Last night I watched legendary director Fritz Lang’s last film before he fled Nazi Germany, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933), courtesy of Netflix. Lang did a lot of good work in America, although he complained of the lack of artistic freedom in the old studio system, but his most famous films were done in his homeland: Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922), Metropolis (1927) and M (1931). The first two are silents and, yahoo that I am, I just can’t sit through movies that don’t have sound and dialogue. M, starring Peter Lorre at his creepy best as a child murderer, is riveting. The second Mabuse was one of the first films to tell a non-linear story, so common today. The first five minutes are fantastic, incredibly tense, driven by an unidentified industrial racket in the background. I enjoyed the rest, despite its flaws, but it doesn’t compare to M. The early talkies feature actors who often employ the exaggerated techniques of the silent era. It’s hard not to laugh at it. Also, the plot is shaky. There has been debate on whether the Mabuse of this version was patterned after Hitler. Actually, the main character is a professor who has bought into Mabuse’s dream of a chaos that would see the criminal class rule the world. Mabuse himself is in an asylum, filling pages of notebooks with his ideas, which miscreants acquire and put to use. The film was banned by the Nazis and was not shown in Germany until 1951. I’m not sure what to think of it in that respect, and I’m not sure it matters. Lang was famous for lying and exaggerating in interviews, so even his word on the subject could not be taken as definitive. One aspect of the film is hilarious. During the high speed chase at the end, Der Kommissar’s car gets a flat. The flat is fixed and the pursuit is resumed. Although the authorities know the villain is on his way to the sanitarium where he works, the segue is bizarre, one of the oddest scenes I’ve ever encountered. The restorers did a great job in all aspects save one. The subtitles are white, which get lost in black and white films. Unless one speaks German, there is a lot of reading involved. The film is rated 7.9 out of ten at IMDb. I rate it 3.5 of five.
I didn't spot any storm damage during my morning walk or later while driving. It seems our end of Brooklyn was spared. I didn't even hear a thunderclap last night. I wonder what brought down the tree on the next block. It has already been removed. Only the root remains. The sidewalk has a three foot slope on either side of it.
The new Sunday strategy of taking just my own books to the busy intersection of Bay Parkway and 86th Street failed to generate much interest. Only one young man inquired and then balked at the ten dollar asking price. Two weeks ago the cover of a copy of Adjustments developed striations when it got wet during a sudden downpour. I offered it to actor/singer extraordinaire Johnny Feets for two bucks, and he jumped at it, as I presumed he would. Thanks, my friend.
Visit Vic’s sites:
Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic’s Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic’s 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
No comments:
Post a Comment