M [1931 / 2015] [The Criterion Collection] [DVD] [USA Release]
A Chilling Suspense Film By Director Fritz Lang!
A simple, haunting musical phrase whistled off-screen tells us that a young girl will be killed. “Who Is the Murderer?” pleads a nearby placard as serial killer Hans Beckert [Peter Lorre] closes in on little Elsie Beckmann . . . In his harrowing masterwork ‘M,’ Fritz Lang merges trenchant social commentary with chilling suspense, creating a panorama of private madness and public hysteria that to this day remains the blueprint for the psychological thriller. The Criterion Collection is proud to present a new restoration of this landmark film.
The Criterion Collection is dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions of the highest technical quality. With supplemental features that enhance the appreciation of the art of film.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1933 National Board of Review, USA. Win: Top Foreign Films.
FILM FACT No.2: ‘M’ was Fritz Lang's first sound film and he experimented with the new technology. It has a dense and complex soundtrack, as opposed to the more theatrical “talkies” being released at the time. The soundtrack includes a narrator, sounds occurring off-camera, and sounds motivating action and suspenseful moments of silence before sudden noise. Fritz Lang was also able to make fewer cuts in the film's editing, since sound effects could now be used to inform the narrative. The film was one of the first to use a leitmotif, a technique borrowed from opera, associating a tune with Lorre's character, who whistles the tune “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No.1. Later in the film, the mere sound of the song lets the audience know that he is nearby, off-screen. This association of a musical theme with a particular character or situation is now a film staple. Peter Lorre could not whistle and Fritz Lang himself is heard in the film. ‘M’ premiered in Berlin on 11th May, 1931 at the UFA-Palast am Zoo in a version lasting 117 minutes. The original negative is preserved at the Federal Film Archive in a 96-minute version. In 1960, an edited 98-minute version was released. The film was restored in 2000 by the Netherlands Film Museum in collaboration with the Federal Film Archive, the Cinemateque Suisse, Kirsch Media and ZDF/ARTE., with JANUS FILMS.
Cast: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke, Theodor Loos, Gustaf Gründgens, Friedrich Gnaß, Fritz Odemar, Paul Kemp, Theo Lingen, Rudolf Blümner, Georg John, Franz Stein, Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur, Gerhard Bienert, Karl Platen, Rosa Valetti, Hertha von Walther, Lucie Rhoden, Joseph Almas (uncredited), Carl Balhaus (uncredited), Hans Behal (uncredited), Behal Carrell (uncredited), Josef Dahmen (uncredited), Hugo Döblin (uncredited), J.A. Eckhoff (uncredited), Else Ehser (uncredited), Karl Elzer (uncredited), Erwin Faber (uncredited), Ilse Fürstenberg (uncredited), Anna Goltz (uncredited), Heinrich Gotho (uncredited), Heinrich Gretler (uncredited), Günther Hadank (uncredited), Robert Hartberg (uncredited), Ernst Paul Hempel (uncredited), Oskar Höcker (uncredited), Albert Hörrmann (uncredited), Ellen Isenta (uncredited), Karl Junge-Swinburne (uncredited), Albert Karchow (uncredited), Werner Kepich (uncredited), Hermann Krehan (uncredited), Kurth Leeser (uncredited), Rose Lichtenstein (uncredited), Lotte Loebinger (uncredited), Sigurd Lohde (uncredited), Alfred Loretto (uncredited), Hanna Maron (uncredited), Max Maschek (uncredited), Paul Mederow (uncredited), Margarete Melzer (uncredited), Trude Moos (uncredited), Hadrian Maria Netto (uncredited), Günter Neumann (uncredited), Neumann-Schüler (uncredited), Katharina Nied (uncredited), Maya Norden (uncredited), Fred Nurney (uncredited), Edgar Pauly (uncredited), Klaus Pohl (uncredited), Franz Poland (uncredited), Eduard Rebane (uncredited), Paul Rehkopf (uncredited), Bertold Reissig (uncredited), Ernst Rhaden (uncredited), Hans Ritter (uncredited), Max Sablotzki (uncredited), Alexander Sascha (uncredited), Agnes Schulz-Lichterfeld (uncredited), Leonard Steckel (uncredited), Karl-Heinz Stroux (uncredited), Wolf Trutz (uncredited), Otto Waldis (uncredited), Borwin Walth (uncredited), Rolf Wanka (uncredited), Ernst Wulf (uncredited) and Bruno Ziener (uncredited)
Director: Fritz Lang
Producer: Seymour Nebenzal (uncredited)
Screenplay: Egon Jacobsohn (article) (uncredited), Fritz Lang (script) and Thea von Harbou (script)
Composer: Edvard Grieg
Cinematography: Fritz Arno Wagner (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080i (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.19:1
Audio: German: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
English: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 110 minutes
Region: NTSC
Number of discs: 2
Studio: NERO-FILMS / JANUS FILMS / The Criterion Collection
Andrew’s DVD Review: ‘M’ [1931] we encounter a serial killer named Hans Beckert [Peter Lorre] is murdering young, innocent children in a small town in Germany, bringing fear and scandal to society. The shock of the crimes brings attention from the police, making things uneasy for the town criminals. When the police are not capable of finding the responsible for the murders, the town takes justice in its own hands.
