Review of Ministry of Fear (1944) by Stephen T — 15 May 2015

Lovers of film noir rejoice because (along with William Castle) one of the masters of darkness, Fritz Lang has a "new" film on DVD. This film noir is from the early days of the celebrated genre (1944).

Also, it is a Nazi-spy film made during the war, which lends a irreplaceable authenticity to it. It has all the signatures of film noir and makes a great example for study. Watch the film for it's dark atmosphere, art deco production, and classic plot devices (femme fatales, etc.

) This film was directed by Lang not long after his arrival in the U.S. (he fled Nazi Germany after Hitler wanted to make him head director of the Third Reich's film industry). Lang brings his definitive German Expressionist long shots, high shadows, and distorted figures to the film, which enhances the film and would set precedents for future film noirs in the late 1940s and 1950s.