Review of M (1931) by Danny K — 16 Aug 2010

After watching it on the Roku, I thought it was good, but I didn't know if it warranted five stars. However, I ruminated on Lang's masterpiece for a week or so and realized that I was comparing it to modern works of the genre(s)--a big forehead smack was in order. This was the first "talkie" Lang ever made, and he did things that were revolutionary for the medium. It was almost as if he'd been making talkies while everyone else was making silent films. And Peter Lorre's performance is landmark (playing the first serial killer ever captured on celluloid (if that's what they used back then)).

Perhaps it's that Lang was not that far removed from the silent film era, but the visual story telling and the economy of dialogue makes "M" feel so modern and unlike the "plays on film" that seemed to dominate the decades to follow.