Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler

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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 2.5/5 Stars •  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 4/5 Stars •  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 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review spencer p Crazily paced, unfocused, but still somewhat satisfactory in the end. Rated 2/5 Stars •  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 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Four hours silent film sounds horrible? Though the pace itself never becomes a bother, because the great characteristics Lang created. Dr Mabuse is dealing with the dark and mystic nature of the early development of so called psychoanalysis. Telepathic mind-controlling. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler

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