Just Great German Films!
GermanFlicks offers you info on major German directors, detailed pages on what we consider to be the best German films, links and further readings.
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Feature: M
In many ways Fritz Lang’s M (1931) defined the serial-killer movie subgenre, with the help of his big name followers like Alfred Hitchcock. M is also the essential early film for fans of film-noir. With its children playing in a dark cityscape, singing creepy songs about bogeymen, an angry mob on a manhunt, an impending sense of doom, and a twisted psychopath, this film has it all.
The only one to debate the influence of the real-life serial killer Peter Kürten, the "Vampire of Düsseldorf" was Fritz Lang himself, who did extensive research with his wife, Thea von Harbou, to create the effect he was looking for. Yet, the timing of the Kürten case and the making of the film match up perfectly. The similarities between the killer in the movie and Kürten add up quickly.