The classics of cinema will never die thanks to the efforts of art house theaters around the country and Tucson is a haven for this movement. Fritz Lang's classic picture M will be showing at The Screening Room this Friday August 27th at 8:00PM for one night only. Truly a classic and one of the models for modern thrillers, M continues to hold up today thanks to timeless performances from the incomparable Peter Lorre and the incredible presence of the legendary Lang. Lang was one of the foremost filmmakers from the prolific machine of German Expressionist filmmakers before Hitler's annexing of the film industry for propaganda purposes in the early 1930s. Lang, F.W. Murnau, and G.W. Pabst elevated filmmaking to an artform , helping to forge the coming golden age of cinema that would arise in the United States in the late 30s and 40s.

A rarity in today's film catalog, M brings a tension and excitement without the use of over the top shlock and gore, instead creating uneasiness through the masterful editing and construction of the narrative that uses no traditional score, but rather a cacophony of unnaturalistic sounds like whistles and machinery to raise the stakes. Along with Scorsese and Kubrick, Fritz Lang is perhaps the filmmaker who influenced my choices to become a filmmaker the most. When I saw M and Metropolis for the first time in college, my conception of what film could be changed forever. The high gloss, explosion and blood based world of modern Hollywood was not the only way to create an emotion in the audience. Rather, the choices made in the editing room and well as on the set can create all the tension needed while also not alienating a portion of the audience who does not go for the gore and exploitation.

Don't miss out on a great film like Fritz Lang's M at The Screening Room this Friday the 27th at 8:00PM. It is a film that is important to the development of modern cinema, giving a blueprint for filmmakers to use in constructing thriller narratives. If you are interested in following along with the happenings in the Tucson film scene and with local filmmakers, you can receive these articles directly as they are published by clicking on the “Subscribe” button at the top of this piece. You can also follow me on Twitter by searching for ericshlapack or by clicking the link below.

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