Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was a Austrian filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. His most famous films include the groundbreaking Metropolis (the world's most expensive silent film at the time of its release), and M, made before he moved to the United States, which is considered to be the precursor to the film noir genre.
Lang was born in Vienna as the second son of Anton Lang, an architect and construction company manager, and his wife Pauline "Paula" Schlesinger, Lang's parents were of Moravian descent and practicing Roman Catholics. His mother was born Jewish, but had converted to Catholicism. His mother took this conversion seriously and was dedicated to raising Fritz as a Catholic. Lang frequently had Catholic-influenced themes in his films and called himself a Catholic clear to the last few years of his life. After completing high school in Vienna, he briefly attended a technical school and then began training to be a painter. However, that career path too was short-lived, as he put his painting studies on hold to travel around Europe, Asia, and North Africa in the early Teens. When World War I broke out, he returned to Vienna and enlisted in the Army in January of 1915. In June of 1916, he was seriously injured and began writing film scenarios during the time he was recovering. In 1918 he was sent home with shell-shock. Following this he acted in the theatre for a time before turning to writing film scenarios for the Decla company in Berlin. He also began working as a director during this time, for UFA Studios and Nero-Film. After losing his first wife, Lisa Rosenthal, to suicide, in 1922 he married for the second time, to Thea von Harbou, whom he had been involved with for the past two years. This was her second marriage as well. She was his co-writer on the scripts for many of his most famous films, such as 'Metropolis' (1927), 'M' (1930), 'Die Niebelungen' (1924), and 'Dr. Mabuse der Spieler' (1922).
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the new regime refused to allow his latest film, 'Das Testament der Dr. Mabuse,' to be shown. A famous story has sprung up from this event, in which Josef Goebbels apologized for banning his film and then offered him a position as production supervisor at the UFA Studios. Lang thought it might be a trap and told him (truthfully) that his mother's parents were Jewish, to which Goebbels snapped back, "We'll decide who's Jewish!" He told him he would need some time to think this offer over, but that very same evening got on a train going to Paris, leaving most of his possessions and money behind, along with his wife. This really wasn't entirely unheard of during the rise of the Nazi's in Germany at this time several artists which had been at the heart of Berlins counter culture such as Brecht for example got the hell out of dodge when they saw which way the wind was blowing in Germany.
However since he did leave his wife behind he and von Harbou divorced later that year, and she went on to make Nazi propaganda films. In 1934 he left Paris for Hollywood, where he remained for the next twenty-one years. Though he had a reputation as being a very difficult director, with whom many actors would outright refuse to work, he continued to find success in his chosen career field. Many of his American films were crime melodramas and film noir, a change of pace from his earlier Expressionist and science fiction films. He also directed a number of Westerns during this period. Lang eventually got tired of the Hollywood system and went back to Germany, using stories and characters he had created in the earlier days of his career. In 1964 he served as president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, even though he was nearly blind by then. In his retirement years, he once again came to live in the United States. He died at the age of eighty-five.
I am more of a fan honestly of Langs impressionist early works, but he did inspire me to enjoy Spencer Tracy and the rest of the film noir crew growing up. Now for the movies!
The woman in the moon 1929 The film is a melodrama with scientific speculation. Helius (Willy Fritsch) is an entrepreneur with an interest in space travel. He seeks out Professor Mannfeldt (Klaus Pohl), a visionary who has written a treatise on the likelihood of finding gold on the moon, only to be ridiculed by his peers. Helius recognizes the value of Mannfeldt's work, but a gang of evil businessmen have also taken an interest in Mannfeldt's theories too! youtu.be/CaVLaD4vfBc
Destiny or Der Mude Tod from 1921 Is a Expressionistic frame story, in which human lives are each represented by a candle, Death grants a woman three chances to save her lover, if love can triumph over death. The three stories within the story each occur in a setting that is nominally historic, but really in the realm of fantasy: an adventure tale with a Persian setting out of the Arabian Nights, a Renaissance Venetian romance, and a largely comic story set in China.youtu.be/YLv5zcYu8IE
The Spiders (or Die Spinnen in German) is a silent serial adventure film written and directed by Lang. It was released in two parts in 1919 and 1920. Two more parts were originally planned but never made.
