Rating: 
Summary: dated
Review: Maybe this shocked in its day, but it's terribly dated, with long dialogue scenes that could have been condensed way down. Interesting to see Peter Lorre so young and speaking German. But I thought I'd be caught up in the actual movie, but was forced to watch it as a piece of film history, like a college film class. The one thing that prevents film from being the greatest art form is movies date so quickly. This is a perfect example.
Rating: 
Summary: M is for masterpiece
Review: babyfaced peter lorre is a child killer, and the entire town is as freaked out as people in the middle ages by rumors about witches. various factions in the city search for the killer with ulterior motives. irony of ironies, criminals want to capture him most so they won't be harassed by the police pressured by public outcry.
M is a dual examination of the human condition. on one level, there the character played by lorre, a lonely degenerate man who has a sick murderous lust for children. but, equally interesting are society's reactions to the rape/murders. everyone searches for the killer but who might that be? the hysteria reaches a level where everyone demands a scapegoat. as such, the film presages the political hysteria that overtook germany during the depression.
if the movie has a message it's that we musn't only protect children from killers but protect them from becoming killers. after all, the murderer in the movie had once been a child. and it's in the heart of every child to grow up to hate the world, to succumb to sick fantasies. how tragic then an entire generation of germans grew to serve as hitler's willing executioners by scapegoating an entire race of people.
Rating:
Summary: The 1st Film Noir
Review: "M" is the story of a child killer in 1930s Germany. A group of police and mafia begin a race for the killer, and mob catches him first, all ending in a court room of sorts. This was the first major German sound film, and it is a great example of what the Germans could do. I would have loved to see what movies would have been produced if the Nazis hadn't come into power. This is the granddaddy of all psycho serial killer movies (even predating Hitchcock's "Psycho"). Peter Lorre is convincing as the murderer, although he wasn't shown as much as I'd have liked. Fritz Lang goes a long way to establishing elements of what would later be known as Film Noir; non-sypathetic heros, lots of shadows, grim subject matter. A classic by every standard. By the way, it is in German with English subtitles, and they go by pretty fast, so read quickly, or repeted viewing may be nessesary.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this yet...
Review: The movie is brilliant, as many others have said, so I won't go into that here.I am posting to warn people not to buy 'M' yet. Criterion have just announced that they will be releasing a brand new edition, with a better transfer and more extras - so wait for that one! It will come out sometime in late 2004.
Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: The city of Berlin (during pre-WWII Germany) is wrought with hysteria as a cunning child-killer stalks the streets. To hasten the capture of the murderer, the police clamp down tightly on local criminal activity, making business-as-usual activities nearly impossible for members of the city's organized-crime syndicate. So in an effort to return the city to its previously permissive state of affairs, the local mobsters decide to hunt down the elusive homicidal pedophile themselves. This compelling study of a pedophilic serial killer and the public reaction to his odious crimes was decades ahead of its time in its treatment of psychological, political, and sociological themes. The first "talkie" from pioneering auteur Fritz Lang--probably better known to fans of classic cinema as the director and artistic force behind 1927's groundbreaking, trendsetting silent SF classic METROPOLIS--1931's M is more than just a crime thriller. It is actually a subtle comment on the sense of security that modern "civilized" people so blithely accept. Lang so effectively blurs the line separating institutions of law from crime syndicates that he leaves viewers questioning whether or not society's leaders are actually capable of keeping its citizens safe and secure. And indeed, Lang had good reason to pose such a question, as the Nazis were already on the rise in Germany at the time he was making M. The film barely veils Lang's disgust for the Germany of that period--a Germany that could birth and foster a philosophy of hatred like Nazism--since the Berlin he depicts is dark with dirt and grime and the people all seem to have bloated, gnarly faces that are twisted into perpetual scowls. That being the case, it is no surprise to learn that Lang employed actual Berlin residents and real-life members of the city's criminal underground to fill several supporting roles. M is also notable as the film that launched Peter Lorre into the international spotlight. Lorre's gutwrenchingly emotive portrayal of a human monster who is unable to control his evil, deviant sexual impulses is nothing short of stellar. Unfortunately, this performance also resulted in his being typecast, and it was afterwards difficult for him to secure roles outside of the noir or horror genres, even after his emigration to Hollywood. Released the same year as Tod Browning's classic Lugosi vehicle, DRACULA, M is actually the scarier of the two. Although Lang's intention was for M to reflect the decaying and diseased society that WAS Germany during the years that culminated with World War II, it reflects just as poignantly the anger, violence, and social ambiguity so prevalent in today's world. And that is very frightening indeed. The Criterion Collection DVD offers a visually stunning restored version of M in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and at its original 111-minute running time. The disc plays the film with the original German-language soundtrack, but optional English subtitles are available. Unlike many Criterion discs, there are no additional bonus features, but the opportunity to watch this remarkable and historic film as its legendary director intended makes amazon.com's less-than-suggested-retail price very reasonable. Definitely a must-see for students of cinema, aficionados of classic films, and fans of the noir or thriller genres.
