What a beautiful movie!

The greatest movie ever made..!

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

A film which works on many levels - as a detective story, a supernatural thriller, Expressionist art, and lastly, as an ominous warning about those preying on man's fear to unleash chaos and disorder upon the world. That last bit was so relevant in Germany in the 1930's that it got the film banned by Joseph Goebbels, and it's still relevant today. Director Fritz Lang gives us lots of fantastic images, and the editing style which cuts to different elements which are playing out in the story feels very modern. The acting is excellent across the board, with the inspector (Otto Wernicke), asylum doctor (Oscar Beregi), and the sinister Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) all standing out. We get clever work on the part of the police, including some early forensics, and clever work from the bad guys, including pretty cool gadgets on top of the mind control. The love story subplot is small but Gustav Diessl and Wera Liessem make the most of it, with a lovely embrace when she finds out just how much trouble he's in (but loves him anyway), and with a fantastic escape scene.The ability to control people's minds, to bend them to one's will, to force them to be obedient or to die - it has elements from other movies of the day (Dr. Fu Manchu comes to mind), but it's particularly chilling here. As Mabuse puts it, "The ultimate purpose of crime is to establish the endless empire of crime. A state of complete insecurity and anarchy, founded upon the tainted ideals of a world doomed to annihilation. When humanity, subjugated by the terror of crime, has been driven insane by fear and horror, and when chaos has become supreme law, then the time will have come for the empire of crime." This is a true villain, and Lang makes the most of the story. The pace is excellent and never drags over its two hour run time. It's a sequel of course, but stands very well on its own, and is highly entertaining.

This film from Fritz Lang, who also gave us M and METROPOLIS, has some good bits but mostly it's just dialogue - subtitled dialogue, too. The film's main fault lies in the running time - it's on for far too long, and a bit of judicious cutting would have made things a lot more bearable. For the most part it's a typical thriller with a lone policeman hunting down a gang of criminals - there are lots of mystery elements and minor subplots about tragic lovers and one memorable insane guy, who sings whenever anybody gets too close.The acting ranges from the good to poor - the good being the gruff police inspector, who is an outsider among his peers. He's fairly clichéd, yes, but I liked him. Unfortunately to counter this interesting character there's some awful love filler with a ludicrous mugging woman who really annoyed me - but then we can't have everything.Where the film does work is in the minor horror elements which crop up. One such scene has a character being haunted by the spirit of Mabuse, who appears with huge spooky-looking eyeballs. The special effects are also pretty good, with some nice explosions and people being superimposed over the action. Adventure fans will enjoy a tense shootout and one of those classic moments which has a couple trapped in a flooding locked room, but these fun moments are few and far between. It's an intelligent and remarkable film, yes, but just not one which is particularly enjoyable.

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Fritz Lang's follow-up to his 1922 DR. MABUSE: THE GAMBLER finds the crazed doctor locked in a mental asylum where he hasn't said a word since his capture. Overtime he began doing strange drawings but it's nothing more than rubbish. Or is it? Pretty soon an Inspector is investigating these strange writings and whether or not Mabuse is communicating with someone on the outside.Lang once again hits a home run in regards to his beloved Dr. Mabuse character. There's no question that the original movie was a landmark for German cinema and even this film has its place in history. I say this because many believe the film was a warning against the Nazi party that was rising in Germany and it ended up getting the film banned for over twenty years. Lang also left Germany after making this film and wouldn't return until the end of his career. There's a lot going on in THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE and it's certainly highly entertaining.I think what I enjoyed most about the film is that we are given several strong characters who are doing battle here. Usually in these type of crime films you have a good guy and a bad guy but that's not the case here because we get at least six strong characters. The Inspector was certainly a lot of fun and the evil Dr. Mabuse gets many great scenes. You've also got Kent, a broke man who finally manages to get a job but he isn't quite ready for what he's gotten himself into. There's also a doctor who finds himself knowing a bit too much for his own good.The characters are all extremely strong and help keep the film moving but there's also Lang's masterful direction. There are a lot of twists and turns throughout the film but Lang keeps everything moving at a fast pace and he also manages to not make the film too confusing as to where people can't follow it. Visually the film is quite impressive and especially the "ghosts" and their hauntings. THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE isn't quite as great as METROPOLIS or M but there's no question that it's another very good picture from Lang.

Ex-cop Hofmeister contacts former superior Inspector Karl Lohmann (Otto Wernicke) to report a massive criminal conspiracy. Before he reveals everything, he disappears and reappears as a patient in Professor Baum's asylum. Baum once had madman Dr. Mabuse as a patient who was a hypnotic criminal mastermind that wrote master plans for a crime spree of terror but Baum reveals that Mabuse is dead. The gang is using Mabuse's plans to conduct crimes. One of the gang Thomas Kent has second thoughts while Lohmann continues to investigate. It's a convoluted massive crime thriller. It's a bit messy at the beginning. It's slightly challenging to follow. It is technically beautiful. It's a masterpiece of filmmaking from Fritz Lang of mystery crime horror.