Part 1. Der goldene See or The Golden Lake
In San Francisco, well-known sportsman, adventurer and traveller Kay Hoog announces to his club that he has found a message in a bottle with a map drawn by a Harvard professor who has gone missing. The message with the map tells of a lost Incan civilization that possesses an immense treasure. He starts an expedition to find the treasure. The crime syndicate "Die Spinnen" sends out a rival expedition led by the beautiful but dangerous Lio Sha. At the Golden Lake Hoog saves the Inca priestess Naela and falls in love with her. He takes her home with him after discovering a mysterious clue about a diamond ship. Back in San Francisco, Lio Sha declares her love for Hoog but he rejects her in favour of Naela. Lio Sha has Naela murdered and Kay Hoog swears revenge.
Part 2. Das Brillantenschiff or The Diamond Ship
The search is on for a Buddha-head shaped diamond that has special powers. Carried in the hands of 'a princess' it will bestow the power to rule Asia. In San Francisco, Hoog discovers a hidden city underneath Chinatown but he is found out and taken prisoner. Eventually the hunt brings Kay Hoog to England, where the Spiders kidnap Ellen, daughter of diamond king Terry whom they suspect of owning the stone. When Kay Hoog arrives on the scene, he and Terry discover (with the help of an ancient log book) that Terry's pirate ancestor concealed a map in a painting. Hoog follows the map to the Falkland Islands to find the diamond, but Fourfinger-John, who has spied on Terry and Hoog, manages to inform the Spiders by carrier pigeon. Lio Sha and her henchmen catch up with Hoog in the cave where the pirate treasure is hidden and take him prisoner. However, poisonous fumes from a volcano enter the cave and all the criminals die. Only Kay Hoog manages to escape with the stone. Back in England, he works with the police and Terry to free Ellen from the clutches of the Spiders' hypnotist master.
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler from 1922 is the first film in the Dr. Mabuse series, about the character Doctor Mabuse who featured in the novels of Norbert Jacques. This movie is not for the feint of heart as its a stunning 4 hours long! Der Spieler means the player in German, and can be translated as the gambler, the actor, or the puppeteer. Dr. Mabuse, who disguises, plays with emotions and tricks other people, is probably all of them in some sense. youtu.be/MulihI2Mx80
M is a 1931 German drama-thriller film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Peter Lorre. It was written by Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou and was Lang's first sound film. He had directed more than a dozen films previously. The film has become a classic which Lang himself considered his finest work. When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt. I watched this movie again just last week and I am always struck by Langs attention to detail and lighting. Always dark, powerful and leaves the senses stunned. Based on the fiendish killings which spread terror among the inhabitants of Düsseldorf in 1929, there is at the Mayfair a German-language pictorial drama with captions in English bearing the succinct title "M," which, of course, stands for murder. It was produced in 1931 by Fritz Lang and, as a strong cinematic work with, remarkably fine acting, it is extraordinarily effective, but its narrative, which is concerned with a vague conception of the activities of a demented stayer and his final capture, is shocking and morbid. Yet Mr. Lang has left to the spectator's imagination the actual commission of the crimes. youtu.be/nM0w1dTNAH0
While I could recommend a bunch of Langs film noir work, like While the city sleeps, fury, big heat or my favorite of the lot "beyond reasonable doubt" I did want to include the fantasy exposition laden story of Liliom Lang made during his time in Paris. It is based on the Hungarian stage play of the same name by Ferenc Molnár. The film stars Charles Boyer as Liliom, a carousel barker who is fired from his job after defending the chambermaid Julie (Madeleine Ozeray) from the jealousy of Mme. Muscat, the carousel owner who is infatuated with Liliom. He moves in with Julie and they begin an affair. When Liliom discovers he's about to become a father, he finds he needs money and participates in a robbery which goes awry. Rather than allow himself to be arrested, Liliom kills himself and his soul is transported to a waiting room of Heaven. A heavenly commissioner determines that Liliom will not be admitted into Heaven, only Purgatory, until he returns to earth to do one good deed.
