so i know some of you may be shocked and stunned to hear this, but I watched something that wasn't a certain hour long mystery drama that ran on CBS from 1984-1996.
I finally made it through
FRITZ LANG'S M (1931)- a film I have tried to make it through many times and failed, in spite of the fact that I love PETER LORRE, I like FRITZ LANG'S films, and the subject matter of GERMANY IN THE EARLY 30s FASCINATES ME.
I'm gonna come right out and say it: the film has AN EXCELLENT START but it then runs into VERY REAL PACING PROBLEMS and a very dull 40ish minutes unfold....now, I realize that this may be the first talkie POLICE PROCEDURAL, and it's been done 10000000000000 times since, but I still say- THIS FILM HAS A DEADLY DULL CENTER and at 2 hours and some change, I think they should've cut some fat around the waist.
that said, something ELECTRIC happens at an hour or so in- a BRILLIANT scene where A BLIND MAN hears A KILLER'S WHISTLE on a busy STREET- and from there, the film TAKES OFF AND DOESN'T STOP.
The ending is riveting, and
PETER LORRE'S astounding performance (MY GOD, it is SOMETHING- he even ROLLS HIS EYES BACK INTO HIS HEAD LIKE A SHARK when he reminisces in front of a crowd about how IT FEELS WHEN HE GIVES IN TO HIS URGE TO KILL) eclipses the fact that he's BARELY IN THE MOVIE UNTIL THE THIRD ACT.
A really great movie in spite of the pokey middle- wonderful use of both SOUND and SILENT sequences to DISARMING EFFECT (you WILL check to make sure you haven't sat on the the mute button)
this film makes a brilliant companion piece to FURY (1935) by the same director and it also brings to mind THE TRIAL, THE OX-BOW INCIDENT and even one my favorite episodes of BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES: TRIAL.
The actors are all amazing, I have no idea if they were just extras or not; for someone who had a real reputation as a sadistic SOB, FTIZ LANG gets INCREDIBLE WORK FROM EVERYONE-i will even single out "THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY" who is RIVETING in his brief part at the end of the movie and THE MOTHER OF ONE OF THE CHILD VICTIMS who gets the LAST LINE OF THE MOVIE, which would have been devastating had MY HULU NOT COME FLASHING AT THE TOP OF THE SCREEN TO TELL ME THAT "GONE WITH THE WIND" WAS COMING ON NEXT.
God, I hate the 21st century.