Fritz Lang’s ‘M’ (1931/Criterion Collection Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: C+ Extras: B+ Film: A-
Fritz
Lang was one of the most important, successful filmmakers in silent film, so
when he was to make his first sound film, what would he do? He picked the tale of a child murder and cast
Peter Lorre as the killer and ‘M’
(1931) was an international hit that proved Lang’s instant mastery of sound on
film. We previously reviewed the film in
an import version a while ago and you can read more about it if you are
unfamiliar with it at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2594/Fritz+Lang%27s+%27M
The film
has been a popular classic for nearly 80 years now and Criterion has issued it
since the old 12” LaserDisc days. Though
their initial DVD version was controversial (reissued later), it was good, but
this new Blu-ray is by far, the best version you are likely to ever see of the
film. Lorre became an international star
and eventually horror legend thanks to this film. It remains as suspenseful, intelligent and
powerful as it ever did and the actual crime in the film is still a major
problem today that has not found as much resolution as it should have by now.
When the
Criterion DVD came out, it was the best copy ever issued in the U.S., but some felt some other copies (like the Eureka! DVD
import another one of our writers covered at the link above) was a bit better
and many film fans would get multi-region players just to have any copy of a
key film elsewhere to get the best copy.
Blu-ray has killed that distinction and the Criterion Blu-ray of ‘M’ surpasses all previous DVD copies.
The 1080p
1.19 X 1 digital black and white High Definition image (bookended on the sides
by black bars) was lensed by Lang’s great Director of Photography Fritz Arno
Wagner and this was sadly one of their last films before WWII had both men
going their separate ways. While even
the PAL import had some softness, there is no such problem throughout this
amazing transfer and the booklet included explains the 35mm fine grain print
from the restored camera negative was used to make a new HD master via a Spirit
Datacine telecine machine. The result
includes Video Black is great, Video White in is more than good enough to join
it and make this look like an actual film print, impressive shadow detail so
key to a classic like this, as much detail as you could hope for from a film
this age and even depth in scenes that only a good film print could equal.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 German Mono (the long lost English version of the
film, is also included here) is interesting in that is may show the age of the
sound source, but it is relatively the warmest, cleanest, richest version of the
film’s groundbreaking sound mix you will ever hear. It comes from original optical sound elements
that survived, were restored and transferred at 24-bit digital sound while
cleaned for pops and clicks. Except for purists
who might think the sound is ever so slightly compressed, it lines up with the
terrific high definition picture to bring home (figuratively and literally) the
look, feel and mood of the film showing what an amazing film it really is and
will always be.
Extras
include a booklet with tech information, illustrations, four essays (one by
Lang), a Missing Scene piece and Interview with Lang, while the Blu-ray has a
rich feature-length audio commentary track by critic/writer/film scholars Anton
Kaes, author of the BFI Film Classics volume on M, and Eric Rentschler, author of The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife, William
Friedkin’s 50-minutes-long interview with Lang, Stills gallery with
behind-the-scenes photos, and production sketches by art director Emil Hasler,
a documentary on the physical history of M,
from production to distribution to digital restoration, Claude Chabrol’s M le Maudit, a short film inspired by M, an interview with Chabrol by
Pierre-Henri Gibert about Lang’s filmmaking techniques, classroom audiotapes of
editor Paul Falkenberg discussing M &
its history accompanied by clips from the film and a video interview with
Harold Nebenzal, the son of M
producer Seymour Nebenzal.
- Nicholas Sheffo
