The early films of the producer and scriptwriter Fritz Lang, such as ›Metropolis‹, ›Dr. Mabuse‹, and ›M‹ have become milestones in the history of cinema because of their relentless aesthetics and visionary aims. After two years of research this extensive monograph highlights the work of this contradictory artist. The biography contains a detailed account of his life and work in Berlin and Hollywood, alongside details on his immigration and attempt to return to Berlin. His relation to Bertold Brecht, Egon Erwin Kish, Peter Lorre, Marlene Dietrich, Max Horkheimer and many others have been reconstructed from scripts, letters, diaries and private photographs. The result is a revision of predominating opinions about this gifted artist.
A true cinematic pioneer, Fritz Lang began his film career as a writer and director of silent movies in Germany between the World Wars. His early films, such as ›Dr. Mabuse‹, ›Metropolis‹, and his first »talkie«, ›M‹, have become classics, and positioned him as a leading light in the German film industry in the early 1930s. Fleeing from the Nazis in 1933, Lang went to Hollywood, where he earned legendary status for such films as ›Man Hunt‹, ›The Big Heat‹, and ›While the City Sleeps‹, movies that did much to define the look of film noir. His influence on such filmmakers as Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, and others is unmistakable. This major retrospective book is copiously illustrated with film stills and photographs from his films as well as from his private life. It includes detailed information about his life and work in both Berlin and Hollywood, and will be the most extensive consideration of his oeuvre to date.
