Fritz Lang

Directing

Fritz Lang

Born 1890-12-05 · Vienna, Austria

Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-German film director, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States. Lang's most famous films are the groundbreaking science-fiction film Metropolis (1927) - the world's most expensive silent film at the time of its release - and the influential thriller film M (1931), made before he moved to the United States. Lang's work had a significant influence on the film noir genre and in Hollywood, he made some classics himself, such as Scarlet Street (1945) and The Big Heat (1953).

Acting credits

Contempt poster
7.0

Art film producer Jeremy Prokosch, unhappy with the work of his director, hires Fritz Lang (as himself) to direct an adaptation of The Odyssey, but when it seems that the legendary filmmaker is making a picture destined to bomb, he brings in a screenwriter to energise the script. The professional intersects with the personal when a rift develops between the writer and his wife.

Contempt

1963

The Dinosaur and the Baby poster
6.2

An hour-long discussion between Fritz Lang and Jean-Luc Godard in which they discuss a variety of art forms, the role of the cinema, their collaboration together, and much more. (Filmed in 1964 but released for TV in 1967.)

The Dinosaur and the Baby

1967

Paparazzi poster
6.5

Paparazzi explores the relationship between Brigitte Bardot and groups of invasive photographers attempting to photograph her while she works on the set of Jean-Luc Godard's film Le Mépris (Contempt). Through video footage of Bardot, interviews with the paparazzi, and still photos of Bardot from magazine covers and elsewhere, director Rozier investigates some of the ramifications of international movie stardom, specifically the loss of privacy to the paparazzi. The film explains the shooting of the film on the island of Capri, and the photographers' valiant, even foolishly dangerous, attempts to get a photograph of Bardot.

Paparazzi

1964

Sibyl poster
NR

The director delves into the fragments of his own memory, blending images, words, and silences in a film essay that explores identity, memory, and the impossibility of coherent self-narration. A broken self-portrait, reconstructed from the image.

Sibyl

2025

Fritz Lang, le cercle du destin - Les films allemands poster
7.3

No synopsis available yet.

Fritz Lang, le cercle du destin - Les films allemands

2004

From Caligari to Hitler poster
7.4

Film journalist and critic Rüdiger Suchsland examines German cinema from 1919, when the Republic of Weimar is born, to 1933, when the Nazis come into power. (Followed by Hitler's Hollywood, 2017.)

From Caligari to Hitler

2015

Bardot et Godard poster
6.4

A documentary short following director Jean-Luc Godard on the set of Contempt.

Bardot et Godard

1964

Voyage to 'Metropolis' poster
5.9

A documentary about the making of the final version of "Metropolis" by restoring all material from different sources.

Voyage to 'Metropolis'

2010

Master of Love poster
6.0

Lost film. A man's devotion for a woman brings about his ruin.

Master of Love

1919

The Exiles poster
9.0

A chronicle of the rescue of oppressed intellectuals and artists from Europe before the outbreak of World War II. It studies the cultural and intellectual impact of this emigre population on American life.

The Exiles

1989

For Example Fritz Lang poster
7.5

A interview with Fritz Lang where he talks about his career in Germany and troubles with the Nazis.

For Example Fritz Lang

1968

Hilde Warren and Death poster
6.5

Hilde Warren, a famous actress, is impregnated by a convicted murderer and becomes plagued by visions of Death. Upon discovering her child is the image of its criminal father, Hilde must decide whether to allow it to live, or to kill it and risk the embrace of Death himself.

Hilde Warren and Death

1917

The Film in the Film poster
7.3

The only surviving excerpt of a documentary on film production in Weimar Germany, featuring the different personalities of several famous directors of the era at work on the set including Fritz Lang, Robert Wiene, and E.A. Dupont.

The Film in the Film

1924

No artwork available
NR

German TV Documentary for WDR about Fritz Lang

Fritz Lang

1990

Encounter with Fritz Lang poster
7.0

Interview with Fritz Lang on the roof of Villa Malaparte on Capri during the filming of the fictitious film "Odysseus" and the filming of "Contempt" by Jean-Luc Godard, in which Fritz Lang plays the role of an old film director. During the interview, excerpts from the Lang films "The Nibelungen", "The Tired Death" and "M" are shown.

Encounter with Fritz Lang

1964

Conversation with Fritz Lang poster
7.1

American director William Friedkin interviewed Austrian director Fritz Lang on February 21st and 24th, 1975. Lang died August 2nd, 1976.

Conversation with Fritz Lang

1975

Mimosa Tank: A Prologue for a Film poster
NR

A collaborative essay film regarding Fritz Lang.

Mimosa Tank: A Prologue for a Film

2017

Behind the camera

Metropolis poster
8.1

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

Metropolis

1927

Metropolis poster
8.1

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

Metropolis

1927

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried poster
7.8

Siegfried, son of King Siegmund of Xanten, travels to Worms, capital of the Burgundian kingdom, to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Kriemhild.

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried

1924

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried poster
7.8

Siegfried, son of King Siegmund of Xanten, travels to Worms, capital of the Burgundian kingdom, to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Kriemhild.

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried

1924

Secret Beyond the Door poster
6.5

After a whirlwind romance in Mexico, a beautiful heiress marries a man she barely knows with hardly a second thought. She finds his New York home full of his strange relations, and macabre rooms that are replicas of famous murder sites. One locked room contains the secret to her husband's obsession, and the truth about what happened to his first wife.

