Rating: 
Summary: An Incredible Restoration of a Classic
Review:
Like the Murnau-Foundation's restoration of Lang's
"Metropolis," this American-edition sparkles like the finest
of nitrate-prints! It is so silvery, soft, and the range of hues and contrast are as one would expect from first-generation
materials. There must be hundreds of shades-of-gray here. Hardly a pumped-up rip-off, this joint-restoration with the Bundesarchiv and a Dutch production-house is going to difficult to top, unless some lost-materials surface. This isn't likely, as in the case of "Metropolis."Audio is also vastly-improved over the earlier-restoration,
and isn't shrill or harsh as in the soundtracks of such early
sound-films-- probably due to the fact that original, first-or-second-generation materials were used. Without-a-doubt, this film has gone through some cleaning-up with computers, but I didn't notice any obvious-tweaking, the materials are already
very solid.It's also obvious that a lot of the restoration-work was in photographic-labs, long-before digital-tranfers were
done.
The extras are all exceptional here, and most directors would be green-with-envy over such an edition of their craft. The film speaks-for-itself--and better-than-ever--and is
timeless. It is seminal, and is still copied today by lesser-lights in cinema. 1931:This is the true-beginning of the modern crime-film, things would never be the same.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful beyond description...
Review:
I've just now (minutes ago) finished seeing this film for the first time.
I'm awestruck.
Had this film been made by anyone other than Fritz Lang I'd have thought it impossible in the context of a film circa 1931. Peter Lorre's performance as a child murderer is incredible. His pleas for mercy when being "tried" by the underworld bosses is amazing. The director spends an entire film making you hate his character and in a matter of seconds, Peter Lorre makes you understand the pathos, the compulsion, the madness that drives him to do what he does. He relates real pain, real self hatred and true madness. The cinematography is PERFECT. Every aspect is flawless. All this from a film made nearly three quarters of a century ago.
It's in German. Subtitles. Big deal. If you're even looking at this, you need to see it, period.
Rating:
Summary: A vast improvement in quality!!!!!!!
Review: The original Criterion Collection DVD release of M was somewhat of a letdown, the one title Criterion released that I would have wanted them to improve upon. It's picture and audio quality was somewhat sketchy and there were absolutely no special features. However, the new edition of M is a delightful surprise in every way. This masterpiece is now given the digital treatment it deserves, with minimal scratches and tears that existed before. In the previous edition the picture was blurry and it was difficult to appreciate the dazzling camera work this film exhibits, but now the image is crisp and clear as it should be. Audio is also improved as well. Now as far as special features are concerned, I was happy to hear that it was getting a audio commentary, but now it has a great range of features that help the viewer appriciate the film even more. So don't even think twice in buying this edition over the previous one.
Rating:
Summary: A classic every film lover should see
Review: "M" has everything you could hope in a great film. The acting by Peter Lorre, Gustaf Gründgens, Otto Wernicke, and the rest of the cast all perfectly convey the different personalities in this complex story. The use of black & white and shadows is very moody and haunting. The use of sound is very important since it will tell you things the camera isn't showing. The camera work itself is amazing. I especially love the long shot in the beginning of the scene of the beggars are signing up to watch the streets where the camera moves back and forth, up and into a room through a window without a cut."M" offers so much for the viewer -- thrills, suspense, humor, terror! I enjoy it more and more with every repeated viewing. Fritz Lang does more than just give ideas on insane criminals. He compares and contrasts the police and the underworld criminal systems. You learn about the "state-of-the-art " systems of that time. And the last words harken a most important message that unfortunately is still true today. Also, if you look deeper, you can even sense Lang's anti-Nazi sentiments. It's a Criterion Collection DVD, so I had high expectations. I was disappointed with a lack of extras, but I happily noticed scenes that weren't on my VHS version. The picture was mostly clear with white lines rarely popping up. There were long passages of no sound at times, but it's possible it's supposed to be like that. (I no longer have my VHS version to compare.) The subtitles were clear and easy to read. There's interesting details on the film in the liner notes. And not like this would influence anyone's buying decisions, but I also loved the design on the case and the disc.