The opening sequence does much to convey the devastating impact of losing a child. We watch schoolgirl Elsie Beckmann’s mother Frau Beckmann [Ellen Widmann] attending to housework in her apartment, awaiting her daughter’s return from school. We then cut to Elsie Beckmann [Inge Landgut] walking in the street, stopping to bounce a ball against a wanted poster detailing the crimes of an at-large child murderer.
A shadow appears ominously against the poster and asks Elsie Beckmann her name, before buying her a balloon and leading her away down the street. Framing Hans Beckert as a shadow creates a palpable sense of other-ness and danger, an amorphous, other-worldly apparition in stark contrast to the grounded, familiar presence of Elsie’s mother, and hints at the shadow of fear and paranoia he will cast over the city as the film continues.
When we see Hans Beckert in the kangaroo court, we get to hear his inner thoughts while the trial is going on and these are the words we get to hear Hans Beckert is saying to himself:
“It’s there all the time, driving me out to wander the streets, following me, silently, but I can feel it there. It’s me, pursuing myself! I want to escape, to escape from myself! But it’s impossible. I can’t escape, I have to obey it. I have to run, run… endless streets. I want to escape, to get away!” “And I’m pursued by ghosts. Ghosts of mothers and of those children… they never leave me. They are always there… always, always, always!, except when I do it, when I… Then I can’t remember anything. And afterwards I see those posters and read what I’ve done, and read, and read… did I do that?”
The subject matter in ‘M’ is controversial and especially for its time, especially considering that the film does not portray Hans Beckert as completely despicable or undeserving of any sympathy. The audience is made to identify with his character, and, by the end of the film, viewers come to understand what drives him to kill. Nonetheless, he is established as the villain, and the central message of the film seems to be that parents should never neglect their children; for fear that people like Hans Beckert do exist in the world.
‘M’ is the first sound film by director Fritz Lang, and was already a celebrated filmmaker at the time, having being involved with such films as ‘Metropolis’ [1927] and ‘Dr. Mabuse’ [1922]. Fritz Lang was an artist at the top of his game when he directed ‘M,’ and his artistry is seen in pretty much with every frame of this film.
The first transitional years from silent to sound were very complicated narratively; directors and technicians didn’t really know how to do, they were still learning what worked and what didn’t. So it’s always a treat when we watch a movie from that period that not only surpasses those challenges but also have something of brilliant in it. The film ‘M’ has all of that.
Director Fritz Lang was a master in German expressionism, and that can be seen here, with the chiaroscuro, the camera angles, the almost deformed ways the characters looked; all of those technical decisions helped turning the story into a Gothic nightmare, making us feel unsettled during the entire run of the film. Of course, the subject matter is very uncomfortable; especially with scenario with an evil serial killer targeting children is not at all a feel-good movie material at all. But Fritz Lang goes further than that, when in 1931, the Nazi party was gaining strength in Germany, and it was impossible not to imagine a parallel of the real Germany at the time with the fictitious of this one notorious film ‘M.’
Director Fritz Lang makes us feel very uncomfortable with the story scenario, not only because of the main subject. In time, we sense there is something very wrong with pretty much all of the characters in the film. There is an anger that needs to explode, that needs to be addressed, and more importantly, that needs to be given space to be acted upon. The catharsis, meaning “the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions” for these people is not talking about it; it’s acting on it. It is turning their feelings into action, into aggression, into violence. That is why they attack the old man, even though everyone is perfectly capable of knowing right from wrong.
