Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) by Fritz Lang
Sunday, March 11, 1984, 7:00 pm
Fritz Lang: Dr. Mabuse Der Spieler
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922)
Fritz Lang (Metropolis, M.) made the first of three films on the character of Dr. Mabuse, gambler, hypnotist and master-mind of crime, less a superhero than a metaphorical portrait of the troubled post-WWI years when vice and passion were rife and Fascism was being born. This is Lang’s earliest fully realized masterpiece, giving full vent to his dark, paranoid style. Lang’s Expressionist devices are evident here in the architectural sets, dramatic lighting, fantastic superimpositions and strange characters throughout the film. His style is completely functional, each shot leading into the next, not logically but with the force of the director’s will.