Rating: PG
Length: 121 minutes

Standard 1.19:1 B&W Not Anamorphic

GERMAN: Dolby Digital 1.0

English

Dr. Mabuse, a genius who has long since lost his mind and has been locked up in a mental asylum for many years. He has been spending his time recently writing his journal on crime while still not responding to external sources. When a man stumbles across the similarities between a crime he wrote about and one that was recently committed, questions start being asked and people start dying. Could a man locked in a room be controlling a criminal enterprise?

It's amazing what Criterion can do with these older films; don't take my word for it, watch the scene snippets in the extras. The special effects are really well done considering the year this was filmed and the storyline is intriguing. You have murders, car chases, ghosts, pretty ladies and some overacting. I like films like this because they actually show what life was like at the time as opposed to a new movie trying to reproduce what it was like. I'd love to have one of those old Mercedes in my garage!

My first issue is with the editing of the film; there are a number of scenes that could have been easily trimmed to keep the storyline flowing. The other, without going into detail, is the ending. Maybe I missed something but the ending felt unsatisfying to me.

• New high-definition digital transfer, with restored image and sound, presented here in its original aspect ratio of 1.19:1 for the first time
• Audio commentary by David Kalat, author of The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuse
• Complete French-language version of the film, Le Testament du Dr. Mabuse, filmed simultaneously by Lang with French actors
• Excerpts from For Example Fritz Lang (Zum Beispiel: Fritz Lang), 1964 interview with Lang, directed by famed German documentarian Erwin Leiser (Mein Kampf)
• Mabuse in Mind (Mabuse Im Gedächtnis), 1984 film by Thomas Honickel featuring an interview with actor Rudolf Schündler (Hardy in The Testament of Dr. Mabuse)
• Comparison between the 1933 German version, the French version, and The Crimes of Dr. Mabuse, the edited and dubbed American version of the film
• Interview with German Mabuse expert Michael Farin about the literary inventor of the series, Norbert Jacques
• Rare production design drawings by art director Emil Hasler (M, The Blue Angel)
• Collection of memorabilia, press books, stills, and posters
• Liner notes by Tom Gunning, author of The Films of Fritz Lang: Allegories of Vision and Modernity
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

Other than the ending this is an outstanding film. Just add this to the growing list of great Fritz Lang films. If you can deal with subtitles (assuming you can't speak German), you should check this film out.

Fritz Lang   [M, Metropolis]

Oscar Beregi Sr. - Prof. Dr. Baum

Paul Bernd - Erpresser / Blackmailer

Gustav Diessl - Thomas Kent

Paul Henckels - Lithograph / Litographer

Oskar Höcker - Bredow

Georg John - Baums Diener / Baum's Servant

[M]

Rudolf Klein-Rogge - Dr. Mabuse

[Metropolis]

Adolf E. Licho - Dr. Hauser

Theo Lingen - Karetzky

[M]

Theodor Loos - Dr. Kramm

[M, Metropolis]

Karl Meixner - Hofmeister

Henry Pleß - Bulle

Klaus Pohl - Müller

Rudolf Schündler - Hardy

Ludwig Stössel - Arbeiter / Worker

IMDB
DVD Verdict