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M (Special Edition)
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Our DVD Price: £15.99 RRP: 
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Film Description
A stylish and uncompromising visual drama, Lang's favourite and arguably greatest film, which is based on the true-life manhunt for a compulsive child murderer who terrorised Dusseldorf and became notorious as Germany's worst mass killer. Lorre's stunning portrayal is a tour de force - sinister yet ultimately tragic.
Film Information
| Director | Fritz Lang | ||||
| Starring | Peter Lorre
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| Genre | World Cinema
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| Country | Germany | Language | GERMAN | Year | 1931 |
DVD Extras
Two discs; Audio Commentary; The restoration of M featurette; Audio interview - Peter Bogdanovich with Fritz Lang; Interview With Restoration Supervisor Martin Koerber; Documentary 'The Hunt For M'; Fritz Lang documentary; Visual essay By film historian R Dixon Smith; Extensive Stills; Set Designs; Comparison Between 1931 Version And Post War Releases.
Technical Details
| Certificate | PG | Length | 105 mins | Label | EUREK | ||
| Cat No | EKA40064 | Format | DVD | Black & White | |||
| Region | 2 | Aspect | 4:3 | ||||
| Subtitles | English . | ||||||
2 Stills
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Share your thoughts and opinions - write a review
Review by Graeme Hobbs on 6th November 2003
Based on the real-life case of Peter Kürten, the 'vampire of Dusseldorf', M is an unsettling examination of the pyschology of a murderer, here played by Peter Lorre in his first starring role. Lang presents him as compulsively driven rather than overtly malevolent and demanding of our understanding instead of our outright condemnation, a point reinforced when we see the child in him surface when attempting to explain his actions.
The overt theatricality of expressionism has been shaped into more recognisably noir territory of understated menace, something that gives the film a look that belies its 1931 date. It's as well to remember though that this is a very early sound film, and a number of the scenes are accompanied by an unsettling silence into which dislocated sounds such as a car horn or whistling resonate, and the voice of the missing child’s mother echoes in the emptiness. Lang edited the sounds with care – a point lost on the 1960s restorers who found the silences unnatural and interpolated an assortment of sound effects into the film, regardless of their suitability. These have now been removed from this meticulously restored print, allowing us to appreciate the sound as Lang wished.
The subject matter of the film resonates uncomfortably with contemporary audiences. Fears regarding the safety of children and the integration of offenders into open society are matters of constant concern. It is surprising therefore to see how much common ground the film shares with our own time. There are accusations of police impotence and ineptitude in solving the crimes and the public is shown taking the job of policing upon themselves. A feverish suspicion takes hold ('they call the murder squad when a chimney sweep walks by', says a detective) and Lang gives us an effective picture of the frightening mentality of a scared and impatient mob. Something is rotten in the society depicted and the Nazis soon banned the film on coming to power.
View more reviews by Graeme Hobbs
Review by Barry Forshaw on 2nd September 2003
Lang's masterpiece remains as clammy and unsettling as ever, with Peter Lorre’s star-making performance as a child murderer seeming uncannily prescient. Some of the techniques forged by Lang here are still influential today. It would be interesting, though, to see Joseph Losey's re-make, with David Wayne – this now seems to be a lost film. Or is the touchy subject matter the treason for its invisibility (as with Hammers' powerful Never Take Sweets from a Stranger?)
View more reviews by Barry Forshaw
Article - "Lang and Mabuse"
by R. Dixon Smith
Tuesday 6th April 2004
In 1922 Fritz Lang made Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler), a two-part film adapted from a novel by Norbert Jacques. Lang and Thea von Harbou, his wife and long-time collaborator, wrote the script together. One of the most sensational crime th... View article in full
Article - "What You Find: Hidden Gems on DVD"
by Graeme Hobbs
Friday 5th November 2004
DVD Extras aren't all about dubious 'featurettes' and photo galleries and theatrical trailers. Now and again the format has given the opportunity to release some exceptional features - often early short films by the director or really worthwhile documentaries. Here a... View article in full
Article - ""Ein Film Von...": The German Films of Fritz Lang"
by James Oliver
Friday 25th May 2007
Cinema was born in the last years on the Victorian era, took its baby steps in the first decade of the twentieth century and reached an earnest maturity in the teens. Then, like any irresponsible youngster, it let its hair down and started experimenting to find its l... View article in full
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This film is part of the following Film Collections
Sight and Sound Critics Choice 2002
Including: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Andrei Rublev, Au Hasard Balthazar, Bicycle Thieves, Breathless (Godard, 1959), Charlie Chaplin - City Lights, Fanny and Alexander, Fellinis 8 1/2, Intolerance, Ivan The Terrible (Parts 1 & 2).
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