Rent The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960)

Indispensable Lang - The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse review by LE

I wasn't expecting much from this. A nearly blind Fritz Lang going over old ground for his last film. But rather than being another embarrassing rehash, it is in fact a glorious career retrospective. Lang refers visually, thematically and through characterisation to lots of films in his vast back catalogue. And he appears to be enjoying himself throughout. It's the best of all his Mabuse films as it doesn't overstay its welcome and his message doesn't get lost in the confusion. That said, by the end, the plot is barely comprehensible, and the lead male is ridiculously bland(maybe on purpose?) but there is so much to love about it. If you're a fan of his other Mabuse films, 'M', and his Hollywood noirs you will spot lots of references to them. There's also an ok commentary on this disc which reveals a lot of historical context though often unfortunately at the expense of ignoring much of what happening on-screen. Pro-tip: according to that commentary the version that Lang wanted English-speaking audiences to watch is actually the dubbed version, not the subtitled one. Both versions are on this disc and, indeed the dubbed version is the superior one, and even makes the plot feel slightly less insane. Start with that.