The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse - Criterion Collection

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The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is Fritz Lang's sequel to his flamboyant Dr. Mabuse two-part epic of the 1920s, this time adding subtle use of sound to the creepy effects developed for the earlier film. Once a Moriarty-like mastermind, the haggard Dr M (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) has become an autistic asylum inmate who scrawls plans for daring crimes in his cell and exerts an unhealthy influence on his psychiatrist. Inspector Lohmann (Otto Wernicke), the jolly policeman from Lang's M, is puzzled by a series of daring crimes that bear the Mabuse signature, and a gang of thugs take instructions from a shadowy figure who claims after the doctor's death to be Mabuse reborn and is staging a reign of crime apparently designed to bring about the ruin of all law-abiding society.

Though it works best as a textbook thriller, some commentators, including Lang, suggested that the pulp plot was intended to allegorize the evil influence of the Nazi party, with a crime boss who rants like Hitler. The many impressive set-pieces still work, too: the pursuit of a spy through a grinding print-works, an assassination at a traffic light, hero and heroine trapped in a room with a bomb cutting a water main to flood their way to freedom, the persecution of the asylum head by a phantom of his patient, and a last-reel night-time chase. --Kim Newman

Description

Locked away in an asylum for a decade and teetering between life and death, the criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse has scribbled his last will and testament: a manifesto establishing a future empire of crime. When the document's nefarious writings start leading to terrifying parallels in reality, it's up to Berlin's star detective to connect the most fragmented, maddening clues in a case unlike any other. Fritz Lang's film reunites the director with the character that had effectively launched his career, and Lang puts slogans and ideas expounded by the Nazis into the mouth of a madman, warning the audience of an imminent menace, which was soon to become a reality. A landmark of mystery and suspense for countless espionage and noir thrillers to come, this is the complete, uncut original director's version in a stunning new transfer. The two-disc special edition also includes the alternate French-language version of the film and a wealth of other supplemental materials.

Customer Reviews:

Testament of Dr. Mabuse.......2007-06-21

Completed shortly before Lang fled Nazi Germany, "Dr. Mabuse" is a creepy sequel to his earlier silent thriller "Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler." With all its talk of master plans and a cast of shadowy henchmen taking orders from an authoritarian voice who issues orders from behind a curtain, it isn't that hard to see the parallels to Hitler. A subplot involving a reluctant member of the Mabuse syndicate (Gustav Diesel) who hopes to flee with his lover Lilli (Wera Lieseem) adds another suspenseful dimension and further suggests that Lang put an imaginative twist on his own predicament. (The Nazis, of course, promptly banned the film.) See "Dr. Mabuse" for the mystery, knotty intrigue, and Lang's thrilling, impeccably directed escape sequences.

Just for one short scene..........2007-01-15

For all its excitement, action, fantasy, this film would for me live in the history of the cinema just for one short scene...

It deals with a killing at traffic lights as a driver is shot from a car that has pulled alongside his, the sound of the shot obliterated by the sound of the horns of the other impatient drivers... But Lang never takes us right 'into' the incident...

At the payoff we look down from an overhead angle on the cars packed together at the signals: then they all pull away - all but one, which remains motionless and alone in the middle of the road after the lights have changed... No violence, no blood, is needed for us to be eerily aware that a man who was alive when the lights were at red is dead now they are at green...

Another Lang masterwork!.......2006-11-09

The more I see of Fritz Lang's films, the more and more he grows in esteem for me. This film is no exception. While a sequel to the two-part 1922 film 'Dr. Mabuse: Der Spieler,' it could also be fully enjoyed and understood by one who has never seen the prior film (of quite massive length!), since apart from the recurring title character, it's entirely its own story, with an entirely new set of characters and an entirely new plot. It's not one of those sequels that's a continuation of the events and characters established in the first enstallment, even though it is nice to see the 1922 two-parter first, to have some background information on just who Mabuse is and the kind of trouble he's about to start unleashing again, not to mention just why he's ended up in a mental institution.