Rating:
Summary: M is for Masterpiece
Review: Anyone who has an interest in films and have not checked out any of Fritz Lang's german originals are seriously missing out. This film is no exception, a masterpiece in every area - brilliantly paced, meticulously detailing the Berlin Police's painstaking methods of trying to track down Peter Lorre's elusive psychopath in the first half, and a manhunt for Lorre by the Berlin underworld in the second. Lorre's face when he he is finally caught and is facing dire concequences is so full of innocence and fear you cannot help but feel for him, and the final line (and message) in the film is haunting and unforgettable. The camerawork in the film is breathtaking at times, and it is superbly acted: Lorre seems born to play the role and Otto Wernicke provides occasional comic relief as the tough and cocky Comissionar Lohmann (a role he reprised in Langs seminal Testament of Dr. Mabuse, a film BEGGING for a DVD release). Don't be put off by the films age - it's style is remarkably contemporary and puts down most of todays efforts of the same ilk to shame. A must-see.
Rating:
Summary: Lang's dark and terrifying tale of the Berlin underworld
Review: Director Fritz Lang's bleak, intense criminal masterpiece "M" is one of the cinema's most important and interesting works...and should be a real "must see" for any fan of foreign cinema. Peter Lorre in his acting debut plays a sinister, cold blooded child murderer prowling the shadowy and darkened streets of Berlin looking for victims to slake his violent desires. Loosely based around the true tale of German mass murderer, Fritz Haarman, who preyed on young males in the early twenties, before losing his head to the guillotine !! ....Lang's subject matter was very controversial on several levels and Lang's film is a jarring ride through a world of suspense and terror that ultimately finds the predator becoming the prey. Lorre eludes the frustrated Berlin police force, but finds that his criminal peers can no longer tolerate his barbarity and so they set about judging this outcast member of their community in their own fashion. Lang truly was a magnificent director and this dark, atmospheric cauldron of intense performances is one of Germany's finest films. A movie not easily forgotten and one bound to evoke spirited conversation amongst viewers of this great work. A genuine masterpiece of the cinema.....10 stars !!
Rating:
Summary: A Haunting Masterpiece, Frightening and Harrowing!
Review: Extremely effective for an early talkie. Master Fritz Lang did a terrific job with the moody atmosphere of the movie, everything seems so dirty and obscure. As you see the movie, you sense a kind of hostility but you can't figure out who it's directed at. Well, Lang was not a nazi sympathizer, and when they heard he was making a picture about a murderer, they thought it would be a thinly veiled individual representing nazism, but when they knew that he was dealing with a mere child murderer, they said go ahead Mr. Lang. But multi-layered meanings put aside, this is the film that influenced almost every suspense and horror movie to come, not to mention it single-handedly created the serial murder genre. Long before we were haunted by the likes of Hannibal Lecter, plump little Hans Beckert populated our nightmares. And Peter Loore is nothing short than brilliant in his film debut, his last monologue in front of the kangaroo court is unforgettable. While the film aches for a musical score, it makes great use of sound, somehow the 'Peer Gynt' tune will never seem the same. The story of a serial murder who cannot be found, and is ultimately brought to justice by the Berlin underworld is frightently contemporary. Haunting, frightening and unforgettable. The final scenes in the kangaroo court are truly breathtaking, Loore's plea that 'he can't help what he does' makes us almost understand the despicable character. A one-of-a-kind masterpiece that continues to frighten us after all this years. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 10!
Rating: 
Summary: Bad video quality, still incorrect subtitle translation.
