(M, 1931, Fritz Lang)
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
I have a general distaste for old movies. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned that before, but it's probably important that my readers know that. It could explain why I didn't love Vertigo, which I discussed in my previous post. This distaste almost certainly stems from my opinion that the acting in old movies is generally over the top and somewhat ridiculous because many of those actors were trained for stage acting, which is much more emotive. For the most part, my favorite movies were made after 1970. But I adore M. I absolute love it, despite the fact that Fritz Lang made it in 1931.
What surprises me most about M is the fact that it was Fritz Lang's first talkie. All of his previous films (including the much lauded Metropolis) were silent. To me, logically, a director's first foray into sound films would be somewhat clumsy, especially if said director had made a number of well-regarded silent films. The transition from silence to sound was a difficult one for many filmmakers (see Singin' in the Rain for a comedic interpretation of that problem), but Fritz Lang used the new technology brilliantly, even making sound an important part of the plot.
M is almost entirely devoid of music, save for one recurring motif. Hans Beckert (played by Peter Lorre) often whistles Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" while he is out walking the streets, searching for children to kidnap and murder. At the start of the film he buys a balloon from a blind beggar for young Elsie Beckmann while whistling the tune. Elsie becomes his newest victim, sending all of Berlin into a furious search for the man who is killing the city's children. And that whistled tune becomes the key to solving the whole mystery.
Beckert knows what he's doing. He's careful and calculated, and up until he writes a letter to the newspapers that essentially eggs on the authorities they basically have no leads regarding who or where he is. Partly because it's 1931 and they don't have things like DNA comparison, and partly because Beckert has perfected his technique. Except for the whistling. Because when he brings another child to that same blind balloon seller it is the whistling that gives him away. And none of this ever could have happened if M had been a silent film. Title cards that read "Beckert whistles 'In the Hall of the Mountain King'" just don't have the same effect.
When I watch M all I can do is think about what a work of genius it truly is. That's it. It's stunning, and as all of the plot developments happen all I'm thinking to myself is "this is brilliant." And that's really all there is to it.
I have a general distaste for old movies. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned that before, but it's probably important that my readers know that. It could explain why I didn't love Vertigo, which I discussed in my previous post. This distaste almost certainly stems from my opinion that the acting in old movies is generally over the top and somewhat ridiculous because many of those actors were trained for stage acting, which is much more emotive. For the most part, my favorite movies were made after 1970. But I adore M. I absolute love it, despite the fact that Fritz Lang made it in 1931.
What surprises me most about M is the fact that it was Fritz Lang's first talkie. All of his previous films (including the much lauded Metropolis) were silent. To me, logically, a director's first foray into sound films would be somewhat clumsy, especially if said director had made a number of well-regarded silent films. The transition from silence to sound was a difficult one for many filmmakers (see Singin' in the Rain for a comedic interpretation of that problem), but Fritz Lang used the new technology brilliantly, even making sound an important part of the plot.
M is almost entirely devoid of music, save for one recurring motif. Hans Beckert (played by Peter Lorre) often whistles Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" while he is out walking the streets, searching for children to kidnap and murder. At the start of the film he buys a balloon from a blind beggar for young Elsie Beckmann while whistling the tune. Elsie becomes his newest victim, sending all of Berlin into a furious search for the man who is killing the city's children. And that whistled tune becomes the key to solving the whole mystery.
Beckert knows what he's doing. He's careful and calculated, and up until he writes a letter to the newspapers that essentially eggs on the authorities they basically have no leads regarding who or where he is. Partly because it's 1931 and they don't have things like DNA comparison, and partly because Beckert has perfected his technique. Except for the whistling. Because when he brings another child to that same blind balloon seller it is the whistling that gives him away. And none of this ever could have happened if M had been a silent film. Title cards that read "Beckert whistles 'In the Hall of the Mountain King'" just don't have the same effect.
When I watch M all I can do is think about what a work of genius it truly is. That's it. It's stunning, and as all of the plot developments happen all I'm thinking to myself is "this is brilliant." And that's really all there is to it.
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