This is one of those films that just gets better and better with each repeated viewing, particularly since it seems to start in media res. One comes to have more and more of a full and complete understanding of who all of these characters are, why they're behaving this way, and just what is going on in the opening scenes, as well as some of the ensuing scenes that make more sense after having already seen the film a few times. And the film just gets better and better and faster-paced as it goes on. The basic plot, which has already been outlined by other reviewers, is that Dr. Mabuse, after having spent the past decade in a mental institution, has recently begun unleashing his dangerous plans for world domination, sabotage, and an empire of crime, but no one can figure out just what's going on, particularly since Mabuse dies rather early in the film. Even the criminals he's gotten to do his bidding don't really know just who the man behind the curtain is. And the one man who does know his name and what's going on, the disgraced former up-and-coming cop Hofmeister, is sent away to the same asylum himself and driven insane so that he won't be able to tell anyone, least of all his friend Lohmann, the police inspector. This is a classic crime thriller all of the way through, leaving the viewer constantly wondering what's going to happen next, just who is behind all of this criminal mayhem if Mabuse is dead, and if Lohmann can put an end to this reign of terror before it's too late.

The extras include a gallery of stills and memorabilia, production drawings, a 1964 interview with Fritz Lang (in which he's perpetuating some famous urban legends about himself, such as leaving Germany in the middle of the night with barely any money and never returning until just recently!), a short documentary on the life of Norbert Jacques, the novelist who created the Mabuse character, a 1984 interview with Rudolf Schündler (who plays Hardy), a comparison of key scenes in the original 1933 German version of the film, the somewhat altered French version released that same year, and the dubbed and rather edited American version released in 1952, an audio commentary, and the French-language version. Both the audio commentary and the comparison of the three versions are done by David Kalat, who did the *amazing* audio commentary for 'Dr. Mabuse: Der Spieler,' which was hands-down one of the best audio commentaries I've heard to date. His insights and information were just as wonderful in these two commentaries.

The French-language version comes from a print in less than pristine condition, although given how few copies of this cut are known to survive and that none of them are in great condition, it's just petty and oblivioius to be criticising it for that. This version in particular actually has 3 languages on it--the spoken French, the original Dutch subtitles, and the modern English subtitles in black boxes over the Dutch subtitles (which a number of times are clearly visible anyway). Although the editing on this one isn't as severe as on the 1952 American release, it does change some of the dialogue and axes away the Kent-Lilli subplot to almost nothing, so that the viewer who hasn't already seen the German original wouldn't really understand just what's going on between these two or what Kent's backstory is, just why he's trying to get away from Mabuse's clutches and doesn't want to be involved in crime anymore. The actors used in this version are also inferior to the ones in the original; the only repeat actors are Karl Meixner as Hofmeister (since he was bilingual and therefore able to act in French as well as in German) and of course Rudolf Klein-Rogge as Mabuse. Klein-Rogge's scant lines had to be dubbed, since he didn't speak French. The only actor who didn't seem like a pale imitation of the original was Thomy Bourdelle as Dr. Baum (he even looked like the original Dr. Baum). They were just fleshed-out so much better in the original, with more depth and personality, as opposed to the kind of buffoonish one-dimensional characters they're presented as here. I also thought the original Kent and Lilli were a much more handsome couple than the French Kent and Lilli. It's hard to believe that this was common practice in the early sound era and less expensive than dubbing or subtitling, actually reshooting the entire film with an entirely new cast or, sometimes, making the original cast memorise their lines phoenetically in another language like French or Spanish, in order to have a bigger market.

Lang did so much incredible work, both in the silent and sound era, and both in German and American cinema, that it's hard to narrow down his greatest and most-recommendable films apart from his masterpiece 'Metropolis.' This film, however, easily belongs in a Top 10 list of his best films, one that might inspire a casual viewer to become a big fan or to want to see much more.

very impressive and well done.......2005-02-03

This review is for the Criterion Colelction DVD edition of the film.

