Friday, October 26, 2007

Disk 1&2|Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922)

David Kalat provides the excellent and informative dialogue for both disks.
Full Synopsis:
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, All Movie Guide
Running Time: 229 mins
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922)
Again the narrator of this film as some of the other Fritz Lang movies did an excellent job filling in details and explaining the story. Otherwise the story line and the characters were a jumbled mess that would have taken me a few times just to sort out. Maybe voices help to identify characters more than I thought.
"There is no love -- there is only desire!
There is no happiness - there is only the will for power!"
And where did we hear that before?

I liked the phone that moved when it 'rang'. Phernologist?
Weimar Republic

Mabuse: a Flemish Master Painter by the name of Jenni Gosart, or Jennyn van Hennegouwe that painted under the name Jan Mabuse. And Norbert Jacques liked the name.
I had noticed on other films to be either called Mabus and they used that so "He kills and kills without excuse, that is the terror of Dr. Mabus".

Others to look for/notes:
The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuseby David Kalat, published by McFarland Press
Everybody loves Dr. Mabuse
Club Extinction
Nosferatu
Dada or Dadaism
Itopomar???
Cytopomar
Obsessed with self destruction as in jimabuse???
Indian Fakirs
"Golden Putrefaction" was the Russian version of Dr. Mabuse.

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