility by the actors, and Ricci is never overshadowed by Jackson's commanding screen presence. Similar to Broken Circle Breakdown from the 13th Hall of Fame, the soundtrack becomes an integral part of the film and its characters, and while I don't know much about the blues (I had to look up who Son House was), I quite enjoyed the music used throughout the film. I did however have a problem with the audio mix, and had to constantly readjust the volume, but that's not an uncommon issue for me and it didn't distract me too much.

This is not a film that I would've watched on my own accord, even if I was told that the basic premise was much deeper than it seemed to be. While I don't really have much to say about it, I did find the film rather intriguing, and I'm glad I got the chance to watch it.
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If everyone finishes we will have 144 reviews. We already have 30!!
31.

Does anyone have any memories of M being featured heavily in a documentary? I know that's how i ended up watching it but i can't for the life of me remember what it was.
I think you mentioned this earlier in the thread. I don't watch many documentaries, so I'm not sure, but it does sound vaguely familiar.

I did a quick google search, but nothing came up for me.



31.


I think you mentioned this earlier in the thread. I don't watch many documentaries, so I'm not sure, but it does sound vaguely familiar.

I did a quick google search, but nothing came up for me.
Who knows then. Thought it might have been that HH Holmes doc for some reason but i looked through it and it wasn't. Maybe Mark F or someone will know if they see this.



Glad you liked the cinematography, Citizen.

Potential spoilers for M below.

Lang seemed to have a fascination with criminals, and I think the film's ending really highlights that interest. It offers a critique on the entire justice system and its treatment of the insane, as well as giving the audience an insight into the mind of a serial killer.

....For me, Lang is questioning the audience about their perception of evil.

We're being asked what we think is just, considering the killer's deranged mental state. Does he deserve to be killed, to be locked away for life, or should we attempt to cure his mental afflictions? Is it even possible to cure him? The film shows us the differing opinions of the groups involved in the manhunt, without judging or trying to imply that one side is right. It doesn't provide any concrete answers, asking the viewer to decide for themselves. Personally, I think it's much more interesting this way, and appreciate that the film didn't try to feed us a specific moral message.
That's written way better than I could have said it. You really get into depth with your noms and have a good background history on them, and that's nice to see...I should hire you to write my reviews Sometimes I know what I want to say, but then when I write the review my thoughts don't come through in the way they should.

So, what I was thinking about the ending was: that the end with the group of criminals trying the child killer in a mock trial, complete with a defense lawyer...was a proxy for the debate about the morals of state executions. Especially about executing the mentally ill...even the criminally insane.

Do you know if Lang was anti-death penalty on the basis that the state didn't have the right to take another life? That point seemed to be made directly by the defense lawyer.



That's written way better than I could have said it. You really get into depth with your noms and have a good background history on them, and that's nice to see...I should hire you to write my reviews
Haha, thank you!

A film's history sometimes plays into my reasons for nominating it, so I guess that's why I have a relatively easier time writing about them.

Potential spoilers for M below.
So, what I was thinking about the ending was: that the end with the group of criminals trying the child killer in a mock trial, complete with a defense lawyer...was a proxy for the debate about the morals of state executions. Especially about executing the mentally ill...even the criminally insane.
Lang seemed to like presenting criminals and police officers in the same light. Earlier in the film, shots of the criminal organization planning their approach to finding the killer is intercut with scenes of the police planning their investigation as well. I think we're meant to draw parallels between the two groups, and see that not only do the criminals have good intentions, but that the police are not always morally right (they talk about common people as though they're nothing, and want access to overstep personal privacy). I think the trial was another method of showing similarities between the two, though the morality of executions and treatment of the criminally insane certainly play a large role as well.

Do you know if Lang was anti-death penalty on the basis that the state didn't have the right to take another life? That point seemed to be made directly by the defense lawyer.
I honestly have no idea as to what Lang's position was, but I saw the trial less as a statement on the death penalty, and more as commentary on mob mentality, a critique on all aspects of the judicial system in general, and most importantly: a reflection of Lang's interest in the criminal mind (evident in Lorre's monologue). I agree that the defence lawyer was definitely arguing that point, but I think we're meant to make that moral decision ourselves.



Makes sense to me! Thanks

Have you seen the shorter version of M that was re-released in the early 60s.

Question for everyone: What version of M did you see?
I see the Criterion DVD which is, 1 hr 50 min (110 min)

Has anybody seen the re-release USA version from the 60s which is shorter at, 1 hr 39 min (99 min)?



I watched the Criterion Collection version as well.

The re-released US version you're talking about might be the English dub, which I do not recommend watching. Some scenes were reshot without Lang's approval. Though Peter Lorre did reprise his role.

I haven't personally seen the dub/cut version, so watch at your own risk if you were planning to.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Makes sense to me! Thanks

Have you seen the shorter version of M that was re-released in the early 60s.

Question for everyone: What version of M did you see?
I see the Criterion DVD which is, 1 hr 50 min (110 min)

Has anybody seen the re-release USA version from the 60s which is shorter at, 1 hr 39 min (99 min)?
The one on youtube, with the link I posted was the 110 min version which I was pretty happy to find and got very lucky stumbling across it..

For me, the movie was more about how the people; citizens, criminals and the police dealt with the child killings and, eventually, getting their hands on killing.
As for a message, I think it was
WARNING: "the very final scene" spoilers below
where they show the weeping mother saying how it doesn't bring back the children and that dire warning that it is up to all of us to watch over the children.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



M


***SPOILERS***



I'll go over the common ground first. German Expressionism is the father of noir directing and one of those that took up shop in Hollywood was Fritz Lang and this movie is THE movie when speaking of him. It is Lang at his most creative, intuitive and thought provoking.

Like @Citizen Rules has already mentioned, just the beautiful artistry of any given shot is an extraordinary spectacle and its influence can be seen to this very day in far too many to even attempt to mention.

M delves deep within, not only the psychology of the murderer, but of everyone across the board. It starts with the parents; a mother in particular who is agitated by the sing song in the courtyard that the children sing about the killer; to the police's raids and their frustrations, to citizens blaming and attacking anyone so much as talking to a child. Which hit rather strongly, seeing the kind older gentleman answering a child's question only to be grabbed up by a small mob. We have that very mentality today.
What's that? You TALKED to a child that doesn't belong you?!?! YOU PERVERT!! Why haven't you been arrested and locked up?!
But enough of that rant.
The exploration continues into the crime world who, unable to continue their pursuits sees the very necessity of removing the killer.
Enjoyed the intercuts between them and the police working out strategies and noticing the similarities and, more so, WHO was coming up with the better searching method.

In the end it is a race between the police and the criminal mob to snatch up the killer and bring him to justice.

The final chase and the mock trial were quite brilliant and some of the best "shots" were during the chase and any time Lorre was involved.
Just on composition alone, this really is a must see movie.

There is so much I could go on about this movie but it would be too easy to get it all lost in the review.
Regardless, a VERY solid nomination and truly happy to revisit this excellent bit of classic film. Thank you @CosmicRunaway for nominating it!



I think I'm gonna not do any official reviews for some of these movies so I have time to stew on them. Passengers may've gotten scolded too soon so, going forward, I think I'll wait a bit. I may just do a complete summary (like Movie Tab does) when we're mostly all caught up.