M (1931) - ♦♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Fritz Lang

Written by - Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang (based on an article by Egon Jackobson)

Starring - Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut

"Fritz Lang’s deeply influential noir masterpiece about a whole town’s witch hunt for a child murderer. The work was produced at the end of the Weimar Republic and the dawining of the Nazi era in Germany. As such, this film was a prelude to the moral depravity and hysteria caused by witch hunts that would be very relevant in the Nazi German years, as well as a clear depiction of a lack of trust for the authorities of the Weimar republic that would be a great factor in the rise to power of Hitler and the National Socialists. Peter Lorre in the role of the child murderer is memorable, and his final monologue gives a new perspective on the criminal and dares to place psychological conflicts in the viewer. The film, of course, shows revolutionary techniques in cinematography that would too be influential, with its complex cinematography including long tracking shots and different ground breaking angles and perspectives but what still seems the most impressive to this day is its undying legacy as the film that humanised the role of the villain, particularly in the final harrowing and unforgettable scene."

Thriller, Germany