Expert: Mel - 5/27/2007

Question
Hello,
Fritz Lang is a german expressionist movie director.  He known for his most famous films: M and Metropolis.  Looking through his movies I wonder which of these are the most significant in history.  Could you help isolate his top 10 or or 15 greatest films for me?:
-The Half-Caste (1919)
-Die Spinnen, 1. Teil: Der Goldene See (Spiders, Part 1: The Golden Lake) (1919)
-Harakiri (Madame Butterfly) (1919)
-Die Pest in Florenz (The Plague in Florence) (1919)
-Der Herr der Liebe (Master of Love) (1919)
-Die Spinnen, 2. Teil: Das Brillantenschiff (Spiders, Part 2: The Diamond Ship) (1920)
-Das Wandernde Bild (The Wandering Image) (1920)
-Der müde Tod (Released in English as Beyond the Wall and Destiny; the German title means "weary death") (1921)
-Vier um die Frau (Four Around a Woman) (1921)
-Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler) (1922)
-Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (Die Nibelungen: Siegfried) (1924)
-Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache (Die Nibelungen: Kriemheld's Revenge) (1924)
-Metropolis (1927)
-Spione (Spies) (1928)
-Frau im Mond (Woman in the Moon) (1929)
-M (1931)
-Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse ([The Testament of Dr Mabuse]]) (1933)
-Liliom (1934)
-Fury (1936)
-You Only Live Once (1937)
-You and Me (1938)
-The Return of Frank James (1940)
-Western Union (1941)
-Man Hunt (1941)
-Confirm or Deny (1941) (uncredited)
-Moontide (1942) (uncredited)
-Hangmen Also Die (1943)
-Ministry of Fear (1944)
-The Woman in the Window (1944)
-Scarlet Street (1945)
-Cloak and Dagger (1946)
-Secret Beyond the Door (1948)
-House by the River (1950)
-American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950)
-Rancho Notorious (1952)
-Clash by Night (1952)
-The Blue Gardenia (1953)
-The Big Heat (1953)
-Human Desire (1954)
-Moonfleet (1955)
-While the City Sleeps (1956)
-Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1957)
-Der Tiger von Eschnapur (The Tiger of Eschnapur, or: The Tiger of Bengal) (1959)
-Das indische Grabmal (The Indian Tomb, or: Journey to the Lost City) (1959)
-Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse (The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse) (1960)


Answer
Hello Ben,

I don't know if I'm the best person to ask this question of. I do not value films for their historical significance, but only in their entertainment value. I'm no expert on early German cinema, except for the more famous films like "M", "Metropolis" and "Liliom", all three of which must rate very highly in the history of cinema. So I can only really tell which of Lang's films are my personal favourites from his American output.

"You Only Live Once" is certainly one of my all-time favourite films and, in my opinion, the best one Lang made in the USA.

Of the rest, I would say.......

"Man Hunt"
"Fury"
"The Return Of Frank James"
"Western Union"
"Ministry Of Fear"
"While The City Sleeps"
"The Big Heat"
"The Blue Gardenia"
"Secret Beyond The Door"
"Scarlet Street"


Glad to be of Help. Cheers.........Mel.