"Testament of Dr. Mabuse" know in Germany as "Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse" was Fritz Lang's last movie before leaving Germany to escape the Nazis. It was promptly banned in Germany after it's completion until the end of World War 2.

I think it is one of his best films and is very well done. It follows the case of a policeman invesigating a case and clues lead to Dr. Mabuse who has been in a sanitatium for many years. it is discovered that he was writing a manifesto in his cell and it appears to predict future events

The film has some impressive acting and some very good special effects the best of which is of a fire at a factory with and the footage the smokestacks collapsing is very realisitc.

This is a film that should not be missed.

A Fritz Lang Masterpiece -- Deserves Greater Attention.......2005-01-20

Don't be put off that it is more than 70 years old; don't be deterred because it is in German. "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse" can only be described as awesome -- in the traditional sense of the word. Many early sound motion pictures were talking plays. Fritz Lang, however, truly uses sound in all its aspects. For example, the very first scene creates tension by allowing us to hear only the clanking of a machine. We see people talking, but we cannot hear what they are saying, because they are drowned out by the machine. The viewer knows something is happening, but does not know what. Lang makes effective use of sound throughout. The visuals are amazing, too. We see what a room looks like when illuminated only by a gunshot. We see spectacular fires.

The story may be 70 years old, but it is as recent as today's headlines. Dr. Mabuse, now locked in a mental institution, directs the activities of a terror gang. The gangsters, who are ordinary criminals themselves, cannot understand the purpose of the crimes, which do not appear to be profitable. The point is: the crimes are committed simply to cause terror. Once the population is fully terrorized, the criminal empire can take over. The film was completed weeks after the Nazis took power and not surprisingly, Joseph Goebbels banned the film. Goebbels did allow it to be shown a few years later, after Otto Wernicke was filmed in a new introduction which claimed that the events of the film occured a few years before (i.e., in the Weimar era.) While the film's portrayal of a hypnotic leader can and did describe Adolf Hitler, it also describes hypnotic terrorist leaders today. This story is fresh.

The restoration is outstanding. Although this film is from the 1930s, there is no hissing or popping. The visuals are bright and sharp. Rudolf Klein Rogge, who portrays Dr. Mabuse, does not have much to say, but his whispers will chill you to the bone. This is a masterpiece.

Testament Of Dr. Mabuse/ The Crimes Of Dr. Mabuse

Average customer rating:

Unexpected Pleasures
It ain't Fritz Lang, but still pretty good
Testament of Dr. Mabuse

Testament Of Dr. Mabuse/ The Crimes Of Dr. Mabuse
Starring: Gert Fröbe , Senta Berger , Helmut Schmid , Charles Régnier , and Wolfgang Preiss
Director: Werner Klingler
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305908311
Release Date: 2000-07-18

Description

This remake of Fritz Lang's 1932 classic (1962, 85 min.) has been masterfully updated for the Cold War and is one of the best films in the Dr. Mabuse series. Gert Frobe (Goldfinger), Wolfgang Preiss ("War and Remembrance") and pop star Senta Berger star in this heady blend of film noir, horror, and science-fiction. The super-criminal Dr. Mabuse is at it again, masterminding an international organization of thieves and murderers--all from within his cell in a Berlin insane asylum. Digitally restored from original studio negatives. Additional feature presentation: "The Crimes of Dr. Mabuse," the 90 minute English-dubbed alternate version of Fritz Lang's 1932 original.

Customer Reviews:

Unexpected Pleasures.......2000-09-28

I bought THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE in the mistaken belief that I was getting a copy of Fritz Lang's 1933 film of the same name. I was at first disappointed to realize that the DVD provides the early 1960s remake. (The disc also includes a copy of the 1933 American cut of Lang's film, but I haven't watched it. The complications of the Mabuse series are way too convoluted to go into here, but let's just say that the 1933 American cut is not what I was expecting either.)

