Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler is the eight-reel version of Fritz Lang's twenty reeler, two-part silent thriller, Dr. Mabuse. Mabuse (Rudolph Klein-Rogge) a sinister mesmerist/psychiatrist, toys with the weaknesses of the rich and influential. He worms his way into the confidence of wealthy men, plays cards with them, hypnotizes them into cheating at their businesses, then puts them in a position to be blackmailed so that he can corner the stock market. A devilishly ingenious plan-but Mabuse is up
against the plodding, methodical police detective Wrenk, whose subconscious is not so easily swayed...at least, not at first. In 1932, Lang directed a talkie sequel to Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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.
In Europe Mabuse is as familiar an icon of horror as Count Dracula or Frankenstein's Monster. It began here, with Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler ('...the Gambler').
[Image Entertainment DVD's] enjoyable scene-specific commentary by Lang expert David Kalat ... does what a commentary is supposed to do: it provides depth and understanding in an entertaining fashion.
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.
An ambitious tale that blends crime, mystery and horror. Starring an arch villain who lays in the same snake pit with the likes of Fu Manchu, Svengali, professor Moriarty, Fantomas and dear old Dr. Caligari. despite its excessive duration, it delivers a superb interpretation by Rudolf Klein-Rogge and the visual power
of Fritz Lang, master in the creation of unnerving and nightmarish atmospheres to accentuate the twisted psyche of this peculiar and mephistophelian character.
It's a four hour long silent film but it didn't bore me not even for a second thanks to the great story & Lang's masterful direction, One of the best & most entertaining silent films I've ever seen
August 23, 2009
Arash Xak
Super Reviewer
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