May 8, 2010

M

The Top 63 Marathon, part 8



Data
Title: M
Year: 1931 (Germany), 1933 (US)
Length: 110 minutes
Director: Fritz Lang
Writers: Thea von Harbou & Fritz Lang
Starring: Peter Lorre
Distinctions: currently #56 on the IMDb's Top 250



My reaction
Synopsis: a child-murderer is hunted by gangsters and the police
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix) yesterday
Concept: Great.
Story: Great.
Characters: Indifferent. Apart from Lorre's character, no one has any personality whatsoever.
Dialog: Good.
Pacing: Good. Great in the second half, but a bit slow to get started.
Cinematography: Great.
Special effects/design: Good. Mostly great, but I've got to take off a little for some problems with the sound.
Acting: Great. Kind of, I guess. At least Lorre is great.
Music: Great. I could be forgetting something, but I think there's no music except for the character whistling.
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good). It's got some problems. The first half is very dated (although in the second half it turns into one of the best serial killer movies ever made), and the final scene (where someone talks directly to the audience) really bugs me. But I almost gave it an 8/10.
Objective Rating: 3.4/4 (Very good).

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