The Films of Fritz Lang

Modernity, Crime and Desire

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by Tom Gunning

British Film Institute

Due/Published April 2000, 528 pages, paper

ISBN 0851707432

A re-evaluation of one of cinema's major artists by one of film studies' most distinguished and original practitioners. Gunning, historian and theorist of early cinema, turns his attention to the work of Fritz Lang, the German emigré director who became a film-making giant on both sides of the Atlantic. Gunning proposes new readings of the entire output of this great director, with particular emphasis on Lang's reflection on modernity.

Review

Like a later British filmmaker who emulated his style, Fritz Lang made an appearance in each of his films. While Hitchcock’s familiar figure was unmistakable, Lang would only shoot his hands, standing in for an actor. For Tom Gunning, Professor of film studies at the University of Chicago, this serves as a kind of metaphor for Lang’s attempt to leave an authorial imprint on his films. In this analysis of Lang’s films from the days of German Expressionism to his Hollywood film noirs, Gunning examines the unique ways in which Lang depicted issues of modernity. (Lang’s views on modernity were influenced by his good friend Adorno and other members of the Frankfurt School.) In particular, Gunning suggests, Lang’s films explore the ways in which individuals interact with the systems and landscapes of modernity, including technology ( Metropolis) and the alienation of the modern city (M). After his move to the United States, Lang’s films probed the darker sides of modern America, its mix of desire and violence and issues of blacklisting and political repression. Gunning’s original and detailed analysis of the entire Lang oeuvre brings out the thematic and stylistic concerns for each particular film as well as being sensitive to more general Langian ideas and concerns. While some might see Gunning’s emphasis on Lang as author as a bit old-fashioned, it is instead on that recognizes and examines the complexities of authorship.
Related Title: The BFI has also published a study of M as part of its excellent “Film Classics” series. Written by Anton Kaes, it examines both the formal brilliance of the film and its significance for 1931 Germany. (BFI, $10.95, Paper)