Review of Hangmen Also Die! (1943) by Tom B — 17 Sep 2010

We debated: Intentions Of Murder or Hangmen Also Die? In the end we picked Lang over Imamura, only because we were in the mood for noir-soaked images of Nazi-killing resistance fighters attempting to outwit and defeat the Nazi machine.

What a gem! I kept thinking of M, the man-hunt through dark city streets, the outline of human interconnectedness, the depiction in this case not of the forensic details but rather the social details, and the emotional importance of character in human lives.

In some ways this sinewy plot had more revelations per frame in terms of character quirks. The clownish Nazis masking a genuine menace, the utterly brutal violence, the passionate pleas, the rational discourse against fascism, and the unflinching portrayal of inevitable consumption by the machinery of fascism.

The truth that it cannot be defeated in ways we might hope, even though we try. This message subverts the notion of some kind of rallying cry. This beast is a cynical exploration of futility. And yet there is hope in there, though perhaps not where we think.

Long before any notion of a revenge-against-the-Nazis type of revisionism, here's the real thing. Revenge against the Nazis, and the bastards are us. If you love Lang's Mabuse stuff and M, this is a killer plot.

Cries out for a loving restoration, stands easily on the shelf beside his best. What a treat to blindly turn a corner and find this yummy treat. Yay cinema!