M (Special Edition) (2-DVD)

DVD Features:

• Region 1; USA & Canada
• Note: This release contains an improved English subtitle translation
• Keep Case
• Special Edition
• Full Frame - 1.19
• Audio:

 Monaural - German

• Additional Release Material:

 Shorts: M LE MAUDIT - Claude Chabrol's
 Featurette:
     1. Classroom tapes of M editor Paul Falkenberg discussing the film and it's history
     2. A physical history of M
 Production Interviews:
     1. CONVERSATION WITH FRITZ LANG - Interview film by William Friedkin
     2. Harold Nebenzal - Son of M Producer Seymour Nebenzal
 Audio Commentary:
     1. Eric Rentschler - German Film Scholar
     2. Anton Kaes - Author

• Text/Photo Galleries:

 Behind The Scenes Photos
 Production Sketches by Art Director Emil Hasler
 Stills Gallery

• Additional Products:

 Booklet

Product Description:

In Fritz Lang's startling and exquisite film M, fear stalks the streets of Berlin in the form of a serial child murderer whose grisly accomplishments are so heinous even the criminal minds of the underworld want him dead. Filmed in post-Weimar Germany during the infancy of the Nazi state, this tale of moral depravity serves not just as an allegory for the need of justice for all, but as an ominous foreshadowing of the sort of societal hysteria that leads to cultural witch hunts. Originally titled "Morder Unter Uns" ("Murderers Among Us"), M was one of Peter Lorre's (CASABLANCA) first major film roles. Fritz Lang's expressionistic eye plunges into the dark cityscape of Berlin, as he follows the killer whistling down the street, seducing small children with toys and candy, and eventually fleeing for his life. A city paralyzed by fear, and a vast criminal underground network of blind beggars, thieves and murderers, as well as an unforgettable climax notable for its startling statement about the murderous nature which resides within human beings, are all rendered in Lang's painterly cinematography of sharp angles, dark corners and breakneck pacing.

Plot Synopsis:

In Lang's chilling masterpiece about a serial child killer who terrorizes a German town, Lorre gives an unforgettable performance as the modern psychopath, Franz Becker, who attempts to attain the dignity of a tragic hero, despite his uncontrollable urge to kill. Often credited for starting both the serial killer and the police procedural film genres, M is also notable for its startling statement about the murderous nature which resides within human beings.

Plot Keywords:

Classic | Disturbing | Essential Cinema | Murder | Recommended | Suspense | Thriller | Vintage

Production Notes:

• Theatrical release: May 11, 1931.
• M was filmed in Berlin in 1931.
• This was based on a true story about a killer in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Cast and Crew:

Starring		Peter Lorre
Directed by		Fritz Lang
Produced by		Seymour Nebenzal
Edited by		Paul Falkenberg
Screenwriting by		Fritz Lang, Thea Von Harbou, Paul Falkenberg, Adolf Jansen & Karl Vash
Composition by		Edvard Grieg
Director of Photography		Fritz Arno Wagner & Gustav Rathje
Production Design by		Emil Hasler & Karl Vollbrecht
Performer		Otto Wernicke, Gustaf Gründgens, Theo Lingen, Theodor Loos, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Georg John, Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur, Paul Kemp, Rudolf Blumner, Karl Platen, Gerhardt Bienert, Rosa Valetti, Hertha von Walther, Fritz Odemar, Friedrich Gnass, Heinrich Gretler, Lotte Lobinger, Isenta, Leonard Steckel, Albert Karchow, Edgar Pauly, Werner Kepich, Gunther Neumann, Hermann Krehan, Josef Almas, Kurth, Carl Balthaus, Leeser, Hans Behal, Rosa Lichenstein, Carell, Sigurd Lohde, Hugo Doblin, Alfred Loretto, J.A. Eckhoff, Mascheck, Else Ehser, Matthis, Karl Elzer, Paul Mederow, Erwin Faber, Margarete Melzer, Ilse Furstenberg, Trude Moss, Gelingk, Hadrian M. Netto, Goldstein, Nied, Anna Goltz, Klaus Pohl, Heinrich Gotho, Franz Polland, Gunther Hadank, Rebane, Robert Hartberg, Paul Rehkopf, Ernst Paul Hempel, Reihsig, Oscar Hocker, Rhaden, Albert Hoermann, Hans Ritter, Max Sablotski, Alexander Sascha, Agnes Schulz-Lichterfeld, Karl Heinz Stroux, Swinborne, Wolf Trutz, Otto Waldis, Borwin Walth, Rolf Wanka, Gelin Wannemann, Ernst Wulf, Bruno Zeiner, Josef Damen & Maja Norden

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DVD Details:

• Format: DVD
  
• Genre: Foreign Films
  
• Label: Criterion
  
• Originally Released in: 1931
  
• Number of Discs: 2
  
• Rated: Not Rated
  
• Run Time: 1 hours, 50 minutes
  
• Video: Black & White
  
• Region: Region 1 encoding; USA & Canada.
  
• Release Date: December 7, 2004
  
• OLDIES.com Sales Rank: 10,667
  
• Item Number: CRIT 30D
  
• UPC: 037429197820
  
• Shipping Weight: 0.47/lbs (approx); Counts as 2 items for International Shipping.