The film ‘M’ goes into probably its strongest scene, where the judgment of the murderer. It is a hypnotic freak show, and not only because of the light it shines on the killer; but especially, because of the light it shines on these people who are gathered in the underground, feverish of hate, prepared to do the worst and maybe another parallel with the Nazis maybe? This is the moment where Lorre truly shines; his participation on the film up to that point was very discreet.
The truth is the film focuses a lot more on the impact Hans Beckert’s despicable actions he has created in society than in himself. But Peter Lorre had almost a caricaturist’s look, which something could be even funny, but he manages to make his character sickening to watch and deeply disturbed, which, in time, makes us feel kind of sympathetic towards him, even if just for a small tiny bit.
Director Fritz Lang was able to create a perfect sense of dread and paranoia with the new sound technology afforded to him. Fritz Lang even uses the melody from “In The Hall of the Mountain King” as a key element in the plot. Hans Beckert whistles the song as he stalks the streets, eventually allowing for his identification as the murderer. The sound, though occasionally subpar, it even drops out entirely at times, and helps build the momentum of the narrative and emphasizes the thrill of the chase. Certain editing techniques help flesh out the narrative even more. The use of intercutting during scenes with the criminals and police discussing their plans draws attention to the duality of the plot.
Overall, the film ‘M’ is a fantastic film and one of the finest of the early sound era, helping to catapult Peter Lorre’s career as an actor and cement Fritz Lang’s status as a highly talented and influential German auteur. It showcases Fritz Lang’s ability to make sound a central motif and a necessary improvement to the film format, which, at the time, proved that it was more than just a gimmick. ‘M’ is incredibly engaging, even for today’s audiences, and will forever be a significant fixture in the history of cinema and “film noir.”
M MUSIC TRACK LIST
Le Halle du Roi de la Montagne from "Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46" (1876) (Written by Edvard Grieg)
La Marseillaise (uncredited) (Written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle) [Performed by Peter Lorre]
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DVD Image Quality – NERO-FILMS, JANUS FILMS and The Criterion Collection presents the film ‘M’ with a very impressive improved 1080i image quality and is also shown in the very unusual 1.19:1 aspect ratio. The blacks and greys are handled expertly by the transfer. The beads of sweat are visible, wet city streets, textures in clothing, and even the dirt in the pavement is all visible with fine textures throughout. Shadows, while not too terribly detailed, are thick and atmospheric throughout. All in all, The Criterion Collection is crisp handling and makes viewing the 110 minute film look and act like the champion it is. Despite extensive digital repair of the worst film damage, occasional nicks and scratches remain throughout. A few patches of the film were obviously sourced from prints in worse condition than the rest. In context, none of these problems are too distracting. The restoration of this movie is really quite a remarkable achievement. One annoying aspect of watching the film ‘M’ is that I was not allowed to view the English subtitles.
DVD Audio Quality – NERO-FILMS, JANUS FILMS and The Criterion Collection brings us the film ‘M’ with a German: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio experience. The fidelity of the source is obviously limited by its age. For the most part, dialogue is crisp and clear. Sound effects like bells, horns, and the killer's whistling are sometimes startlingly loud and sharp. Some analog hiss is present. The recording quality is also often a little bright. But these are problems easy to dismiss when remembering the movie's age. For a movie from 1931, this disc sounds pretty good.
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DVD Special Features and Extras:
New, restored high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the DVD edition
Special Feature: Audio Commentary features Anton Kes and Eric Rentschler [2004] [1080i] [1.19:1] [109:26] With this featurette, the audio commentary was recorded in 2004, and features the German film scholars Anton Kes, who resides at the University of California at Berkeley’s and is the author of the BFI Film Classics volume on the film ‘M,’ and we also have the Harvard University professor of German Eric Rentschler, and is the author of “The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema” and “Its Afterlife.” To listen to the audio commentary while viewing the move ‘M,’ press the AUDIO button on your remote control to select the English: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio experience. Unfortunately it's a rather dry and very scholarly audio commentary track with a surprising amount of lots of dead silence. There are some intriguing comments about the editing and transitions, as well as the framing, composition, camera position, and symbolism found throughout. Fritz Lang's use of sound is brought up but isn't as heavily covered in the track as I would have thought, but they do offer some historical context that I found interesting. Overall it's possibly worth sampling but that's about it. Please Note: Due to the amount of space available to do this DVD Review, it is only possible to give you a flavour of this interesting audio commentary.
