Spies

1928

1h 30m

Mystery & Thriller

List

95%

Tomatometer

19 Reviews

82%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

Secret agent 326 (Willy Fritsch) tries to catch the master (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) of an international spy ring.

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Elliott Stein

Film Comment Magazine

Spies is one of Lang's best films. That means one of the best films ever made.

Rated: 4/4

Dec 12, 2017

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Erotic, mysterious, abstract, full of uncanny images and ideas, and rich with multiple identities and intrigue, this is essential viewing for anyone interested in the great director's work.

Oct 15, 2014

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Tony Rayns

Time Out

The tone is somewhere between true pulp fiction and pure expressionism, and the result remains wholly thrilling.

Jun 24, 2006

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Erich Hellmund-Waldow

Close Up

The manner in which Fritz Lang has arranged the different shots gives an extraordinary rhythm of life, to the whole film.

Dec 9, 2021

Full Review

P.S. Harrison

Harrison's Reports

A very good mystery thriller if the audience can endure the first two parts which are puzzling and almost meaningless because of the quick changes of situations... But as it begins to knit, it holds the interest.

Feb 25, 2021

Full Review

Pamela Hutchinson

Silent London

There's not an ounce of fat on this film -- if it's not sexy, dangerous or illegal, Lang won't allow it on screen. And this makes for breathless, disorienting viewing.

Mar 27, 2020

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Audience Member

The worst 1.5 hours of silent footage with card titles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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andrey k

Thrilling and spectacular Fritz Lang movie, similar to his earlier films about Dr. Mabuse. It's full of action and suspenseful scenes mixed with a believable love story between two adversaries which ultimately destroyed the evil plans of Haghi. Gerda Maurus's performance deserves highest accolades.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

First time viewing: I'm sure it's not a conspiracy to bestow high praise because it's expected, so I'm going to watch it again. And then again and again, until I get it. A repeat epitomy as I had with Fairbanks' The Thief of Bagdad. 1/2 star Umpteenth time viewing: yup. Finally got there. 'Tis greatness. It breathes its own life. And I love it. Will be inspired by it. No stopping a wonder like this. 5 stars

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

It's unnecessarily epic, but it's also at least 40 years ahead of it's time.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Audience Member

Almost 25 years before the first James Bond novel was published, Fritz Lang had already created a remarkable spy film that feels like it would fit right in with the adventures of 007. This movie is loaded with intrigue, danger, and double-agents. I was amazed how much it all came together like a classic spy story, and I followed the whole thing from start to finish despite limited dialogue. It delved into some strange sub-plots with the Japanese spies that puzzled me. I liked some of those moments in the movie, but didn't understand why they were necessary to the overall story. It was in some of these strange detours of the plot that I occasionally lost focus on the film (always a struggle for me when watching silent films.) But those moments were few and far between because most of the movie gripped me from beginning to end. I loved the actors in this movie, particularly Rudolf Klein-Rogge who plays a great criminal mastermind. The movie had a few twists that genuinely surprised me, and there was one sequence that was so perfectly presented that it had me gritting my teeth in tense excitement, wondering what would happen next. While these movies by Fritz Lang aren't exactly the kind of films that I can see myself watching again and again, I am constantly wowed by how much he was ahead of his time.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

another winner from german director fritz lang

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Fritz Lang

Director

Rudolf Klein-Rogge

Haghi

Gerda Maurus

Sonya Baranilkowa

Willy Fritsch

No. 326

Lupu Pick

Dr. Masimoto

Fritz Rasp

Col. Jellusic

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Synopsis

Secret agent 326 (Willy Fritsch) tries to catch the master (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) of an international spy ring.

Director: Fritz Lang
Screenwriter: Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 17, 2020
Runtime: 1h 30m

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