Essential Classic on BluRay From Criterion

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Staff Writer

German director Fritz Lang fled Nazi Germany for Hollywood in the 1930s, where he made mostly modest-budget crime dramas over the next two decades, including film noir masterpieces like “Scarlet Street,” “Woman in the Window,” “Clash by Night,” “The Big Heat,” and others. The highest achievements of his career, however, he created during his German period, films such as his massive two-part national folk epic “The Niebelungen” (1924), his visionary science-fiction allegory “Metropolis” (1926) and his first sound film, the proto-noir study of the search for a serial killer, “M” (1931).

“M,” newly released to BluRay several weeks ago by the Criterion Collection, has long been a favorite for film textbooks to illustrate the innovative use of sound (and lack of it) to complement the visuals artistically and symbolically rather than simply to record what is happening. Many scenes use off-screen sounds to enlarge the screen space in the mind of the viewer. Others use only limited or no sound effects at all instead of a modern-style multi-layered effects track. Lang reasoned that when we’re concentrating on something we mentally block out all other sounds, and designed his first soundtrack accordingly.

The film’s plot, inspired by recent headlines in Germany about a child-molester terrorizing the city until he was finally caught and executed, and its themes have an eerily modern edge despite the 1931 setting. Rather than creating mystery or suspense, Lang presents an almost documentary-like chronicle of the unfolding events. The child-killer (Peter Lorre in his first and star-making screen role) is revealed early on, appearing first as a shadow against a “wanted” poster as he talks to a little girl.

The police, and then members of the underworld (some played by real-life criminals) frantically try to identify and locate the killer, the police to restore peace of mind to the population, the criminals to remove the reason for the increased police activity that’s now objectionably intruding into their way of life. Lang’s heavily detailed storytelling does tend to drag things out longer than they need to be, especially in this restored 110-minute edition, but his striking visual sense, interesting use of sound, and his underlying sociopolitical subtext keep the film interesting.

For decades “M” has only been available in a shortened 99-minute version, mostly in murky copies of copies. In the early 1990s, the film was restored to the 110-minute running time (it had been 117 minutes at its premiere), but using a variety of sources that were not all in the best of condition. Shortly after that version came out on DVD, the original camera negative was rediscovered (although well-worn and missing a reel) and yet another restoration was done. That is what can now be seen with incredible clarity on Criterion’s BluRay edition. The worst occurrences of scratches, dirt, and picture damage have been digitally removed, but some does still remain so as not to obliterate the film grain and image integrity.

Overall the picture looks amazing, and the audio sounds fairly good for such early optical sound recording technology. As usual, Criterion has included excellent bonus features, including an illustrated 36-page booklet, a fine, insightful audio commentary by two scholars, a fascinating 50-minute interview with Fritz Lang filmed in the 1970s by director William Friedkin, a recent hi-def video interview with the son of the producer, a 25-minute series of film clips accompanied by classroom discussions with the film’s editor, a short remake of “M” made by French director Claude Chabrol as an homage, a very interesting documentary on the history of “M” from its production through various revised versions and the new restoration (including clips from the French-language version produced at the same time), as well as a gallery of numerous high resolution production photos, sketches, and advertising materials.

But that’s not all. Criterion’s disc also includes the full-length and newly discovered English language version of the film, part of which had been dubbed and part of which had been reshot with English-speaking actors and the talented Lorre delivering his climactic monologue in English (as he had in French for the French version). This version looks nowhere near as sharp as the original German version, and appears more like the previous editions available of the German version.

The 92-minute running time and some different editing choices keep the pacing of the English version much brisker and more energetic (albeit at the sacrifice of eliminating some very nice character bits and visual atmosphere). Like the French version, it also tags on a more upbeat ending of children playing happily after the ultimate trial scene, and omits the sobering plea of the victims’ mothers for audience members to take better precautions for their children’s safety.

Fritz Lang’s “M” had and continues to have a lasting influence on crime films. Every student of film needs to see it at least once, and many will want to revisit it or study it in greater depth with Criterion’s first-rate BluRay edition.

“M” on BluRay: Movie: A- / Video: A- / Audio: A- / Extras: A+

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