Special Feature: Conversation with Fritz Lang [1975] [480i] [1.37:1] [49:26] With this featurette, we get to view a film by William Friedkin who sat down with Fritz Lang and had an in-depth conversation that took place on the 21st and 24th of February, 1975, and sadly Fritz Lang passed away on the 2nd August, 1976. To make this remarkable rare small film, which manages to combine artful photography and especially an intimate conversation. It should be noted that Fritz Lang was not a reliable truthful interview subject. Indeed, much doubt has been thrown upon the tale of his leaving Germany in 1933, which he recounts with great enthusiasm here. Even if the story is not true, surely the astounding level of detail offered by Fritz Lang in his conversation, reveals a great a great cinematic mind at work and I found it a fascinating featurette. With this interview focuses on Fritz Lang's early life and career from 1917 to 1933, which covers how he first got into filmmaking to making ‘The Testament of Dr. Mabuse,’ with the director sharing some great stories, particularly one about a meeting with Dr. Goebbels that lead to him fleeing Germany that in and of itself is full of tension, though the notes for the feature do point out that Fritz Lang wasn't always truthful during interviews, and another interview on this disc calls into question how Fritz Lang actually fled German. With his eye-patch, his natural way of storytelling, and a slight annoyance to some of William Friedkin's questions, Fritz Lang carries this interview effortlessly and makes a most fascinating subject. Disappointingly, this is the shorter edited version of the interview; apparently a longer one at 140 minutes version exists. Also, the audio is a little rough and a subtitle option would have been appreciated. Still, despite my mild criticisms on the presentation I'm thrilled with its inclusion.
Special Feature: Claude Chabrol’s ‘M’ Le Maudit [‘M’ the Damned] [1982] [480i] [1.37:1] [10:44] With this featurette, we get to view a short film made for a French television programme “Ciné-Parade,” where Claude Chabrol was asked to inaugurate a series of homages by contemporary directors of classic cinema. Claude Chabrol – himself often a director of tense psycho-sexual thrillers, such as ‘Le Boucher’ [1969] and ‘La Cérémonie’ [1995] – chose the urban-thriller ‘M.’ In this short, a sort of ‘M’-in-ten-minutes, Maurice Risch plays Peter Lorre character playing Hans Beckert. The piece originally aired in 1982.
Special Feature: Harold Nebenzal [2004] [1080i] [1.37:1] [14:31] With this featurette, we get to view an interview with Harold Nebenzal, who is the son of ‘M’ producer Seymour Nebenzal, who graciously sat down with The Criterion Collection in August of 2004 to discuss his father Seymour Nebenzal pioneering independent company NERO-FILMS, and was producer of such films as ‘Pandora’s Box’ [1929], ‘Westfront 1918’ [1930], ‘M’ [1931], ‘The Threepenny Opera’ [1931] and ‘The Testament of Dr. Mabuse’ [1933]. Harold Nebenzal worked on his father Seymour Nebenzal 1951 Hollywood remake of the film ‘M,’ which hurt his career severely, as well as the film ‘Cabaret’ [1972], and Harold Nebenzal is the author of the award-winning novel “Café Berlin.” It's a rather strong interview, with Harold Nebenzal recalling a visit to the set of the films, his father's production company and the films it produced, and his father's move to the States. Harold Nebenzal also offers an alternate story to Fritz Lang's leaving Germany and “never returning.” It was nice to view this interview because I was unfamiliar with what happened with Harold Nebenzal later on in his career.
Special Feature: Paul Falkenberg's Classroom Tapes [Audio only] [1976 / 1977] [1080i] [1.37:1] [36:09] With this featurette, we are informed that in 1976 and 1977, ‘M’ editor Paul Falkenberg was asked to address film study classes at the New School University in New York. Students watched the film ‘M’ with Paul Falkenberg and discussed the film’s history. Presented here are audio excerpts from the audio tapes made of those conversations. The audio tapes of Paul Falkenberg are presented courtesy of Theodore Conant and with the permission of Lotte Falkenberg. While listening to the audio tapes, we get to view the film ‘M.’ Unfortunately we only get to hear just over 36 minutes’ worth of material here, but thankfully it's all rather good. Its presentation is also fairly clever; playing the audio commentary over sequences from the film ‘M,’ Paul Falkenberg is referring to. The film also stops when he calls for whoever is projecting to stop the film, and it even rewinds when Paul Falkenberg calls for them to rewind, working to recreate the experience of actually being there. In the interview Paul Falkenberg talks about the editing process of the film and Fritz Lang's involvement. Paul Falkenberg breaks down scenes and the framing, and also comments on the use of lighting and space. Paul Falkenberg has some anecdotes, which includes Lorre's inability to whistle, and even points out some of the actors and mentions their career briefly, and even mentions the possible fate of one under Nazi rule.
