Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

calvinnme ... and it makes me want to buy the Criterion version with the commentary to see if it answers my questions. I watched it on TCM the other night, and there were wrap-around comments, but nothing that really touches all of the questions I have about this work.Was Fritz Lang, who directed and co-wrote this film, anticipating the Nazis, or were some of the attitudes of the characters just coincidences? We know Lang detested for the Nazis, because he left Germany in 1933 and did not return for 26 years.The story picks up where the earlier Mabuse film left off, with master criminal Dr. Mabuse in an insane asylum where for years he was comatose, but then his hand began to make scribbling motions. He was given paper. The scribblings turned to words over time. The words then turned to sentences that grew more logical with time, outlining the plans for a crime wave. At the same time, there is a crime wave going on in the city that seems to mirror Mabuse's scribbling. But with nobody but caretakers entering or exiting Mabuse's cell, how are these crimes being coordinated? Thus enters police commissioner Lohmann, to solve the crime wave.Lohmann is an interesting character. He picks up on details, but fails to pick up on something that will be obvious to the viewer and even to Police Squad's Frank Drebin. When Mabuse dies but the crime wave continues, and then somebody who has seemed fascinated by Dr. Mabuse the entire time practically stands on a chair and talks about "Mabuse the genius" in glowing terms, you'd think it would set off alarm bells in Lohmann's brain. It does not. Then there is the reaction of the criminals to the name "Lohmann". When some members of the gang are cornered in an apartment, they are brazen enough to shoot it out with what they think is a whole squadron of police. Lohmann arrives, gets impatient with this shootout, and just climbs the stairs with bullets still flying - one shoots off his hat. He pounds on the door with his cane and announces himself. "IT'S LOHMANN!!" cry the now panicked gang members, and they surrender. Huh?? They are not afraid of the police and their bullets but they ARE afraid of one man with a cane??? Then there is the criminal gang, always referring to "the boss". They themselves scratch their heads at the lack of profit in their crimes- for example pulling jewel robberies, taking the money to buy dope and then just giving it to people rather than selling it, per the instructions of "the boss. But when one fellow mentions it, another is quick to pipe in - you're getting a steady paycheck, why should you complain? This simplistic logic seems to keep the gang in check and carrying out orders to commit crimes they do not understand that are fraught with danger without question.Then there is the injection of circumstantial criminal gang member Kent. He was sent to prison for five years for killing his girlfriend and the man he thought was his best friend, the implication being he caught them having sex. Out of prison, the only job he can get is with "the boss" and his gang. Then another head scratching moment. When at the unemployment office, prior to joining the gang, he rants about the pointlessness of looking for jobs that are not there, and a girl who works there follows him out of the office and gives him some money - she practically has to force it into his hands - and with only a brief conversation between them, she shows up at his apartment probably weeks later claiming she loves him? Why??? Well, all of these characters come together in a suspenseful and satisfying conclusion, I will tell you that much. It does seem that Lang is trying to say much about the folly of unquestioning respect given to strong authority figures both good and bad - Lohmann and Mabuse, the importance and scarcity of a paycheck in Weimar Germany, and maybe even the redeeming power of love. I highly recommend this complex little film that gives us a fantastic tale with Germany immediately pre Third Reich as a setting.

Robert J. Maxwell What it is, is a slam-bang mystery/action movie that gets off to a sluggish start and winds up in a spasm of explosions and pursuits. Not a masterpiece, it still excels for its time in special effects and the visual imagery, not to mention the good doctor's moral nihilism.It's Dr. Mabuse's "testimony" because he dies in an insane asylum near the movie's beginning. However, the guy is a genius and through some sort of posthumous hypnosis or teleportation or transmogrification he manages to infect the mind and soul of the asylum's chief. The chief then carries out Mabuse's plan. It's a simple plan. He's going to destroy the earth because everything is too corrupt to continue its existence. He could be running for president in 2016l.It is a bit slow at the beginning. It's shot as a silent movie with exaggerated expressions and gestures used as a substitute for dialog. Once it achieves flight speed it turns into an interesting mystery with some exciting scenes. Especially memorable is an hallucinatory car chase along an infinitely long highway through overarching trees that are illuminated only by headlights.The only truly noticeable performance is by Otto Wernicke as Inspector Lohmann, the police detective investigating the mysterious murders. His character is coarse and unlikable but he brings life to the role, whereas the others are more or less doing their jobs. There's an innocent young woman involved, Wera Liessem, who lacks whatever "sex appeal" means. A bit player, Ludwig Stössel, went on to a reasonably successful career as a character actor in Hollywood.It's been claimed, by Lang among others, that this was a propagandistic tract aimed at Naziism. It was released the year Hitler came to power. But who knows what went on in anyone's mind in Germany of that era? The country had just suffered a major bout of hyperinflation. The mark-dollar exchange rate rose from 4.2 to one in 1914 to a peak of around 4.2 trillion marks to the dollar by November 1923. At its height, prices were rising so fast that waiters had to climb on tables to call out new menu prices in restaurants every half hour. And the economy was still in the grip of a severe depression. Hitler hadn't yet turned into Mabuse.

Vihren Mitev Movie that can be pointed as the first watchable two-hour action. Because back in 1933, when it was created, it was very special creation of the film industry. It offers us convoluted crime drama in the style of Hitchcock. It has everything - love story, an evil genius, fraud for millions and car chase.Dark and gloomy conception of evil villain has gone full circle from the beginning of the film stripping all the way to the very end which in no way differs from the beginning except exchanged roles of some of the main suspects. The truth also is undergoing its metamorphosis decides to take the hand of love, to come out openly and repent for its present silence. The eternal asking justice vigilantly monitor compliance with the order and manages to instill fear among criminals.After a long pursuit, in which perhaps the first time we see the clear expression of the German brand Mercedes, where, incidentally, is this film coming from, pieces of the puzzle intervene for the last time, this time - correctly.The tape also has an interesting history - having been damaged, the movie was forbidden, and finally becoming available to the modern spectator.http://vihrenmitevmovies.blogspot.fr/

SnoopyStyle Ex-cop Hofmeister contacts former superior Inspector Karl Lohmann (Otto Wernicke) to report a massive criminal conspiracy. Before he reveals everything, he disappears and reappears as a patient in Professor Baum's asylum. Baum once had madman Dr. Mabuse as a patient who was a hypnotic criminal mastermind that wrote master plans for a crime spree of terror but Baum reveals that Mabuse is dead. The gang is using Mabuse's plans to conduct crimes. One of the gang Thomas Kent has second thoughts while Lohmann continues to investigate. It's a convoluted massive crime thriller. It's a bit messy at the beginning. It's slightly challenging to follow. It is technically beautiful. It's a masterpiece of filmmaking from Fritz Lang of mystery crime horror.