5 Responses to “M”

• By Kim M. on Mar 12, 2010

  Peter Lorre was the highlight of this film. But, after watching this film, I am confused as to what exactly was so horrifying. I see far more horrifying images on the nightly news. Peter Lorre’s character is never fully developed – as a viewer you have no insight into his dementia. It would have been a far better film to have been better informed as to his past insanity. If you are expecting a modern psychological thriller – you will be disappointed. It may be impossible for such an old film to have the intense psychological impact of modern films.
  Rating: 3 / 5
• By Anonymous on Mar 12, 2010

  Maybe this shocked in its day, but it’s terribly dated, with long dialogue scenes that could have been condensed way down. Interesting to see Peter Lorre so young and speaking German. But I thought I’d be caught up in the actual movie, but was forced to watch it as a piece of film history, like a college film class. The one thing that prevents film from being the greatest art form is movies date so quickly. This is a perfect example.
  Rating: 2 / 5
• By Genevieve Hayes on Mar 12, 2010

  “M” is an example of a good idea that is poorly executed. Peter Lorre plays a child murderer who is terrorizing a city in Germany to the point where both the police and members of the local underworld are hunting him down. With more action involved, this could have been the “intense psychological thriller” that many critics claim it to be, but it is very hard to become emotionally involved in a film when 80% of the film comprises non-descript characters (police and gangsters) sitting around and discussing the need to capture the murderer. It is repetitive to the point of being sleep-inducing and with the exception of Lorre’s murderer (who barely even appears in the first hour of the film), all of the characters feel like the same “person”. They have no real distinguishing characteristics. Even by the standards of the time when this was made (1931), “M” is a slow-moving and uneventful film, which is surprising, since director Fritz Lang himself had already demonstrated that he was capable of making better films with 1927′s “Metropolis”, a film which is just as engrossing as any modern film. If you want to see one of Fritz Lang’s “masterpieces”, then “Metropolis” is the way to go, not “M”.
  Rating: 2 / 5
• By J. Herman on Mar 12, 2010

  I have to say the I don’t know what is on this version, but I have owned the Criterion version of this film for more than five years and I think that it is brilliant, just as I think Metropolis is as well, but I am really sick of these studios releasing “bigger and better” versions of films. You would think that Criterion would do it right the first time and not pull this sham to make even more money on the same film. I have been trading up previous versions for those that claim to be “Special” and have not always been happy with the differences.

  I don’t know about all of you other DVD/Movie lovers, but I really am beginning to dislike studios that release a DVD and then, usually some short time later, release a bigger and better version. Just give it to us up front! Most of us are willing to pay for a better product, if that is really what we are getting. We are already paying two or three times the price for Criterion DVDs, but to have to pay again for the same movie just to get a few more extras that should have been there the first time is ridiculous

  So I am calling you on this “Criterion,” please provide the best you can and don’t play the same game as the big dogs, or should I call them little dogs for trying to be petty in their attempts to squeeze more money from their loyal customer base!
  
  Rating: 3 / 5
• By Alpha on Mar 12, 2010

  I own a beamer and normally see quite well how a film was transfered. Here, the picture isnt clear, you can’t distinguish faces far off, cannot even read the newspaper-article, though I am certain you can on the source that was used for the transfer. I certainly hoped for better stuff, and now will have to to tape the film from an emission on TV and dub the sound or something similar. A disappointing transfer indeed!
  Rating: 1 / 5

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