Special Feature: A Physical History of ‘M’ [2015] [1080i] [1.37:1] [25:08] With this featurette, we have a visual essay about the film ‘M’ and its various versions and history. The aspect ratio is discussed and sequences are shown from the French version of the film. It then gets into detail about its banning and then how the Nazi's were able to use the film in one of their anti-Semitic propaganda films, The Criterion Collection including a large nasty portion of that film to give context. It also brings up the source used for the original The Criterion Collection DVD and NTSC LaserDisc. Though I'm sure there's more material to be covered it's an excellent featurette and worth watching.
Special Feature: Still Galleries: With this featurette, we get to view the following stills gallery, where they present a large collection of production stills, behind-the-scenes photographs, and production sketches by art director Emil Hasler for the film ‘M,’ who was a German art director who worked on more than a hundred films during his career. Which has been divided into five categories and they are as follows: The Crime, The Search, The Capture, The Trial, and Posters and Documents. You can navigate directly to them or start from the beginning and work your way to the end. The first four sections are made up of production photos, behind-the-scenes shots, sketches and comparisons between what was envisioned and the final shot, all dedicated to their respective sections of the film. The last section presents a variety of posters from around the world. Images are courtesy of the Berlin Film Museum, the Bibliothèque du Film, and Posteritati Movie Poster Gallery, New York City, New York.
PLUS: A 32 page booklet and includes an essay by film critic Stanley Kauffmann entitled THE MARK OF M. MISSING SCENES. MY FILM M: A FACTUAL REPORT by Fritz Land [1931]. FRITZ LANG’S M: FILMED SADISM by Gabriele Tergit. GANGSTERS, TOO, HAVE THEIR PROFESSIONAL HONOR b Anton Kaes [1931]. FRITZ LANG ON M: AN INTERVIEW [1963]. SPECIAL THANKS. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. DVD PRODUCTION CREDITS. ABOUT THE TRANSFER. Plus we get scenes from the film ‘M.’ But the bulk of the booklet you will find the articles very intriguing. One of the articles concentrates on a short piece is a reprint of a missing scene that's in the script sent to the censors but doesn't look to have been filmed. Though I couldn't really make heads or tails of it the notes suggest it's about an unstable person calling in to the police to claim responsibility for the murders. The next few articles deal with the reception and controversy of the film at the time, including a reprint of an article by Fritz Lang defending the film. The other article by Gabrielle Tergit lambasting its morals, and then a letter by a supposed underworld figure making mention of the criminal moral code. The booklet then concludes with a reprinted interview with Fritz Lang on ‘M’ from 1963. All in all it is an excellent booklet filled with some great material and hidden gems of information.
BONUS: New cover design by Sarah Habibi.
Finally, with the film ‘M,’ director Fritz Lang uses imagery nicely to convey what he sees as the shabbiness of bourgeois society. Fritz Lang graceless characters inhabit a landscape of dim, smoky meeting rooms, bland offices, and crassly commercial shopping streets. The off-screen murders are handled very nicely, too; one especially effective shot shows a balloon that we had seen the victim holding a few minutes earlier, now tangled up in powerlines and being buffeted by the wind. With the spoken German language in the film, little of the dialogue in this fairly early talkie seems especially natural. There are a lot of strictly expository conversations in ‘M,’ and a lot of others that seem to exist only to show us how corrupt or cynical a character is. There are also several long stretches when activity on screen is accompanied by total silence on the soundtrack. This probably seemed less strange to an audience that was used to silent movies then it does to a modern viewer. The film ‘M,’ it is well-made movie, People who are interested in film history will likely find it interesting and reasonably entertaining. For a more general modern audience, though, its entertainment value alone won't quite cut it. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
