The Thousand Eyes of Dr Mabuse (1960)

"At Last!"

Eureka finally concludes its programme of releasing Fritz Lang's Mabuse trilogy on Blu-ray, with both DR MABUSE THE GAMBLER (1922) and THE TESTAMENT OF DR MABUSE (1933) having already been released in standard and attractive steelbook editions.

Dr Mabuse is dead...or is he? We get a brief summary of criminal mastermind Dr Mabuse's career and eventual fate, culminating in a shot of his gravestone, near the start of this film, one which actually begins with the killing of a journalist by hitman Howard Vernon using a specialised needle gun.

Inspector Kras (Gert Fröbe -GOLDFINGER himself) is assigned to the case and finds himself in a strange world of insurance salesmen who rely on astrology, a blind man who claims he can predict the future, suicidal Marion Menil (Dawn Addams) and rich industrialist Henry Travers (Peter van Eyck). 

Everything seems to centre around the luxurious Luxor Hotel, built by the Nazis to house dignitaries and loaded to the gills with surveillance equipment. As more bodies turn up it becomes clear (eventually) that either Mabuse is carrying out one of his dastardly plans to cause chaos throughout the world, or somebody has inherited his mantle.

A film that feels like a James Bond film before such a thing ever existed, THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR MABUSE anticipates the spy thrillers of the forthcoming decade with its weird gadgets, surveillance cameras, and master villain intent on ruling the world. Fritz Lang always admired Gordon Hessler's film of SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN and watching this it's not difficult to see why. The excellent car chase at the end of this is similar to the one in Hessler's film. and Fröbe's police officer is the likely inspiration for Alfred Marks' Inspector Bellaver.

Eureka's Blu-ray boasts a lovely-looking 1080p transfer, with both German and Fritz Lang-approved English dialogue tracks. There's a commentary track from Lang expert David Kalat, an alternate ending, and an interview with star Wolfgang Preiss from 2002. The sleeve is reversible, there's a collector's booklet with new writing on the film, and the first 2000 copies come with a slipcase.

Fritz Lang's THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR MABUSE is out on Blu-ray from Eureka on Monday 11th May 2020