Since I had never seen the remake, I decided to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did. Smart, stylish, sardonic, THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE obviously owes a debt to Lang's original. In feel, though, it is closer to Michael Curtiz's early Warners horror films, like MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM or DOCTOR X, crossed with a glib episode of THE AVENGERS and the inventive energy of Hammer Studios at their best. I actually prefer it to Lang's version.

From the first shot, there are obvious bows to the Central European Expressionist tradition from which both Lang and Curtiz emerged: heavy, crazy shadows, canted camera angles, huge close-ups on the actors, an acrid, ironic score, more than a touch of sadism at the edges. If it stopped there, the film wouldn't be much more than an entertaining pastiche. What gives it distinction is its jaunty, fast-moving wit, embodied particularly in Charles Régnier's movie-stealing performance as Mortimer, head of Mabuse's gang. (After stopping and robbing a gold-laden security van, for example, Mortimer gives the guards bus fare back to town. "After all," he says walking away, "we aren't inhuman." Then when the police are calculating the extent of the haul, they remember to subtract the amount of the bus fare.)

The wit and pace only begin to flag in the concluding sequences, with too many people running around an insane asylum trying to bring the story to an end. Those were some of the weaker moments in Lang's film, too, so at most these people have failed to improve on the original. Lang enthusiasts will be able to enjoy the playful filigree these filmmakers have woven around his story. Low-budget film lovers will enjoy TESTAMENT's fast paced action. And anyone simply interested in a good hour and a half of smart fun will not be disappointed.

It ain't Fritz Lang, but still pretty good.......2000-07-30

The remake of Fritz Lang's 1932 masterpiece is not as good as the original as a work of art and a terryfying alegorical vison of the world we live in, but actually perhaps more enjoyable as an entertainment movie. Lang, from his other crime movie masterpiece M, started to avoid the spectacular in his films as much as possible, and prefered a cold observing eye almost without giving any chance to the audience to sentimrntaly identify him or herself in the movie chracter. This remake does not take such an approach, and conveys the story with excitment and surprises, and vulgarity in a good sense, instead of Lang's cold observing inteligence and classical poetry. An odd but interesting bonus to this DVD is the mutilated American release of Lang's 1932 original. Cutted down to a mere 75 minute length, the power of Lang's masterful control of the images, of every each frame of his film is still there, so is the strong alegorical point of view this film takes to pre-war Germany at the point of the rise in power of the real-life Mabuse Adolf Hitler. In a way, it is the condenced version, and quite fun to watch. But we also urge the studio to release the original TESTAMENT OF DR.MABUSE on DVD.

Testament of Dr. Mabuse.......2000-07-28

The DVD release of this film is highly recommended for both fans and those uninitiated to the world of Dr. Mabuse. If one could imagine some parallel universe where there were a series of films detailing the adventures of Blofeld and SPECTRE, and where James Bond was a mere supporting character, that would be the beginning of some of the flavor of the Dr. Mabuse films produced in the sixties. To add to the recipe, one would have to throw in expressionist black and white photography, convoluted plotting, double-and-triple identities, and a unique bravura style that was common in German commercial cinema at the time. If you recall watching these films on television as well as the many German adaptations of Edgar Wallace thrillers, you'll view this disc with fondness. Bond fans will find it amusing to watch Gert Frobe on the right side of the law in this and two other Mabuse films. The DVD has excellent production values, considering this film has only been available previously on duped copies from 16mm. The picture quality is very good, and the bonuses of trailers, stills, etc are plentiful. Of course, there is even a second feature as a bonus...the Americanized version of Fritz Lang's original 1932 version of this film. There is a very well-written essay in the accompanying booklet by David Kalat that goes a long way to explaining the peculiar pull these films have on viewers. All in all, an excellent package at an excellent price. Also highly recommended is the companion release "The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse".

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