FAVORITE FRITZ LANG FILM
1) Metropolis
2) M
3) The Big Heat
4) Scarlet Street
5) Fury
The Tiger of Eschnapur/ The Hindu Tomb
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
M
Moonfleet
While The City Sleeps
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is my favourite.
Others…
You Only Live Once
Spione
Hangmen Also Die
The Big Heat
While the City Sleeps.
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler
Metropolis
M
Fury
The Big Heat
The Tiger of Eschnapur/The Indian Tomb
Destiny
You Only Live Once
House By the River
Scarlet Street
Hangmen Also Die!
Ministry of Fear
Man Hunt
The Woman in the Window
The Blue Gardenia
Clash by Night
I’ve seen most of Lang’s films post Destiny, other than a a small handful, most notably Rancho Notorious, and there aren’t any that aren’t worth watching, and I’d hate to try and pick some sort of best among them given the eras in which he worked and changing demands and styles, but I guess four of my favorites would be;
M
The Big Heat
amongst his more well known works, and
Frau im Mond
Ministry of Fear
as a couple that I like more than their comparative reputations would seem to indicate.
I have been surprised to see his Indian pair, Tiger of Eschnapur and Indian Tomb raise in reputation over the years to become considered near the top of his catalog. While they are well worth seeing, I wouldn’t have expected that, perhaps other than via auteurist concerns.
Yeah, Ministry of Fear (editing above—thanks, Greg)
I’ve only seen three so far, but of them Fury is my favorite at the moment. When I saw it, it was amazing how damning it was considering it was his first film made in the states. As I posted on another thread, my favorite scene/sequence has to be in the lead-up to and aftermath of the raid on the jail. It covers the central moment from a variety of angles and done in such a way [particularly once they’re inside the Sheriff’s office] that makes it appear like a battle scene.
I’ve only seen Metropolis : ( The sad part is, I’ve had M on bluray for a month or so now but haven’t been able to watch it since I got the yellow-light-of-doom on my Playstation 3. I sent it back to Sony and I’m just waiting for them to fix it.
I’m a big fan of Dr. Mabuse. I liked Metropolis and M, but Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler felt like a fever dream and Das Testament der Dr. Mabuse felt like a premonition. Those are the only two Mabuse movies I’ve seen, but both of them are quite different and I have heard (though I do not know this to be the case, but with these two movies alone it seems to make sense) that Lang’s style would change with each and every Mabuse movie he made to match the concerns he felt at the time—in der Spieler’s case, the sort of decadence and perversion also shown in Cabaret , in Das Testament, the rise of Nazism. I like the idea of a mutible symbol like Mabuse that reappears whenever some new form of societal disease starts festering, like a virus that keeps mutating and coming back to infect its previous victims. Mabuse is Lang’s recurring cold, caught from social illness.
—PolarisDiB
For me, it’s a toss-up between FURY, for sure emotional power, and WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS, for sheer entertainment value. I’ve seen most of his others and I think they should be seen by film buffs, but I can’t say I’ve ever been a big fan of Lang’s. RANCHO NOTORIOUS is a pretty bizarre color western in the JOHNNY GUITAR vein, although Ray’s film was considerably better.
Probably M, for the brilliance of the production and the acting, just one of those goddamn perfect movies that ruins everything else for a while.
But I’ll have to put DIE NIBELUNGEN in a tie for first place, a remarkable thrilling film pair of films, with a cumulative impact to equal the best tragedies.
i love Clash By Night, metropolis, big heat
I’ve only seen Rancho Notorious. Great title, shame about the … Maybe it’s not the best introduction to Lang.
I love Metropolis and M, but I really really admire Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler along with his first serial silents Spiders. Destiny is also quite good.
I’ve only seen M and Metropolis, and between the two I vastly prefer M.
Metropolis has some great images and a great concept, but the acting is really terrible and it’s plotted like a childrens’ cartoon.
Hello all. I’m a long time reader, first time poster.
I guess I’ll introduce myself with a contribution to this thread about one of my favorite directors.
I’ll briefly cover some of my favorites below.
M
This is one of the first great movies I saw! I was blown away by the complexity of the main character and the many possible meanings and ideas that will leave your mind racing once it’s over. The court scene is a sight to behold as is the movies entire expressionist noir style.
“Just you wait, it won’t be long. The man in black will soon be here. With his cleaver’s blade so true. He’ll make mincemeat out of YOU!”
Metropolis
Speaking of style here’s a movie with a sci-fi look that is still incredible to witness! I saw “The Complete Metropolis” in the theatre a few weeks back and couldn’t believe how stunning the visuals remained after 80+ years. Take a look at how terrible the FX in something like Titanic or Independence Day look after only 13 years, or better yet don’t.
If you haven’t seen this I would say make sure you hold out for the DVD of the complete version. The subplot for Georgy 11811 is great and missing from every other version, and the same goes for the villain’s subplot.
You Only Live Once
This is the kind of movie that will make you clench your fists at the injustices brought upon the protagonist. This movie has many great, yet tragic scenes that are so characteristic of Fritz Lang that I would say it is just as good of a starting place as M or Metropolis. This is a great Henry Fonda movie also and it’s one I always think about while watching any other movie of his; some of his movies even play as if they could be alternate futures for the character from You Only Live Once, such as The Grapes of Wrath or 12 Angry Men. One of my favorites by one of my favorite directors and one of my favorite actors!
