Sunday, December 23, 2012

"Fury", Fritz Lang (1936)

Is it always a pleasure to discover great films by great filmmakers.  Why we continue watching new garbage just because is it new?  This film by Lang is an Americanized version of the masterful "M", filmed before the darkest times of the Nazi regime as a warning about the dangers of the irrational mob.  The movie is clearly divided into two halves, one a fascinating study of the mob in action, the second about the legal consequences of the mob´s actions.  I cannot tell you more without describing the plot in detail, so I will withhold the spoilers and urge you to watch a good performance by Spencer Tracy, an imaginative use of stills and newsreels, faces and reactions, and a deceptive mandated ending that can´t make you forget the terrible actions depicted.

On the 996th place of TSPDT 2012 list and Rosenbaum´s 1000 Essential Films.