263. The Big Heat

The Big Heat
1953
Directed by Fritz Lang

All right, so I have written about five of these today and am getting a bit tired of it.  Forgive me if this a bit short and sweet.

This film is awesome, the ultimate revenge tale.  Glenn Ford's wife is murdered and he vows to find her killer and avenge his wife's death.  Of course, along the way he meets a dame.  There is always a dame.

This movie is really violent; I have no idea how they got away with half the stuff they did.  My favorite was when coffee was thrown in Gloria Grahamme's face, permanently disfiguring her.  Pretty nasty.

Gritty and fantastic.  And now my tired reviewer hands can rest.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

"Put the Blame on Mame" plays when we see Glenn Ford, a reference to Gilda.

203. Secret Beyond the Door

Secret Beyond the Door
1947
Directed by Fritz Lang

I have really been eager to watch more Fritz Lang movies after the spectacular M (which, by the way, my sister is planning on watching soon because I won't "shut up about it").  I didn't know whether to expect a political movie like Metropolis or just as a thriller like M.  It definitely falls in the latter category.

Now, that is a weird one.  In fact, it kind of felt like a mess.  Fritz Lang always seemed like he was meticulous but this movie is kind of, for lack of a better word, a clusterfuck.  For instance, he kept changing who was doing the voiceovers. While this might not seem that weird, it felt very messy, particularly when you are used to the format of a film noir.  The characters also seemed to contradict their personalities.  Likewise, the story was a bit confusing and I had no idea where it was going half the time (not as confusing as Body Heat though, which I watched yesterday and I had to have my mom explain it to me).

Anyway, I guess my expectations were too high.  I just don't really understand why this warrants a place in the book, let alone in Lang's best works.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Fritz Lang was constantly at odds with Joan Bennett.

Joan Bennett called the film "an unqualified disaster".

Not available on Netflix or YouTube; you will have to buy it.  It was kind of a waste of money.

59. M

M
1931

This film will amaze, shock, and disturb you.

So this is the first movie about a serial killer.  Nowadays, there are thousands of movies about psycho killers and I was really interested to see what the first one looked like.  Of course, I was expecting cheesiness, tired techniques, and a storyline that was very safe.  Wow.  Just wow.

This film starts with the murder of a little girl.  Like in all good horror movies, what is not shown is even more disturbing than what is shown.  It then becomes one of those classics where you follow the stories of both the detectives and the killer.

Now, I have never taken a film class so I really can't tell you all the innovative techniques used (though there were a lot!).  I can identify the first use of a voiceover, the great character development, and the way the director would choose really carefully what to show and what not to show.  Don't be arrogant enough to believe that watching horror films from the 30s won't scare you.  I think my now wet pants will prove you wrong (just kidding; or am I?).

RATING:****- (just because I can't watch it again; too disturbing)

Interesting Facts:

The German language gets on my nerves.

I am watching Se7en with my sister whenever she visits next so I am exciting to compare the two.

Fritz Lang also did Metropolis which I really did not like.

Apparently Lang was a huge jerk and threw Peter Lorre down a flight of stairs.

Nazis banned this in 1934.

Lang cast real criminals for the last scene.

Peter Lorre and Fritz Lang both had Jewish heritage and fled Germany.  Lang's wife was a Nazi party member.  Another level of creepy gets added to the film.

MGM had a meeting where they discussed how they could make films more like M.

Available on YouTube:

30. Metropolis

Metropolis
1927

So we have at last reached the milestone that everyone has been waiting for...30!  I was excited to watch this film when I learned how many movies it had influenced (namely Star Wars).  In fact, there were times that I was so taken aback by the sets and the costumes, that I forgot to pay attention to the plot which, as I understand it, was pretty shitty.

This movie is about....oh damn, what was this movie about?  This film is set in the future and the world is divided into workers and thinkers.  A man from the thinker group experiences the worker's life and I think falls in love.  Meanwhile, this mad scientist creates a robot-monster version of the woman and it wreaks havoc.

Well, you can see from above just how memorable the plot was.  The acting was rather awful as well (Maria had this weird eye twitch that I think she thought was both evil and sexy).  However, the sets were pretty incredible.  Some of the shots of the city looked just the city in Attack of the Clones (I was extremely nerded out)!  The robot thing was actually the model for C-3PO!  The costumes were also pretty erotic for the times.  So overall, it is only striking visually; in all other ways it is boring and kind of weird.

RATING: ***--(just because I love Star Wars)

Interesting Facts:

It is said to be Hitler's favorite movie.  If that is not a reason to dislike it, I don't know what is.

One of the first sci-fi movies (if you don't count Le Voyage dans la Lune).

Alfred Abel was in this who was also in Dr. Mabuse.  It was weird to recognize a silent movie actor other  than someone like Chaplin.  Or Keaton.  Or Gish.  Now that I think about it, it is not so weird...

With this movie, there is the restored version and then there is the original.  The original is a neat two hours long but you miss a lot.  I watched the restored which is available on Netflix Instant.  This is the restored version that is available on YouTube:

13. Dr. Mabuse Der Spieler

Dr. Mabuse Der Spieler
Dr. Mabuse The Gambler

This handsome fellow I have pictured above is the man that this 300 minute film centers around.  This movie gave me severe Les Vampires flashbacks and not necessarily in a good way.  It certainly has a more intriguing plot than other films back in the day, but still 300 minutes of silent film?  Come on!

This movie is about Dr. Mabuse who is a murderer and a swindler.  The film follows his shenanigans and it would be impossible to write a short synopsis.  Rest assured, shit happens.  This movie was made in 1922 so it is partly a satire about the country of Germany in that time.  Anyone who has taken a history class knows that Germany was not doing so hot in the 20s.  Looking at the movie from that perspective, I think you can render a lot of enjoyment from it.  Definitely a better version of Les Vampires but why are these movies so goddamn long?!?!! Maybe I just have ADD or something.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

There was actually a completely nude woman in one of the scenes.  However, the director did not like how her pubic hair looked (I hate it when that happens).  He threw a fit, but she would not shave so he covered that area with a cloth.  Only seen in old versions.

Can be watched on Netflix Instant.

I could not find this on YouTube but I did find a trailer for it: