I recently got a copy of Jean-Luc Goddard's film Contempt, which has the acclaimed German director Fritz Lang in a prominent role. I figured it was time to see one of his films and M (1931) was a film that I have read good things about, so I thought I would start there. I must say it was a revelation. It was lang's first sound film and it has a master-like sophistication in cinematography, editing and story execution. It has the great Peter Lorre as the child murderer and ragtag cast of supporting actors who bring alive the underworld of 1930s Berlin. The film is credited as the first serial murder film and the first police procedural. But it is more than that, crime thriller that also features a heist-like sequence, when the criminal gang traps the murderer in a building. They systematically search it for the murderer using their unique skills for breaking into offices and storage spaces in search for their man. After they catch their man, it becomes a problem film in that there is a discussion of capital punishment among the accused and his captors. It is truly a classic cinematic masterpiece.
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