A Few Words About A few words about...™ Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

The availability via Kino Classics, of examples of Fritz Lang's silent work, is akin to a master's class in film history.

This 1922 min, released in two parts, runs 270 minutes.

Derived from generally high quality 35mm elements, Dr. Mabuse, is a bit of an oddity today. Reconstructed and restored in the analogue world, with held titles, and other anomalies to cut costs, it doesn't seem to have used many digital tools available today toward an upgrade.

That said, it is what it is, and anyone wishing to learn more about the history of crime dramas on film, or the work of Mr. Lang, will want to grab a copy.

Pass / Fail - Pass

Recommended

RAH

 

[Ruz-El]

Didn't realize this was getting a redo. I'll have to keep my eye out for it. Only seen it once before, played sick to stay home from work to give it a spin. (In high school I played sick to stay home and watch Gance's "Napoleon" on VHS haha) Well worth missing work for!

 

[Robert Harris]

Didn't realize this was getting a redo. I'll have to keep my eye out for it. Only seen it once before, played sick to stay home from work to give it a spin. (In high school I played sick to stay home and watch Gance's "Napoleon" on VHS haha) Well worth missing work for!

Napoleon loses something in VHS.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

There is a good documentary from 2014 called "From Caligari to Hitler" which talks about Lang and this film during the Weimar period of German cinema.

 

[Ruz-El]

Napoleon loses something in VHS.

Absolutely. Only option for me at the time was the Coppola version on VHS. It was still spellbinding. One day I'll see it properly, I hope.

 

[zoetmb]

There is a good documentary from 2014 called "From Caligari to Hitler" which talks about Lang and this film during the Weimar period of German cinema.

There's also a classic text, "The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt" by Lotte H. Eisner, which covers the same ground. It was first published in France in 1952 and revised and reissued in 1965. It was translated into English with some new material added in 1969. A paperback edition was published by the University of California Press in 1973 (ISBN 0-520-02479-6). I haven't read it in decades and I've probably forgotten everything that's in it, but pulling it off the shelf to reply to this post, I see I'm going to have re-read it. Amazon's dates aren't always accurate, but it looks like there may have been another edition published in 2008.

 

[Steve_Smith]

Does anyone that owns the Kino Blu or the UK version (271 min) that would say this is rewatchable more then once a year due to the 4.5 hour length? I have seen clips and it looks good and could see breaking it up over 2-3 nights viewing but if this is more "film school one and done" type I may pass.

 

[AshJW]

I own the UK Blu-ray.

I‘ve seen it first time on Blu-ray (maybe decades ago on TV but no remembrance of it) and I was very excited about that movie.
Only days later I watched it again, this time with the commentary and was even more fascinated.
In my opinion one of the best crime thrillers ever made!

So yes, I would say it is definitely rewatchable.


P.S.:
I even bought the book this film is based on - used via Amazon marketplace
Also very good

 

[Steve_Smith]

I own the UK Blu-ray.

I‘ve seen it first time on Blu-ray (maybe decades ago on TV but no remembrance of it) and I was very excited about that movie.
Only days later I watched it again, this time with the commentary and was even more fascinated.
In my opinion one of the best crime thrillers ever made!

So yes, I would say it is definitely rewatchable.


P.S.:
I even bought the book this film is based on - used via Amazon marketplace
Also very good

Thanks for the thoughts!! I still cant't believe I haven't spent the money yet on a region free Blu player yet to get the UK version, but I am glad Kino is a option to have.

 

[bujaki]

I've never found a Lang film a chore to sit through and I found re-watching most of them to be very rewarding.