Review: I currently own both DVD versions of M. The new special edition is a victim of WAAAAAAY too much edge enhancement in the remastering process in an effort to create the illusion of a sharper picture. Everything about the new edition exhibites jaggy lines which ends up being a real distraction. The video transfer was supposed to be better on the new version, but the reality is that its not. If you want to witness a proper restoration, see the restored authorized edition of "Metropolis"...also view the special feature about the "Metropolis" restoration to see how restoration is done properly. The other problem issue is the new subtitle translation. In some cases its more accurate, in other cases, its less. For instance at the end during the kangaroo court proceedings, there is no reference to the 'paragraph 51' defense, which is the German equivelant (at the time)to pleeding insanity today. Its in the earlier Criterion edition, but not the new one. If it wasn't for the added special features, I'd score it a 1 out of 5. This is an insulting special edition for such an important piece of cinema.
Rating:
Summary: Worth it
Review: I was perfectly happy with my copy of Home Vision's VHS release of the 1990s restoration of "M," and very reluctant to invest in Criterion's new DVD release of the competing 2000 restoration, which, although supposedly more authentic and closer to the original release print, looks pretty much the same to me. "M" is a fantastic film no matter what aspect ratio it's viewed in, and can be fully appreciated without program notes or supplementary gewgaws. But this DVD package is up to the standards associated with Criterion, and has all the virtues that the British Eureka DVD that came out earlier this year lacks. Every element is intellectually substantial and tastefully presented, and will reward the serious film student as well as the casual viewer. I'm especially glad that Criterion brought it out during Peter Lorre's centenary year, since, as the audio commentators point out, this is Peter's film as much as it is Fritz Lang's. Especially valuable is the segment "A Physical History of 'M,'" which features very rare footage from the original French release version of "M" that incorporates a take of Peter's famous kangaroo court speech that is very different from the one in the German version (although Peter appears to be speaking French, there is a different actor dubbed on the soundtrack) and a sequence from the notorious Nazi documentary "The Eternal Jew" using "the Jew Lorre"'s performance from "M" in order to denounce him and the film. I wouldn't say you NEED this particular presentation of "M," but if you don't already have "M," you should get this.
Rating:
Summary: Again? ...but well, I've got to buy this one...
Review: I'm sorry for those who already own the former 1999 Criterion DVD of M (including myself, of course....) but this one is a must-buy item.
After more than 7 decades since its making, Fritz Lang's M remains a poignantly modern film; a striking portrait of the contemporary human world as we live in.
Fritz Lang, who always regarded M as his best film and the one by which he would be remembered, used to call it "a documentary". It is one of the first films about serial killers, and already Lang goes beyond depicting the pathology of such criminal; what M examines is the pathology of our contemporary society of urbanization, mass politics, and mass media: it's also a film about a 20th century metropolis of mass society and mass media culture.
The former Criterion DVD edition of M was made of the best available material back then-- a print restored from many different sources, re-establishing as close as possible, Lang's original release cut. It was also a good transfer for a standard, NTSC digital medium.
But what sometime happen in the world of film restoration is, some materials that have been considered to be lost are suddenly be re-discovered. This new edition of M is created (for the most parts, expect for one reel which was missing) from the original camera negative, and transferred to HD video master. The result is-more details, less scratches, finer grains, and more subtleties.
The earlier DVD was a bare one. This new edition presents Lang's portrayal of social pathology of the 30's also with an audio commentary by Anton Kaes and Eric Renteschler. Kaes's book about M published as part of BFI classics series had already revealed Lang's freighting vision, pointing out how much of M was based on real events and real details of Berlin, including some underground figures played by actual underground celebrities of Berlin. With audio commentary, his points can be more articulately appreciated.
The supplements on the second disc can be seen as a testimonies of how many filmmakers and critics regarded M as a their contemporary film, how much inspiration M has been provoking in film history. But they have seen the film in far less complete versions than we can do now; for M has constantly victim of censorships, banning, alternations and mutilations over the years. The DVD also includes that history, including the Nazis who banned the film using segments of it in a propaganda film accusing "decadent art".
Watching M again on this new DVD was again a real inspiration. Though it is an early sound film, with very limited resources compared to the modern sophisticated technologies...well, it testifies how much one can do with the medium of cinema.
|