At the top of this list for me is my first introduction to Lang, the one, the only, Metropolis. This is my favorite movie, hands down, no contest and with plenty of good reasons. have you ever seen a film or read a book or saw a painting that you instantly connect to, its characters, scenes and visuals, or just the plot itself draws you in, lights up the embers in your brain and turns you on to a whole new way of looking at the world. Metropolis was this for me when I was it at the tender age of 5. Metropolis is a masterpiece, many movies are visual but only a handful are visionary. Even fewer offer a vision that alters the very possibilities of the medium. At the head of any list of such films would be Fritz Lang's 1927 epic "Metropolis.'' The most expensive silent film ever made, it offered a nightmare vision of the future: a city filled with glorious towers reaching to the sky, and beneath the surface masses of oppressed workers toiling to support the master race above. Fritz Lang drew upon the broader Expressionist movement, which emerged in the 1910s and encompassed literature, theater, dance, and the graphic arts. It nearly bankrupted the studio that made it. Radical re-editing of the movie was done in an effort to make "Metropolis'' more audience-friendly. That didn't do much for the bottom line, but it did make the prospect of a definitive cut of the film seem unlikely. Studio meddling didn't prevent Lang's film from having an enormous, and ongoing, impact on other filmmakers. Those seeing "Metropolis'' for the first time may experience a bit of deja vu. From gleaming robots (the False Maria) to mad scientists (Rotwang) to doomy Expressionist cityscapes, "Metropolis'' has been influencing the imagination of moviemakers for eight decades — and not just moviemakers. For starters, what's the name of the city where Clark Kent lives and Superman fights for truth, justice, and the American way?
Here are some onscreen examples of the legacy of "Metropolis.''
FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) James Whale, the director of both films, was much influenced by Lang, both generally and specifically. How specifically? For starters, compare the creation of the bride with the creation of the False Maria.
THINGS TO COME (1936) The stupendous sets are like a night-and-day version of the city in "Metropolis'' (one guess which is night, and which one is day).
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951, 2008) "Gort, Klaatu barada nikto.'' Nuff said.
DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) The good doctor's gloved hand could be on loan from Rotwang.
BLADE RUNNER (1982) Lang's futuristic city was supposedly inspired by New York. The oppressive, overwhelming Los Angeles in Ridley Scott's film is part Philip K. Dick (his novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' provides the story) and even more Lang. As for Daryl Hannah's replicant, Pris, she could be the False Maria's kickboxing coach.
TERMINATOR They didn't have the term "cyborg'' back in 1927. But when it comes to using a robot for violent political purposes, James Cameron had nothing on Lang.
THE MATRIX Technological overlords, downtrodden underground revolutionaries as a threat to order, a gleaming, heartless future: Sound familiar?
THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) the best god damned thing about this movie was the shot of Gotham which is basically a modern take on Metropolis sprawling towers.
So everything all told, think of what all of these movies have influenced and consider where their influence came from. The more movies you see AFTER watching Metropolis the more you will wonder "why am I not watching metropolis right now instead?" youtu.be/B4rI__TRvcY
The song of the day, while not influenced by Metropolis, or about Metropolis was actually written at the same time and in the same city in the world by Kurt Weil and Bertolt Brecht. See "The Ballad of the soldiers wife" as performed by PJ Harvey youtu.be/adUYkPUI-KQ
"We shall build a tower that will reach to the stars!" Having conceived Babel, yet unable to build it themselves, they had thousands to build it for them. But those who toiled knew nothing of the dreams of those who planned. And the minds that planned the Tower of Babel cared nothing for the workers who built it. The hymns of praise of the few became the curses of the many - BABEL! BABEL! BABEL! - Between the mind that plans and the hands that build there must be a Mediator, and this must be the heart." - Maria from Fritz Langs Metropolis
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