Tomorrow, Criterion is officiating a Blu-ray release of Fritz Lang’s M. This is was a film made by a master of atmosphere in films, back when craft meant something. Starring Peter Lorre and made only 4 years after the advent of sound, M tells the story of a city gripped in the terror of having a child murderer on the loose. When the police are unable to catch him, the criminals of the city combine forces to do it for them, knowing that killing children is bad for everyone.
Lang manipulates the audience beautifully in ways that only silent film directors seem to pull off best. They came up with using sound in the film to tell the story instead of letting the dialogue do it. In this case, it’s the tune the killer whistles as he’s closing in on his prey. It’s chilling. But the film brings to bear all the force of suspenseful filmmaking we’d come to expect from masters like Alfred Hitchcock a decade before he gained notoriety. Lorre wraps the film up with a monologue that is perhaps one of the greatest in film history (easily in contention with Toshiro Mifune’s speech about the samurai in Seven Samurai). After being caught, Lorre manages to turn the feeling of the audience around on those who would cast stones at him and it’s powerful stuff.
Seeing it in Blu-ray is a treat, like any older film in black and white, seeing it in crisp HD is a rare treat that I feel like I’m getting more and more used to, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. In any case, Criterion has put a whole host of special features on the disc including the fascinating British version of the film. It’s been recently unearthed and not seen for 70 years. Basically, Frtiz Lang, assembled an English language version of the film with alternate takes, some different actors and Peter Lorre’s first English language performance.
Overall, this is a disc that is well worth the money you’ll spend on it. Criterion outdid themselves on this one. It’s a fine film and one that needs to be studied and often.
It comes out tomorrow. You can get it on Amazon here.