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The Testament Of Dr Mabuse
Film Description Dr Mabuse has been in prison for ten years, plotting his master crimes of chaos and destruction, while his minions put his instructions to work. Banned by the Nazis (Mabuse's reign of crime presented far too much information on how to disrupt society), it's an effective portrait of a disrupted and unstable society. It's also a rollicking good watch that hammers along with the assurance and brio of a cartoon strip.
Film Information
DVD Extras Restored; Documentary by R Dixon Smith; Photo gallery.
Technical Details
Reviews & ArticlesShare your thoughts and opinions - write a review
Review by Barry Forshaw on 25th March 2004 Lang’s sinister classic now looks like a blueprint for much crime and thriller cinema that followed. Since the Nazis banned the film (sensing what Lang was saying about the Reich), its reputation as a classic of German cinema has been unassailable. View more reviews by Barry Forshaw
Review by Graeme Hobbs on 24th November 2004 There’s a thumping good beginning to Fritz Lang’s continuation of the Dr Mabuse story – quite literally, as it opens in a printing works and the sound of the presses is the unrelenting background noise against which the action of a spy discovered in Mabuse’s kingdom unfolds. It’s a typical Lang beginning – straight into the action and then not letting up as he threads us through the story with unstoppable assurance and visual brio. He would have made a great cartoonist. It’s not just that you can picture the storyboards behind the scenes, but rather you can actually imagine the film as a pen and ink cartoon on the page. It’s an uncanny sensation, like watching an imaginary comic book of the film come to life. This impression is aided by the pillarbox ratio of 1.19:1 allied to the striking style of framing – Inspector Lohmann (he of the inexplicable crotch shot in Lang’s M) looking straight out of the screen for example. An early sound film, its visual style is entirely a product of the silent era. On a historical note, the Nazis banned it before it was shown as Dr Mabuse’s ‘reign of crime’ seemed to present far too much information on how to disturb and disrupt society with the maximum effect. It wasn’t shown in Germany until 1951. View more reviews by Graeme Hobbs
Article - "Lang and Mabuse"
by R. Dixon Smith
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 - "Silent Film Round-Up 2004"
by Graeme Hobbs
Overall, 2004 has been a good year for DVD releases of silent film in the UK. Most pleasing of all has been the recognition that when silent film is given due respect and presented in restored editions that are well packaged, they are revitalized as major works of ar... View article in full
Article - "Supervillains in Film: Where are you now?"
by James Oliver
Supervillainy is a profession in decline. Once upon a time, the authorities would routinely declare themselves ‘baffled’ by the latest well-choreographed crime spree: today, priceless works of art are protected by only modest security; the police confident they won’t... View article in full
Article - ""Ein Film Von...": The German Films of Fritz Lang"
by James Oliver
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
See Also...Hand-picked recommendations of related films
Collections & ListsThis film is part of the following Film Collections
Including: Beckett On Film (Box Set), Crumb, Das Boot, David, Doctor Jekyll And Mr Hyde (1932 And 1941 Versions), Dracula - Pages From A Virgins Diary, Elephant, Grave of the Fireflies, In This World, Julien Donkey-Boy.
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