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

Cloak and Dagger (1946)

 

"Classic Fritz Lang Thriller"

The film Fritz Lang made as his follow up to 1945's SCARLET STREET gets a UK dual format DVD & Blu-ray release courtesy of Eureka.

World War II. Alvah Jesper (Gary Cooper) is a nuclear physicist who gets recruited by America's Office of Strategic Services. He's sent to Switzerland as an undercover agent to meet up with former colleague Katarin Lodor (Helene Thimig) regarding the Nazis plan to construct an atomic bomb.

However, things go wrong when Katerin is killed and Alvah finds himself travelling to Italy to meet Dr Giovanni Polda (Vladimir Sokoloff) whose daughter has been kidnapped by the Nazis so that he will work for them.

Alvah joins forces with resistance fighter Gina (Lilli Palmer in her first Hollywood role) and together they plan to smuggle Dr Polda out of Italy. But there are plenty of obstacles in their way.

A stylish wartime espionage picture with Cooper and Palmer having great onscreen chemistry, CLOAK AND DAGGER was the plot template for 1984 Jim Abrahams / Zucker Brothers spoof TOP SECRET! Admittedly Gary Cooper's science professor does possess a somewhat unbelievable ability to beat up bad guys but treated as the piece of suspenseful action cinema it was intended as it still holds up as a fun ride. 

       Eureka's disc gives us a brand new commentary track from Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, a new video essay from David Cairns, a 1946 radio adaptation of the story starring Lilli Palmer and Ronald Reagan, 11 hours (!) of Cloak and Dagger: The Radio Series and a booklet with new writing on the film from Samm Deighan.

Fritz Lang's CLOAK AND DAGGER is out from Eureka on dual format on Monday 27th January 2020

The Woman in the Window (1944)

"Classic Fritz Lang Noir"

Eureka have just released Fritz Lang's landmark film noir on Blu-ray.

Mild mannered professor Richard Wanley (Edward G Robinson) kisses his wife and children goodbye as they go off on vacation, and then elects to spend the evening at his club with some friends. Outside the club is an art gallery and Wanley is taken by the portrait of a woman in the window. His friends agree she is spellbinding.

Late that night and on his own, Richard finds himself staring at the painting once more, only to come face to face with the model (Joan Bennett) in the flesh. She tells him she has more of the artist's work ("only sketches, and all of me") back at her place. 

Richard goes there for a drink. A man bursts in and attacks him. Richard gets handed some scissors with which he stabs his assailant - to death, it seems. In an act of the most naive chivalry, Richard says he will get rid of the body if the girl cleans up the flat, which she agrees to. Needless to say, neither the body's disposal, nor the days which follow, are filled with anything other than creeping dread. 

Considered one of the best film noirs of all time, THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW boasts a number of engaging set-pieces, the most atmospheric of which probably comes at the end of the first act. Lang piles on the rain and wind and ratchets up the tension as Robinson (very much cast against type here) tries to drive his car to the most remote spot he can think of. The boy scout who discovers the corpse is a nice interjection of humour, too. I won't say any more in case you haven't seen it, but hopefully needless to say the climax provides a most satisfying surprise as to what's actually been going on. 

Eureka's transfer has a few scratches on the print, but it's still in pretty good shape. Extras include an audio commentary by Sara Smith and a new video essay by David Cairns. There's also a booklet with new writing on the film from Amy Simmons and Samm Deighan as well as archival materials.

Fritz Lang's THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW is out on Blu-ray from Eureka now. 

Human Desire (1954)

"Film Noir That Stays Firmly On Track"

Fritz Lang's contemporary (for 1954) movie version of Emile Zola's 1890 novel of love, lust, betrayal and violence gets a dual format release from Eureka.

Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford) is just back from the war in Korea. He resumes his job as a train driver and rents a room at the house of fellow engineer Alec Simmons (Edgar Buchanan). Simmons' daughter Ellen (Kathleen Simmons very much looking as if she was the inspiration for Sherilyn Fenn's character Audrey in David Lynch's Twin Peaks) has the hots for him, but one night he bumps into Vicki (Gloria Grahame), the wife of Jeff's heavy drinking, insanely jealous superior Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford).

What Jeff doesn't realise at the time is that Vicki is married, nor that she has just been an accessory to her husband murdering a man he suspected of being her lover. Jeff and Vicki begin an affair. Vicki tells Jeff Carl is blackmailing her. If only Carl was out of the way they could be together. Perhaps an accident on the railway...

Stylish and grim, Fritz Lang's noir is set almost entirely in and around the world of the railroad, giving it the kind of industrial, soot-stained, smoke-filled feel that would be utilised so well by David Lynch in his early features, which makes you wonder if that director was profoundly influenced by this very film. While the Simmons family are there to show us some 'good' characters, they barely get a look in as Lang concentrates on his three leads, whose parts are played as glorious examples of morally dubious humanity by Ford, Grahame and Crawford.

Eureka's Blu-ray offers us a 1080p presentation. As an extra you get Tony Rayns talking about the film for half an hour. There's also a 40 page booklet featuring new writing on the film from Travis Crawford, Richard Combs and Adam Batty. 

Stylish and brutally cynical, HUMAN DESIRE is apparently one of Fritz Lang's more underrated films. It's certainly worth catching up with as a fine example of small town noir. And it has trains in it. 

Fritz Lang's HUMAN DESIRE is out on dual format from Eureka on Monday 18th February 2019

Der Mude Tod (The Weary Death) aka Destiny (1921)

“Splendid Presentation of a Silent Classic”

       Fritz Lang’s ambitious, exotic grown-up fairytale about love and death gets a dual format DVD & Blu-ray release of its 2k restoration courtesy of Eureka.

       A young couple (Lil CABINET OF DR CALIGARI Dagover and Walter Janssen) travel to a village where Death (Bernhard Goetzke) has built a wall around the land adjacent to the local cemetery with no way in and no way out. At the inn, Lil is distracted by kittens and puppies while her fiancé leaves in the company of Death because it's apparently his time to go.

       Lil finds her way into Death’s walled-off cathedral, where Death admits he is weary of witnessing the suffering of men. He gives her three opportunities to save her lover by placing the two of them in three different stories which we see played out - one set in the Middle East, one in Vienna, and one in China. All she has to do is save her fiance’s life in one of these situations and he will be returned to her.

       Unfortunately, all three stories have unhappy endings. Back in his candle-filled cathedral, Death gives Lil one last chance - if she can find someone willing to die in her fiance’s place Death will restore him to her. Cue lots of old people refusing to part with even a second of their remaining life despite all her pleading. I’ll leave you to find out how it all ends.

       A remarkable piece of work (and Fritz Lang’s breakthrough film), DER MUDE TOD has been given a beautiful restoration job here, with every sequence tinted and the picture looks as great as one imagines it ever will. Extras on Eureka’s disc include a helpful video essay by David Cairns which contextualises the film within Fritz Lang's life and body of work. We get the kind of detailed factual commentary anyone familiar with the work of Video Watchdog’s Tim Lucas has come to expect of him, and he makes an immediate second viewing of the film essential.

       The accompanying booklet features a detailed new essay by Philip Kemp as well as plenty of stills from the movie. My only complaint about an otherwise excellent package is that the music score (by Cornelius Schwehr and performed by the Berlin Symphony Orchestra) doesn’t really fit the action and often feels too upbeat and almost frivolous compared to what's happening onscreen. Next time I’m going to turn the sound down and put some James Bernard on. 

Fritz Lang’s DER MUDE TOD is out in dual format from Eureka on Monday 24th July 2017