Rating:
Summary: Essential
Review: I wonder why Criterion skimped on their usual great extras for this release, but the print quality is remarkable and so is the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Ten. Do not fail to watch this old, old movie masterpiece
Review: This is, hands down, one of the best movies ever made. I think it was Peter Lorre's first lead role. He plays a psychopath, a murderer of children in Berlin in the 20s or 30s, an era in which the underworld had as much or maybe more power in running the city as did the police and civic officials. When the police crack down on the criminals in an attempt to catch the killer (who has the city held in terror for the safety of their children), the bad guys realize that they've got to find this nut case so they can get back in business again.
The movie, to me, is remarkable for how much terror and horror it can display without showing one single piece of violence. All the nasty stuff occurs off camera: a child buys a balloon, the child enters a forest with Lorre, and as the child's mother endlessly calls her name out a window overlooking a deserted street, we see the balloon rise skyward from the forest.
Absolutely amazing film - and trust me: you'll never hear the music of the Peer Gynt Suite again without thinking of this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful (if historically inaccurate).
Review: M (Fritz Lang, 1931) It has been said that behind every crime story ever committed to film lies the shadow of M. That may well be true, though Lang (and others) were making crime dramas long before this (the first Dr. Mabuse movie was made nine years previous, for example). Still, there is a great deal here to warrant the speculation. Loosely based on the story of Fritz Haarmann, the Werewolf of Dusseldorf (whose story was also the basis for the more recent Tenderness of the Wolves), M is the story of a child murderer, Franz Becker (the screen debut of the astonishing Peter Lorre), and the simultaneous attempts by the police and a crime syndicate to track him down. The suspense builds quickly (perhaps too quickly; the restored version, released in 2000, is almost twenty minutes shorter than Lang's original theatrical release) as Becker tries to evade both the law and the criminals while plying his trade. The film might have been a simple crime thriller, above average but not really rising head and shoulders above the crowd (in the same way, for example, Hitchcock's The Thirty-Nine Steps is enjoyable, but it's not Psycho or North by Northwest) but for one thing: Peter Lorre. He almost sleepwalks through the first three-quarters of the film in an air of perfect menace, uttering perhaps three lines throughout. Then, in the final quarter, when pressed to the wall, he unleashes a stream of monologues so perfectly acted and inexpressibly brilliant that the viewer can do nothing but stand in awe of Lorre's power to both act like a man in fear of his life and engender the sympathies of film viewers everywhere at the same time, despite our knowledge of his guilt. (As a side note, this is one of the many differences between Franz Becker and Fritz Haarmann; the latter was quite happy to die, at anyone's hands, instead of going back to an insane asylum. He protested not at all on his own behalf, after his capture.) It might also be said that behind every criminal trial since also lies the shadow of M, as the contents of Lorre's monologues are now standard defenses in criminal trials around the world every day. But try not to hold that against this compelling, awe-inspiring film. ****
Rating:
Summary: A classic from Fritz Lang
Review: In 1931 Berlin, 8 children have fallen victim to a murderer. Suspicion abounds on the city streets, and the police have very few leads to follow. To expand their search for the killer, the police raid the dens of the underworld, infuriating the crime bosses. How could the police think that a murderer of children would be included in their ranks!! They may be theives and prostitutes, but even they wouldn't stoop so low as to harm a child. In an effort to rid themselves of such a terrible mark, the criminals take it upon themselves to track down and to bring their own form of justice this terrible person. "M" is Fritz Lang's first "talkie" and is filled with great camera shots and very little sound. Sound is only used when necessary, giving this a great mix of the silent era and the new age of the talking pictures. The story is wonderfully told and displays one of the finest performances of Peter Lorre's acting career. His portrayal of the child killer is chilling and beautifully acted. An incredible film.
Rating:
Summary: Peter Lorre is great in this role!
Review: All the reviews I've read here are so good that all I can add is the image of the balloon floating in the air.
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