Das Testament Des Dr. Mabuse

2117. DAS TESTAMENT DES DR. MABUSE (1933-Cermany). Directed by fritz lang. This classic and influential tale from fabled filmmaker Fritz Lang is at once a crime drama, a saga of the supernatural and a warning against the folly of blind allegiance to a fascistic dictator. It is the story of the cruel and vicious master criminal Dr. Mabuse, who for ten years has been incarcerated in an insane asylum. Prior to his insanity Mabuse was a man totally devoid of moral values. His crimes were crimes of terror. He regarded the average person as unfit to govern. According to the doctor, only a superman can bring order to the world. Mabuse and Mabuse alone was that superÂman. The doctor was saved from the gallows only because of his deteriorating mental state. Now, from the quiet of his cell, it seems that he is somehow managing to oversee a reign of terror across the nation. Lang creates almost unbearable suspense by expertly combining powerful imagery, starÂtling camera angles and movement and jarring visual effects. This was the director’s final film before abandoning his homeland in response to Adolph Hitler’s rise to power. The scenario is in fact an unsubtle condemnation of Nazism. Lang expressed his anti-Nazi feelings in the character of Mabuse, who may be seen as a fictionalized version of Hitler, and the film was banned by John Goebbels soon after its release. Lang later admitted, “This film was made to denounce the terror methods of Hitler. Slogans and doctrines of the Third Reich have been put into the mouths of criminals in the film.” He added that “out of the Mabuses came the Heydrichs, the Himmlers and the Hitlers.” The film is co-scripted by Lang’s wife, THEA VON HARBOU. Ironically, she already was a member of the Nazi Party when it was made. When Lang left Germany, she chose to remain behind. In German with English subtitles. See cat. #2119 for an abridged version dubbed into English. 116 minutes. Crime-Mystery-Suspense