Secret Beyond the Door

1947

Secret Beyond the Door poster
6.5

After a whirlwind romance in Mexico, a beautiful heiress marries a man she barely knows with hardly a second thought. She finds his New York home full of his strange relations, and macabre rooms that are replicas of famous murder sites. One locked room contains the secret to her husband's obsession, and the truth about what happened to his first wife.

Secret Beyond the Door

1947

M poster
8.1

In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.

M

1931

M poster
8.1

In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.

M

1931

The Big Heat poster
7.7

After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.

The Big Heat

1953

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse poster
7.6

After a detective is assaulted by thugs and placed in an asylum run by Professor Baum, he observes the professor's preoccupation with another patient, the criminal genius Dr. Mabuse the hypnotist. When Mabuse's notes are found to be connected with a rash of recent crimes, Commissioner Lohmann must determine how Mabuse is communicating with the criminals, despite conflicting reports on the doctor's whereabouts, and capture him for good.

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

1933

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse poster
7.6

After a detective is assaulted by thugs and placed in an asylum run by Professor Baum, he observes the professor's preoccupation with another patient, the criminal genius Dr. Mabuse the hypnotist. When Mabuse's notes are found to be connected with a rash of recent crimes, Commissioner Lohmann must determine how Mabuse is communicating with the criminals, despite conflicting reports on the doctor's whereabouts, and capture him for good.

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

1933

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse poster
7.6

After a detective is assaulted by thugs and placed in an asylum run by Professor Baum, he observes the professor's preoccupation with another patient, the criminal genius Dr. Mabuse the hypnotist. When Mabuse's notes are found to be connected with a rash of recent crimes, Commissioner Lohmann must determine how Mabuse is communicating with the criminals, despite conflicting reports on the doctor's whereabouts, and capture him for good.

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

1933

Human Desire poster
6.7

A Korean War vet returns to his job as a railroad engineer and becomes involved in a sordid affair with a co-worker's wife following a murder on a train.

Human Desire

1954

Man Hunt poster
6.9

Shortly before the start of WW2, renowned British big-game hunter Alan Thorndike, vacationing in Bavaria, has Hitler in his gun sight. He is captured, beaten, left for dead, and escapes back to London where he is hounded by Nazi agents and aided by a young woman.

Man Hunt

1941

Scarlet Street poster
7.6

Cashier and part-time starving artist Christopher Cross is absolutely smitten with the beautiful Kitty March. Kitty plays along, but she's really only interested in Johnny, a two-bit crook. When Kitty and Johnny find out that art dealers are interested in Chris's work, they con him into letting Kitty take credit for the paintings. Cross allows it because he is in love with Kitty, but his love will only let her get away with so much.

Scarlet Street

1945

Scarlet Street poster
7.6

Cashier and part-time starving artist Christopher Cross is absolutely smitten with the beautiful Kitty March. Kitty plays along, but she's really only interested in Johnny, a two-bit crook. When Kitty and Johnny find out that art dealers are interested in Chris's work, they con him into letting Kitty take credit for the paintings. Cross allows it because he is in love with Kitty, but his love will only let her get away with so much.

Scarlet Street

1945

Clash by Night poster
6.7

An embittered woman seeks escape in marriage, only to fall for her husband’s best friend.

Clash by Night

1952

Destiny poster
7.4

As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman poisons herself in order to join him and is met by Death, who gives her three opportunities to prove that love is stronger than death, thereby freeing her beloved from his fate.

Destiny

1921

Destiny poster
7.4

As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman poisons herself in order to join him and is met by Death, who gives her three opportunities to prove that love is stronger than death, thereby freeing her beloved from his fate.

Destiny

1921

The Woman in the Window poster
7.4

A seductive woman gets an innocent professor mixed up in murder.

The Woman in the Window

1944

You Only Live Once poster
7.1

Based partially on the story of Bonnie and Clyde, Eddie Taylor is an ex-convict who cannot get a break after being released from prison. When he is framed for murder, Taylor is forced to flee with his wife Joan Graham and baby. While escaping prison after being sentenced to death, Taylor becomes a real murderer, condemning himself and Joan to a life of crime and death on the road.

You Only Live Once

1937

The Return of Frank James poster
6.3

Farmer Frank and his ward hunt brother Jesse's killers, the back-shooting Fords.

The Return of Frank James

1940

The Indian Tomb poster
6.1

Seetha and Harold Berger are rescued from the desert by a caravan and brought to a small village. However, the greedy owner of the house where they are lodged betrays the law of hospitality and reveals their location to Prince Ramigani. The couple tries to escape but is hunted and captured by Ramigani and his men. Meanwhile Irene Rhode and her husband Walter Rhode suspect that Maharaja Chandra is not telling the truth about Harold's destiny. The conspirator Ramigani forces Seetha to accept to get married with Chandra to provoke the wrath of the priests and get the alliance of Prince Padhu and his army. In the meantime, Harold succeeds in escaping from the dungeon and seeks out Seetha to save her.

The Indian Tomb

1959

The Indian Tomb poster
6.1

Seetha and Harold Berger are rescued from the desert by a caravan and brought to a small village. However, the greedy owner of the house where they are lodged betrays the law of hospitality and reveals their location to Prince Ramigani. The couple tries to escape but is hunted and captured by Ramigani and his men. Meanwhile Irene Rhode and her husband Walter Rhode suspect that Maharaja Chandra is not telling the truth about Harold's destiny. The conspirator Ramigani forces Seetha to accept to get married with Chandra to provoke the wrath of the priests and get the alliance of Prince Padhu and his army. In the meantime, Harold succeeds in escaping from the dungeon and seeks out Seetha to save her.

The Indian Tomb

1959