OK, so if you're a somewhat "on the ball" type person, you've already guessed that this will be a sterling review. If you are at this moment wondering why it might be obvious that this review would be sterling, have a look-see at my screen name. Now, would I adopt the screen name of a character from a movie that I dislike? Possibly, though not at all probably. So yeah, this will be a sterling review. If Fritz Lang were alive today, and he was here sitting next to me in my very small studio apartment in New York's ever so hip "East Village," I would say, "Jesus Christ, Fritz Lang, what the hell are you doing here, I thought you were dead!" Then he would explain to me how I was either mistaken for believing he was dead, or that he had resurrected himself from the grave, and decided that he wanted to come and sit next to me while I typed a review for his film. OR, he could just be a hypnotic apparition, similar to the one seen by Dr. Baum, in the Testament of Dr. Mabuse. The apparition in question is that of Dr. Mabuse himself. -oh, what a damn fine segue (pronounced 'segway') that was- Contrary to what the summary dictates, the film opens in what appears to be an run down laboratory (pronounced laBORatory for the purposes of this review) in which the camera pans along all sorts of sordid items of sorditity until it reaches a wall near the base of a large trunk. The camera smoothly pans up the wall, then down again very quickly. The vacant space next to the trunk is now occupied by a very frightened and sweaty man pressing himself against a wall. He reacts to something off screen. What follows is the most beautiful shot in film history, I just got a chill thinking about it. It's perhaps the quickest cut you'll see in a film, just quick enough for us to see two men. One in a lab coat, and another large man of questionable dress behind him. It all comes in a flash. Why is this shot so beautiful? Because it puts us right into the frame of mind of the man against the wall. Imagine yourself in his place. You're hiding, your like is in danger. You hear someone coming, mean people who would like to kill you, and you see them enter the room. Would you continue to stare at them and wait for them to see you staring at them and then shoot you while wondering why you were so stupid as to continue staring at them while they entered the room, or would you immediately duck out of sight at first glance of these mean dudes? I hope for your sake you'd hide away. So that's why the shot is so beautiful. It's a flash, it's what the character sees, and that very brief second sets the mood for the rest of the film. Fritz Lang is a genius.Written and shot as an allegory for Hitler's rising regime, the Testament of Dr. Mabuse succeeds in portraying the dangers of a world dominated by a villanous man, hellbent on world domination, and how people become so innocently "hypnotized" by such men. At first glance, "Kent" the relucant gangster seems like an insignificant character, a character who exists more out of convenience rather than necessity, but it's through Kent that we see how the innocent folk can be manipulated into acts that are anything but innocent out of sheer necessity. Kent is out of work. He's desperate for work. He has no money, and is told time and time again that there are no jobs available. Kent's desperation reaches its peak, and he takes a position in Mabuse's mob just to get a paycheck. Huh?, you say. It's like this: When a society reaches a level of poverty and desperation, they become desperate and will cling to anyone who promises prosperity and better times. Said people will follow this man down whatever evil path he wishes to lead them. Some will follow him until they die, others will say, "Whoa, this is too damn much," and try to back out. But, as we see with Kent, it ain't so friggin easy. Oh my, I could write forever about this movie, it's just so damn good. How good? Well, despite the films obvious dig at Hitler, the propaganda division of the Third Reich wanted Lang to head up their film department to make pro-Hitler propaganda films to sway the public Hitler's way. less than 24 hours later, Lang was out of the country, and the job went to that chick who made Triumph of the Will, and who's name I do not forget, but cannot spell. The Testament... is actually the third in a series of Mabuse films, the other two being "Dr. Mabuse-Gambler, Parts 1 & 2." Both are silent, and show Mabuse's rise to power through hypnotizing fellow gamblers into losing. Mabuse uses this money to build his evil empire, as well as his good standing as a psychiatrist to again hypnotize the power brokers of Germany into doing evil things for Mabuse's gain. GOD I LOVE THIS STUFF! Got it? Rent, but, steal, hijack, do whatever you have to do to get your hands on this film. You will not regret it.
The tenuous and terrified atmosphere of Germany on the eve of Nazi ascendancy is cleverly evoked in Fritz Lang's THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE. The film...More at Meijer
About the Transfer The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.19:1, a European process that is much narrower than the ...More at Buy.com
The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse (2 Discs) (criterion Collection) (special Edition, Restored / Remastered, Dual-layered Dvd) - Theo Lingen,oskar Hocker,kla...More at Target
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