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By PAUL BRENNER
"When humanity, subjugated
by the terror of crime, has been driven insane by
fear and horror, and when chaos has become supreme
law, then the time will have come for the empire
of crime." With Bin Laden, orange alert levels,
and Bush "bringin' 'em on," the daily reality is
not too far off from the "empire of crime."
However, this quote did not originate from Al
Qaeda or the Republican right wing, but rather
from the mouth of a fictional lunatic in a film
made in Germany in 1933.
In Fritz Lang's "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse"
(Lang's sequel to his two-part film from 1922, "
Dr. Mabuse, King of Crime"), Lang brought back his
original Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) and had him
on the verge of death in a cell in an asylum, but
still controlling his criminal empire by hypnotic
suggestion and thought waves; even when Mabuse
dies, he is still running his lawless enterprises.
Instead of making his new film into a pulpy, crime
drama, Lang, deeply disturbed by the Nazis (who
had taken over the German government in 1933),
uses Mabuse as a mouthpiece for Nazi slogans,
hoping to alert the German public to the group of
psychotics who had just taken power in Germany.
Although Lang was the top German director,
Goebbels unceremoniously banned the film. Seeing
the writing on the wall, Lang quickly left the
country, resurfacing first in France and then in
Hollywood, where he had a long and fruitful career
(although he would never again regain the artistic
control he had in Germany). However, "The
Testament of Dr. Mabuse" did not escape as
successfully as Lang. It wasn't until 1951 that
the film was finally shown in Germany, and then in
only a shortened 111-minute version. A French
version that Lang had shot simultaneously with the
German version was the only version of the film
available for many years (directed by Lang, the
French film was edited by others). In the United
States an even more truncated, dubbed version
surfaced in the '50s. The original German version
was thought to be, to all intents and purposes,
lost.
But no more. Through the Criterion Collection,
Lang's original version (short by three minutes)
can now be seen. This restored and remastered
edition, presented in its original aspect ratio of
1.19:1 is a revelation. For Mabuse or Lang fans
that have squirmed through poor dubs of the
American version, this new Criterion version is
like having your eyelids peeled back.
Lang's sound explorations and the clockwork
intricacy of his editing are now restored to their
original brilliance. Lang thrusts the audience
immediately into the story in mid scene, as a
disgraced police detective eavesdrops upon the
counterfeiting plans of Mabuse's gang, a loud and
mysterious machine thundering throughout the
sequence. Lang takes off from there and never lets
go, as one scene sublimely links to the next.
Never strident, "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse"
sticks like a schoolboy with a comic book to its
action film origins. But Lang is subtly utilizing
our enjoyment of his storytelling prowess to issue
a call to alarm.
Impressive enough to be banned by Goebbels in
1933, it still packs a wallop today. The film
should be seen by as many people as possible. "The
man behind the curtain" can be any number of
cutthroat dictators and Lang's warnings about the
unsavory evil geniuses that create an atmosphere
of fear and manipulate technology for nefarious
goals is more appropriate now than ever before.
Hitler may not be around anymore, but Mabuse can
inhabit any willing soul. When Dr. Baum, the
psychiatric director of Mabuse's asylum, falls
under Mabuse's mental spell and ends up going mad,
the enterprising police inspector Lohmann (Otto
Wernicke), at a loss for words at the
inconsequential results of his investigation, can
only say, "There is nothing left to do here for a
mere police inspector" as a door slams shut on
both Baum and the audience. But Baum is in his
cell; the audience can take a breath and act.
The two-disc set is packed with special features.
Disc One offers audio commentary by David Kalat,
author of "The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuse." Disc
Two features the French version, "Le Testament Du
Dr. Mabuse," directed, but not edited by Lang.
This film is grainy and blurry and taken from a
16mm print. Also included on the disc are excerpts
from a 1964 interview with Lang; a 1984 interview
with character actor Rudolf Schundler, who played
a gang member in the film; an interview with
Mabuse expert Michael Farin on Mabuse's literary
creator, Norbert Jacques; memorabilia and stills;
production designs from art director Emil Hasler;
and a fascinating comparison (narrated by Kalat)
between the three versions of "The Testament of
Dr. Mabuse," the 1933 German version, the French
version, and the edited 1952 American version. |