If anybody were to ask me to explain film noir with only one frame it would be this.
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
All the style of Fritz Lang crammed into an amazing action-packed gangster movie!
“In his film, where gun-play, fires, or explosions are needed, Lang often resorted to using real weapons. In the opening scene during a power out, a stunt actor is brought in to do the gun play. Cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner stated that he spent most of the production in a state of panic due to the extreme lengths that Lang would endanger his crew.”
The flood scene and the aforementioned scene are enough to make this worth viewing, but when you add in all the other action that puts this on par with (and above) other 30s gangster movies, the horror elements, the look, and of course the political commentary you realize you’ve got a very enjoyable masterpiece.
Clash by Night
I’m sure many have watched this movie for Marilyn Monroe’s performance but it’s nothing compared to Barbara Stanwyck’s, who happens to be one of my favorite actresses. This movie is intense! The ending is so incredible and went against everything I was thinking that after the credits I had to sit there thinking why I had felt that way and what the movie itself was saying; it’s a similar feeling that M and Fury gave me.
You don’t believe me that it’s intense? Look at these two guys!
Scarlet Street
I’m going to take this moment to praise Dan Duryea as an under-appreciated villain in film-noir. Every time this guy has a scene in a movie you’ll wish you could hop in and punch him in the jaw. Sometimes it’s due to the way he’s treating a woman, or the way he’s treating the protagonist, or when you’re seeing his cowardly side as he’s lying and backstabbing anyone and everyone. I love this weaselly little punk for making me hate him in so many film-noirs! I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a story similar to William Talmen’s for his role in The Hitch-Hiker concerning Dan Duryea for this movie or another similar role.
“Talman was driving his convertible in Los Angeles with the top down, and he stopped at a red light. Another driver in a convertible who was stopped next to him stared at him for a few seconds, then said, “You’re the hitchhiker, right?” Talman nodded, indicating that he was. The other driver got out of his car, went over to Talman’s car and slapped him across the face, then got back in his car and drove off."
“Can’t you get those Lazy Legs off that couch, baby?”
With that out of the way I consider this not only one of the great Fritz Lang movies but also one of the great film-noirs, mainly for Dan Duryea and the cruelty brought on by him and the femme-fatale, Kitty (Joan Bennet).
Human Desire
I’m running out of steam so I’ll just post a picture of Gloria Graham.
Those are my favorites followed by Spies, Man Hunt, The Blue Gardenia, The Big Heat, and both other Dr. Mabuse movies. I’ve seen a total of 19 Fritz Lang movies and I still can’t say I’ve seen a bad one, just ones that I enjoyed less than the others. I love the expressionism and the moral ambiguity that are present in every picture.
Fury is another great one and I am certain it would have been one of my favorites if Fritz Lang had his way and the protagonist was guilty of the crime which, like M, would have made a VERY strong picture! I also feel the same way about The Woman in the Window and, although I’ve not read it anywhere, I assume the tack-on ending was not Fritz Lang’s own idea as the ending we are originally left with is reminiscent of the rest of his oeuvre. I still enjoy both of the movies though and recommend them as I would any Fritz Lang movie.
I hope you enjoy whichever you choose to watch!
No one went for Ranch Notorious? Marlene Dietrich in her prime?
I saw it a few years ago and enjoyed it immensley.
I have only seen this and Metropolis but I think I’d go with Rancho. Perhaps thats perverse.
Oh I see, someone has already dismissed this film. Sorry for poor reading skills. I will obviously have to watch it again to see what is so objectionable about it. keep in mind it was also the first time i had seen Dietrich on screen so maybe the force of seeing her for the first time clouds my memories.
Tough choice. I’d pick The Woman in the Window and The Big Heat as my personal favorites but probably not his best films.
easy choice for me
Liliom
I would say M… that is until I saw Metropolis on the big screen
I have not seen them all, but at this point, I would say my favourites of Lang’s films are:
The House by the River
The Big Heat
The Woman in the Window
Scarlet Street
The House by the River does not seem to be viewed widely as one of his best. I find it one of his creepiest, despite a few hokey moments and a relatively obscure cast.
great picture!
The Big Heat
ZARTEK, what a great first post, I hope not last :)
I have to admit that I have seen only 5 Lang movies so far, and they are all from his German period. ’’M’’ would be in my top 10 of all time list if I were to ever make one, so this is my favorite Lang, I guess :) ‘’The Testament of Dr Mabuse’’ goes next. I think I blew it with ‘’Der Mute Tod’’ (Destiny), having read that it was the movie that inspired Bunuel to be a filmmaker, and maybe my expectations were too great. I cannot say much about ’’Metropolis’’ and ’’Spies’’, I only remember that they are quite visually stunning and complex considering the fact that they have been made 80 years ago… I am yet to dig out his Hollywood period, but I am yet to dig out 95% of the classical noir films anyway :)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse and The Big Heat.
Metropolis
one of the wonders of cinema, I can only imagine peoples
impression at that time.
M and Metropolis
tony1990
This week I decided to pick a director whose films I haven’t seen yet. I know I know, I should be ashamed of myself, especially since Lang has such a great cannon. But anyways, what would you consider his best? What would you consider your favorite?