Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler
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Movie Reviews of Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler
Movie Review: Fritz Lang's TRUE Silent Masterpiece.
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes METROPOLIS is the movie that everybody knows and while it is a highly influential work of world cinema, for my money Fritz Lang's true masterpiece is DR. MABUSE, THE GAMBLER especially when seen in this new authorized edition from Kino which runs 270 minutes. That's 57 minutes longer than the previous Image release which was the standard bearer up until now. There is so much I could say about this release but I will do my best to try and be concise. All of the elements that make Fritz Lang's movies what they are are on display here. The set design is truly astonishing not only for how it looks but for how it complements the action that is going on in front of it. The cinematography by Carl Hoffmann is fabulous especially when seen in a proper restoration like the one here. The editing is first rate as it highlights the dramatic action and the characters throughout the film. The characters are also fascinating to watch and there are so many of them. In many ways DR MABUSE plays like a silent version of Quentin Tarrentino's PULP FICTION (the source material IS pulp fiction) which leads me to what for me is the real strength of the picture and that is the screenplay by Thea von Harbou. The principal themes of guilt, intimidation and redemption which occur throught Lang's work are fully displayed here for the first time. Although they are often pointed out as the biggest weakness in his pictures I think just the opposite. Von Harbou's screenplays are grounded in silent film storytelling which makes them appear simplistic but like a fairy tale or other allegorical work there is a lot more when you look below the surface. It is rather telling after Lang left her and Germany that the principal themes of her scenarios crop up again and again in his work from LILIOM to SCARLET STREET to HOUSE BY THE RIVER. Rounding out the film are the vivid performances of Rudolf Klein-Rogge (Harbou's ex-husband and Rotwang in METROPOLIS) as Dr Mabuse, Bernhard Goetzke (DESTINY) as von Wenk, Alfred Abel (METROPOLIS) as Count Told and especially Norwegian actress Aud Egede Nissen as the ill-fated Cara Carozza who is the heart and soul of the story. One unintended effect by Lang is that the film is now an incredible time capsule of 1920's Berlin and what the world of CABARET must have been like. Rounding out this double DVD set are background documentaries on the making and meaning of DR. MABUSE including a marvelous part with composer Aljoscha Zimmerman and how he created his new background score which is absolutely perfect. Any lover of movies silent or sound should have this release as an example of a top director at the peak of his powers and as a prime example of how a restoration of a classic film should be done.Movie Review: A German silent cinema masterpiece in restored form
Summary: 5 Stars
Fritz Lang's brilliantly directed and designed DR. MABUSE: THE GAMBLER (1922, Germany) is one of the crowning achievements of the German silent cinema from the decade following World War One. And Kino Video in Manhattan has given it a magnificent restoration that runs a full four-and-a-half hours. The print is beautiful, way longer than previous versions on home video, and with an evocatively harsh piano and violin score by Aljoscha Zimmermann and ensemble.
Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) is the archetype of all master criminals in a century of espionage movies, from James Bond to Alfred Hitchcock. He is a master of many disguises and is forever masterminding all means of terrorism in early 1920's Berlin. In this respect, DR. MABUSE: THE GAMBLER is very timely and contemporary.
In a movie that is also a commentary on 1920's Germany living, Mabuse works out of (or frequents) a cabaret with a gambling table that vanishes quickly in case of a police raid, and that offers cocaine for the mere asking. One wonders whether the cast and crew of Bob Fosse's CABARET (1972) saw this movie. Thea von Harbou's adaptation of Norbert Jacques' novel keeps the action moving quickly, despite the mammoth length. Something is always blowing up, and Mabuse is forever in another disguise to elude the police.
Actually, the 270 minute length is an asset because continuity holes have been filled in. We have two separate movies with an intermission for easy two night viewing on home video. (The intermission is at the two-and-a-half hour mark) The cinematography is by Carl Hoffmann, while the wondrous art direction is by Otto Hunte and Carl Stahl-Urach. Other cast members include METROPOLIS' Alfred Abel, Bernardt Goetzke, Aud Egede Nissen, and Paul Richter.
DR. MABUSE: THE GAMBLER is the grandfather of all espionage movies and cannot be recommended highly enough to fans of this genre. In its Kino Video restoration (which actually is a Berlin-Munich-Moscow restoration with Kino as American distributor), the movie is a stupendous achievement even by today's achievements. If you like it, then check out Kino's impeccable restorations of such other Lang silent restorations as DIE NIEBULENGEN (1924), METROPOLIS (1927), and SPIES (1928).
At (800) 562-3330 or Amazon.com, they are the definitive source for Lang silents.
Movie Review: Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler
Summary: 5 Stars
Winning the trust of wealthy businessmen he can manipulate to his own ends, mad mesmerist Dr. Mabuse (Klein-Rogge) employs his psychic abilities to lure millionaire Edgar Hull (Paul Richter) into a fateful card game, prising information he plans to use in order to corner trade on the stock market. But wily police commissioner Von Wrenk (Bernhard Goetzke) is on Mabuse's trail, and is planning to bring an end to the devious doctor's criminal operation.
Newly remastered by Kino video, this crisp DVD creates the electricity and atmosphere experienced by Berlin moviegoers in 1922. Lang's sinister thriller is a vivid, engaging tale of crime and evil (the German director's lifelong preoccupation from "M" to "The Big Heat") that plunges us into a seedy underworld of dingy cabarets and gambling houses in 1920s Berlin. Klein-Rogge is amazing as the malevolent master criminal, a calculating opponent seized with hubris and a penchant for clever disguises. Avoiding all the pitfalls of overly stagy silents, Lang brilliantly handles the (rather explosive) action and livens the pace, creating an atmospheric, fully realized world. Best viewed over two nights owing to its four-hour length, "Mabuse" is an eerily brilliant pinnacle of early cinema.
Movie Review: A major force in Germany 1922
Summary: 5 Stars
The period after WW1 was for Germany featured by an unbridled vices, sharp depression in many orders, hopeless, desperation, deep despair, hysteria and cynicism. So Dr. Mabuse should be the prototype of his own time, a man who didn't' t believe in love but desire; a gambler, he bets, plays cards, roulette and lives and fates of people simply because there was not reason for not making it. "If God doesn't exist , everything is permitted" , in words of Dostoievsky. Mabuse represents the reincarnation of Faust in a decaying environment, where power is the reason for living and the perfect substitute for happiness. That's why the final is so admirably metaphorical when he escapes via the sewer tunnels.
Lang mirrored with accurate precision and dramatic realism the state of things in which Germany was involved would seem to materialize the foreseen visions of the Expressionism, artistically expressed just two years ago in "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."
Powerful filmic achievement that simply overpowers all kind of sublime adjectives to describe this prominent landmark in the cinema.
Movie Review: THE GOOD DOCTOR....
Summary: 5 Stars
Quite possibly the greatest silent film of all time. It's right up there with Gance's NAPOLEON & Eisenstein's POTEMKIN. Better than anything Griffith ever did. Pulp fiction for the masses, yet an artistic masterpiece! Closer to Keaton than Chaplin. Not to be taken seriously, but should be taken seriously...I love this film & recommend it to all.
Certainly one of the TOP 25 GREATEST FILMS ever made.
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