Micransix Crappy film

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Ian (Flash Review)Where do I even start describing this? At its core this is a detective thriller as a police inspector is on the trail of a recent random crime wave. As clues emerge, they lead to a man who is inside an insane asylum; that's strange. This man's scribbling writings are detailed accounts of the actual crimes that just occurred. How can this be!? There is a lot more to the story which weaves through many characters and unusual scenes that are all very intriguing. The cinematography is striking and there are smart uses of various camera angles and the film stock is rich. There are several scenes with double negative characters. One scene amazed me as visually transparent person physically handed a 'real' person a stack of papers. Very cool in 1933 and even today! The story is unique and even has a car chase, explosions and booby-traps.

funkyfry This film was famously banned by the nazi party, and Lang beat a quick retreat from Berlin after hearing the news. To some extent we can see why -- the film depicts a criminal gang, run by a ruthless maniac who wants to use industrial terrorism to strike fear into the population and ultimately gain control. Sounds familiar? I guess Goebbels thought so too.It's an interesting film, poised as it is partway between his silent career and his future talking film career in America. The film features a recurring character (Commissioner Lohmann) from his previous masterwork "M", and also the same kind of fascination with technology that was present in the first "Mabuse" film and in "Spies" and "Metropolis." This would show up less frequently in his American films, but "Cloak and Dagger" certainly is brethren to this film. It also features some really startling car chases that are a more elaborate version of what he had done in "Metropolis." Some of his expressionist devices are quite startling, especially Mabuse as a ghost with his huge pale eyes, and the way Dr. Kramm's (Theodor Loos) head is framed against the rushing trees almost looks as if we're seeing inside the fabric of his brain. The film also shows up Lang's weaknesses, specifically his inability to make the "heroic" characters in the film convincing or two- dimensional. Gustav Diessl is barely adequate as Tom Kent, whose name is as dull and straightforward as his character, and Wera Liessem's Lilli, the love interest, is a study in poor acting and stale characterization. But the film's a winner, because even all these many years later you are sure to see something that you've never seen before in a film. Lang's visual sensibility and his excellent editing move the film forward like a mack truck. Klein-Rogge is as chilling and otherworldly as ever, and his criminal madman in an asylum was surely an inspiration for many future film villains right up to the present day (some of his lines of dialog were clearly lifted for Nolan's "Dark Knight"). I think the film is slightly unbalanced by the policeman (Otto Wernicke) being given more screen time than either Mabuse or the ostensible hero of the film, but why quibble? It's stood the test of time and will surely be thrilling people when a lot of the big blockbusters of our day have been forgotten.

MisterWhiplash The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is something that one might not expect in the catalog of work by the towering figure in German cinema, Fritz Lang. The film is, actually, a sequel. Or, correctly, the second part of what is in retrospect a trilogy (it ended with 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, which ended up being the director's final film). It concerns the title character, who in the first film - arguably the first 'crime epic' as at four and a half hours - chronicles in expert detail how a madman takes over a German city with his hypnotic powers of criminal influence.That film as well as this sound-era follow-up, the latter of which got banned by Goebbles for supposed influence on the public (and no wonder with its 'Mystery Voice' of influence, but more on that in a minute), are not exactly "high art." On the contrary, I think Lang would readily admit these are popular works of art, inspired initially by a pulp serial. Indeed watching this film in particular I can't help but think with its swath of criminals under a madman's "testament" and spell (particularly after his demise) and police force inching closer and closer to discovering the secrets of this man's plan, that all it's really missing is Batman. Matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise me a bit to discover that, one way or another, Bob Kane or Bill Finger didn't watch this (or the original bad-ass 1922 epic feature) to inspire Gotham just a bit.In this world, people are desperate. It's hard not to see it as Lang shows a flashback of one of the employment-desperate criminals, who has one little spot of hope with a woman who loves him practically unconditionally (or maybe she's one of those 'I can change this Bad Boy' types, but I digress). These were tough times, and people might just decide to turn to crime as those jobs weren't available - or, as Goebbles might have picked up on, the desperation of the German people to Follow The Leader so to speak. For most of the film we don't know who is this Man Behind the Curtain (literally!) who delivers orders and demands to the criminals that they must carry out; mostly, it seems, involving a jewel heist worth hundreds of thousands.It's curious that Lang casts/repeats the same character and actor from *M*, not the original Dr. Mabuse silent film, Captain Lohmann, for this film. Perhaps it's a crossbreed then of sequels, which is rare for any director to attempt: the same man who caught that child killer played so notoriously/well by Peter Lorre would return to find out this "Testament" era of Dr. Mabuse. We only see a little of Mabuse anyway... in *living form* that is. He scribbles notes and delivers them from his room, somehow. Of course I wouldn't dare reveal too much - yes, even for a film that is over eighty years old - but how it is actually getting out to the criminal elements are devilishly clever, if maybe, just a little, obvious.But Lang is dealing in clichés here and having so much fun doing it. And his filmmaking is one of two modes and always so pleasurable to watch: either he's patient, waiting with his shots as the silent film master that he was, taking in actors' movements, usually when they talk right at the camera/the audience, OR he exercises his action-film chops with plenty of energy, particularly in the first act when we see a man who becomes surrounded by some of Mabuse's "minions" (which may involve a barrel full of explosives), and then in the climax which involves a chase and a man driving a car in a complete daze. Lang takes his time with his pulp, and milks moments for all they are worth. Of course watching bits like the one criminal and his girlfriend Lillie is a little dated (just how, you know, unconditional she is in her love), but you can take that with a grain of salt hopefully.What's so striking here is how Lang gets this cops vs criminals thing down so well; he did it before in the first segment, and one wonders going in if there will be enough time to develop all of this. But this time it works so ingeniously because it's the crazy aftermath of Dr. Mabuse's reign (spoiler: he dies halfway through the film). So that his influence is practically supernatural, as he appears to characters as a crazy apparition, with eyes bugging out and a a face in crazier contours. It's this kind of scene that just by itself will make your hair rise. In the rest of the story... it makes sense, sort of. The acting matches the intensity of the action, and makes for a helluva potboiler. This is a filmmaker making a point about the terror and horrors of crime - and, of course, what a simple voice can do for easily impressionable people in dire straits - while having a lot of fun, in his own diabolical way. It dwells in the darkness of the human soul...Again, like Batman.

gavin6942 A new crime wave grips the city and all clues seem to lead to the nefarious Dr. Mabuse, even though he has been imprisoned in a mental asylum for nearly a decade.Interestingly, the film is a sequel to both "Mabuse the Gambler" and "M". The "M" connection may only be implied, but there are enough references to think they must exist in the same world. (And some stylistic choices draw a line, too, such as both Lohmann and M's killer identified by their whistling.) The film marked the end of Lang's collaboration with his wife, Thea von Harbou (and the end of their marriage). This was his second film with producer Seymour Nebenzal (the first was "M"). Nebenzal is not as well known as the directors he financed, but maybe he should be: Lang, Pabst, Sirk and more...The Criterion disc is loaded with special features, not least of which is commentary from film historian David Kalat. Strongly recommended for anyone who has a love of film. I do not think they have transferred it to Blu-Ray yet, but I find it hard to believe they could improve on what they have already done...