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'M'
I rented 'M' this week and watched it for the first time. I had heard about it for many years but had never seen it for some reason. This film, as you may know, was made in 1931, not that long after the execution of Peter Kurten, upon whom it was based. This is relevant to JTR in that Peter Kurten emulated some of the Ripper's methodology during the commission of his own crimes, which were mainly against children.
The film is marvelously atmospheric and quite realistic in its depiction of life in pre-Hitler 1930's Berlin. One amazing thing is that practically every adult that you see in the film is always smoking. All dialogue is in German, with English subtitles, but I found these to be of no distraction.
The film is not graphic, and the murder of a small girl near the film's beginning is handled about as tastefully as possible, there being only implied actions. Peter Lorre makes a convincing killer, and the acting is very well done on the whole. Language is sprinkled with the same four-letter words common today, which is surprising for a film made in 1931.
The arresting scene that Howard mentioned, of a policemen talking on the phone, is indeed quite odd. The camera is underneath the man's desk, looking up at him for a minute or two, and the central focus seems to be on the man's crotch. My wife expressed her disgust at this bit, and I really don't understand its purpose myself; I am pretty sure that the seeming emphasis of his privates really wasn't the intent of the director.
The ending was somewhat of a disappointment, however, as the film more or less just stops. This was my only disappointment, although the film drags quite a bit during the time that the underworld is chasing Peter Lorre through the building in which he is hiding.
The theme of this film, in which the Berlin underworld hunts down a child-killer for reasons of their own, is one of my private theories concerning JTR - that maybe the same kind of thing happened to him. In the novel The Return of Moriarty, this is exactly what happens to the Ripper - he is hunted down by Professor Moriarty's criminal organization, executed, and disposed of in the Thames.
Anyway, I give it a **** rating out of a possible *****. Check it out for yourself - it is head and shoulders above From Hell.
The film is marvelously atmospheric and quite realistic in its depiction of life in pre-Hitler 1930's Berlin. One amazing thing is that practically every adult that you see in the film is always smoking. All dialogue is in German, with English subtitles, but I found these to be of no distraction.
The film is not graphic, and the murder of a small girl near the film's beginning is handled about as tastefully as possible, there being only implied actions. Peter Lorre makes a convincing killer, and the acting is very well done on the whole. Language is sprinkled with the same four-letter words common today, which is surprising for a film made in 1931.
The arresting scene that Howard mentioned, of a policemen talking on the phone, is indeed quite odd. The camera is underneath the man's desk, looking up at him for a minute or two, and the central focus seems to be on the man's crotch. My wife expressed her disgust at this bit, and I really don't understand its purpose myself; I am pretty sure that the seeming emphasis of his privates really wasn't the intent of the director.
The ending was somewhat of a disappointment, however, as the film more or less just stops. This was my only disappointment, although the film drags quite a bit during the time that the underworld is chasing Peter Lorre through the building in which he is hiding.
The theme of this film, in which the Berlin underworld hunts down a child-killer for reasons of their own, is one of my private theories concerning JTR - that maybe the same kind of thing happened to him. In the novel The Return of Moriarty, this is exactly what happens to the Ripper - he is hunted down by Professor Moriarty's criminal organization, executed, and disposed of in the Thames.
Anyway, I give it a **** rating out of a possible *****. Check it out for yourself - it is head and shoulders above From Hell.
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