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      Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler

      1922 3h 15m Mystery & Thriller Crime Drama List
      94% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 87% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings This silent film, based on the pulp novel by Norbert Jacques, follows the devious schemes of criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge). Using disguises and hypnosis, as well as an assortment of henchmen, Mabuse begins to amass a fortune, with gambling and murder factoring heavily into his plans. Though the villain is careful to cover his tracks, a resourceful police inspector (Bernhard Goetzke) remains determined to put Mabuse behind bars. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (16) Critics Reviews
      Variety Staff Variety The best moments are achieved by the conflict between Mabuse and the attorney, Von Wenk (Bernhard Goetzke), who is trying to uncover him. Nov 26, 2008 Full Review Keith Uhlich Slant Magazine This Mabuse has only pretensions to myth; he's as mortal as they come and Lang's film slowly (very slowly) leads him down a Fibonacci-spiraled path to the one true salvation--insanity. Rated: 3/4 Jul 18, 2006 Full Review Time Out Lang's introduction to Mabuse is typical of his early work in being disorganised and erratically paced as a narrative, but shot through with flashes of inspiration. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Pamela Hutchinson Silent London This is pulp mystery fiction with a touch of class; Lang takes a few steps in the direction of his Hollywood film noir future with these slick stories of criminal twists, unexpected turns and moral compromises in a bleak urban setting. Mar 26, 2020 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row Lang managed to create one of the screen's most indelible villains in the form of Dr. Mabuse (are there any eyebrows in all of cinema as expressive of those of Rudolf Klein-Rogge?) Rated: 3.5/4 Jun 4, 2019 Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm ...a bit unwieldy in terms of structure, but it's worth the sit for the eventual flashes of Lang's visual genius. Rated: 3.5/4 May 9, 2013 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (114) audience reviews
      Alexander B It's way to long a film by today's standards but it did feature some great cinematography and comic relief moments. I don't recommend it for every one but silent film lovers would enjoy it. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review William L You thought Les Vampires was long? At leas that silent-era crime epic was intended to be watched in several pieces, as opposed to this behemoth, but then again, Lang compensates with a much more deliberate plot. Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler is a testament to the old claim that "a film is only as good as its villain" - Klein-Rogge's titular man of many faces and vague capabilities is actually pretty fantastic. He relies on and relishes in manipulating human behavior, whether through hypnosis (which is a bit of a cop out as a capability, but hey, it's 1922), or more interestingly, through identifying and exploiting flaws or taking advantage of some sort of emotional connection. However, despite the intricacies of his crime and unique strengths, he's far from invulnerable himself, often falling victim to vice and with madness constantly knocking on the door of his world that relies on just how carefully he must present himself to continue his nefarious conduct. His power hinges on knowledge and the ability to avoid detection in assembling it, all in a particularly chaotic environment. The actual plots are secondary and are often of dubious interest, and the runtime is quite formidable, but it's worth it to see Mabuse, in many ways a post-WWI Harry Lime, carrying with him much of the same social criticism. (4/5) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/23/21 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. A bit too long and the first part threw everything in and the kitchen sink. Regardless, it was a trend setter. The second part was much more structured and followed a better narrative. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review andrey k Tremendous epic crime movie from the silent era by Fritz Lang, done with all the conventions (or rather the conventions come from it) of Weimar Germany cinema. The main antagonist, the evil genius mind dr. Mabuse, is brilliantly portrayed by Rudolf Kleine-Rogger. There are many memorable now familiar scenes that influenced the crime genre forever. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review spencer p Crazily paced, unfocused, but still somewhat satisfactory in the end. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member It's wonderful to finally see Lang's first Dr. Mabuse film in it's original 4 1/2 hour cut. It's certainly a huge investment of time, but I found this to be an extremely rewarding experience. The film isn't as visually extravagant as "Metropolis", but there's some magnificent imagery here and a wonderful aura of corruption and Weimar sleaze. There's a tendency to associate silent films with broad, out-sized flamboyant acting, but I was struck by how reserved the performances really are here and by some of the incredible economy in the narrative (odd to say for a film that takes half a day to watch, but it's quite episodic and is more like a serial than a feature film). The only downside is that the copy airing on Netflix has some pretty extreme problems with interlacing that detracted a bit from the experience. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis This silent film, based on the pulp novel by Norbert Jacques, follows the devious schemes of criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge). Using disguises and hypnosis, as well as an assortment of henchmen, Mabuse begins to amass a fortune, with gambling and murder factoring heavily into his plans. Though the villain is careful to cover his tracks, a resourceful police inspector (Bernhard Goetzke) remains determined to put Mabuse behind bars.
      Director
      Fritz Lang
      Screenwriter
      Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou
      Production Co
      Uco-Film GmbH
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
      Release Date (DVD)
      Sep 4, 2001
      Runtime
      3h 15m