Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler [Restored Authorized Edition] [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler is the eight-reel version of Fritz Lang's twenty reeler, two-part silent thriller, Dr. Mabuse. Mabuse (Rudolph Klein-Rogge) a sinister mesmerist/psychiatrist, toys with the weaknesses of the rich and influential. He worms his way into the confidence of wealthy men, plays cards with them, hypnotizes them into cheating at their businesses, then puts them in a position to be blackmailed so that he can corner the stock market. A devilishly ingenious plan-but Mabuse is up against the plodding, methodical police detective Wrenk, whose subconscious is not so easily swayed...at least, not at first. In 1932, Lang directed a talkie sequel to Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 2
• Audio: Silent
• Screen: Black and White
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Features:
  • "The Story Behind Dr. Mabuse" (52 min., in German w/ English subtitles)
  • Fritz Lang biography/filmography
  • Stills gallery
  • Film notes

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Rudolf Klein - Rogge - Dr. Mabuse
       Aud Egede Nissen - Cara Carozza
       Gertrude Welcker - Graefin Told
       Alfred Abel - Graf Told
       Bernhard Goetzke - Von Wrenk
       Paul Richter - Edgar Hull
       Adele Sandrock

• Director:

  Fritz Lang

• Producer:

  Erich Pommer

• Screenwriter:

  Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou

• Book Author:

  Norbert Jacques

• Cinematographer:

  Carl Hoffmann

• Production Designer:

  Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, Karl Vollbrecht

REVIEW:

• Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler is often thought of as the place where the director's filmmaking aesthetic springs full-grown to the screen. He had experimented with different aspects of visual style in his earlier works, but it is on this epic -- some four hours long in its original release -- that Lang pulled all of these elements together into the hyper-expressionist style that was identifiable as his. The first of three adaptations of the Norbert Jacques' novels by the renowned director, the film also provided Lang's wife and screenwriter Thea Von Harbou a canvas on which to explore and expand her own work. The subject matter, a cat-and-mouse game between a master criminal (with considerable scientific -- or, more properly, pseudo-scientific) knowledge at his disposal, and a top law enforcement official, was intrinsically absorbing in Lang's hands, especially as these characters were portrayed by Rudolf Klein-Rogge and Bernhard Goetzke; their duel would go on to influence the plots of comic books and feature films for a generation to come and longer, right into the twenty-first century in the form of the James Bond movies. As for Lang, his next career jump would be the Niebelung adaptations, in two epic-length movies that were even more stylized visually. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi