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"... a thundering example of style over substance."
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“...a delightful tribute to nostalgia and romance.”
The Illusionist
“...a film that generally brings warm smiles rather than belly laughs...”
Treasure Guards
"A willing suspension of disbelief should get most viewers across the line."
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Hangmen Also Die (DVD)
Year: 1943
Rating: M
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Walter Brennan, Brian Donlevy, Anna Lee
Release Date: March 02, 2011
Distributor: Beyond
The Film: 4.5
FILMINK rates DVDs and Blu-rays out of 5“...an effective personal-social document on the evils of fascism...”
Few films have a creative team as justifiably revered as the writer-director crew of Hangmen Also Die. Not only is the film directed by Fritz Lang - the German master behind M and Metropolis - but the 1943 production is also scripted by playwright Bertolt Brecht, one of the few modernist artists to justify comparisons with the likes of James Joyce and Samuel Becket.
Whether or not Hangmen Also Die can live up to the expectations of these two artists would be unfair on any film, but this WW2 thriller almost gets there, delivering an effective personal-social document on the evils of fascism and the sometimes self-serving and cruel responses of freedom fighters.
Like M, Hangmen Also Die is a city-story that incorporates many elements of a decaying and corrupt city - in this instance, Prague - and shows how a central character can affect many of these different elements.
The filmmakers address many of the political concerns with deftness and insight. Rather than simply suggesting the evils of the Nazis, they show many of the ways in which less ostensibly corrosive individuals can conform to a mob mentality, blending minor and major characters into the script with almost-unparalleled skill and efficiency.
