Fritz Lang (1890 – 1976) Born in Austria Began film career during German Expressionism movement

Metropolis (1927) First full-length science fiction film Most expensive film ever made at the time set in a futuristic urban dystopian society

M (1931) Lang’s first “talking” movie He carefully choose where he used dialogue and where he used silence Use of voice-over narration was a new technique in films Use of a leitmotif (a musical theme used to signify a character)

Peter Lorre Hans

“Lang, in an almost prophetic sense, captured the state of mind of the German people in 1931 as the Weimar Republic was on the brink of collapse and the Nazi Regime was preparing to take over. When individuals live in a state of fear, as they do in M, society collapses and the Individual is crushed. Only the State, it seems, can bring order.”

“Lang is much more concerned with the public’s reaction in a time of paranoia and how society can begin to crave blood and murder just as equally as the ones they are passing judgment on. Not unlike Metropolis, M is a projection of a dystopia—a cautionary tale in which the law becomes lawless and the line between those who are being protected and those who are being oppressed blurs.”

Nazi propaganda minister offered him position as head of German Cinema Institute Lang moved to Paris is 1934 – then US in 1936 Lang’s US films were very influential in the development of the Film Noir style Moved back to Germany in the late 1950’s