A Companion to Fritz Lang (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Film Directors)

A Companion to Fritz Lang "Fritz Lang's movie-making spans a major part of the history of cinema, across genres, styles, and national contexts. With smartness and sharpness, the essays in this essential volume come from many angles to capture the richness of Lang's cinema and bring great insight to its study." Dana Polan, Cinema Studies, NYU Fritz Lang's influence on cinema cannot be overstated, with a career that stretched from the silent era in Germany to the decline of the Hollywood studio system in the late 1950s, from the Weimar Republic to Nazi Germany, from Depression America to the McCarthy era. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, Lang is also credited with influencing the emergence of film noir. A Companion to Fritz Lang offers the first full-scale collection of scholarship available in English on one of the most important filmmakers of all time. Addressing much of Lang's voluminous body of work, from Metropolis and M , to lesser-known titles such as Western Union and Clash by Night , this volume offers a superb overview of Lang's cinema with revealing insights into his enduring influence on directors such as Godard, Scorsese, Chabrol, and Tarantino. The two dozen essays presented here are an unrivaled and up-to-the-minute assessment of the prolific and resilient life and vision of one of cinema's greatest auteurs. Contributors viii Acknowledgments xiv 1 Introduction 1 Joe McElhaney Part One Looking, Power, Interpretation 31 2 Why Lang Could Become Preferable to Hitchcock 33 Raymond Bellour 3 While Not Looking: The Failure to See and Know in Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse 43 Frances Guerin 4 Symptom, Exhibition, Fear: Representations of Terror in the German Work of Fritz Lang 63 Nicole Brenez 5 Spies: Postwar Paranoia Goes to the Movies 76 Paul Dobryden 6 Identifying the Suspect: Lang s M and the Trajectories of Film Criticism 94 Olga Solovieva 7 The Medium s Re-Vision: (Or the Doctor as Disease, Diagnostic, and Cure) 114 David Phelps Part Two Myths, Legends, and Tragic Visions 139 8 Metaphysics of Finitude: Der mude Tod and the Crisis of Historicism 141 Nicholas Baer 9 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt and the Caesura 161 Chris Fujiwara 10 Lang contra Wagner: Die Nibelungen as Anti-Adaptation 176 Thomas Leitch 11 Redemption of Revenge: Die Nibelungen 195 Steve Choe 12 Furious Union: Fritz Lang and the American West 219 Phil Wagner 13 It Was a Horserace Sorta : Fortunes of Rancho Notorious 242 Tom Conley Part Three Matters of Form 257 14 Beyond Destiny and Design: Camera Movement in Fritz Lang s German Films 259 Daniel Morgan 15 Fritz Lang: Object and Thing in the German Films 279 Brigitte Peucker 16 A Stranger in the House: Fritz Lang s Fury and the Cinema of Exile 300 Anton Kaes 17 Fritz Lang s Modern Character: You Only Live Once and the Depth of Surface 322 Will Scheibel 18 Joan Bennett, Fritz Lang, and the Frame of Performance 340 Steven Rybin 19 I d Like to Own That Painting : Lang, Cezanne, and the Art of Omission 358 Vinzenz Hediger 20 Tumbling Blocks and Queer Ladders: Notions of Home in The Big Heat 371 Pamela Robertson Wojcik 21 Metropolis and the Figuration of Eidos 392 Paolo Bertetto Part Four Rediscoveries and Returns 413 22 Not the End: Fritz Lang s War 415 Lutz Koepnick 23 Classic(al) Lang: Conflicting Impulses in Ministry of Fear 430 Jakob Isak Nielsen 24 Multiple Reflections: The Woman in the Mirror in Fritz Lang s Cloak and Dagger 458 Doug Dibbern 25 Suspended Modernity: On the Last Five Films of Fritz Lang 474 Carlos Losilla 26 The Limit: House by the River 494 Adrian Martin 27 Looking for a Path: Fritz Lang and Clash by Night 514 Joe McElhaney 28 Notes on Human Desire (Lang, Renoir, Zola) 536 Sam Ishii-Gonzales 29 Lunar Longings and Rocket Fever: Rediscovering Woman in the Moon 554 Tom Gunning and Katharina Loew Index 587 Introduction / Joe Mcelhaney --^ Part One: Looking, Power, Interpretation. Raymond Bellour: Why Lang Could Become Preferable To Hitchcock. Frances Guerin: While Not Looking: The Failure To See And Know In Dr. Mabuse, Der Spieler And The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse. Nicole Brenez: Symptom, Exhibition, Fear: Representations Of Terror In The German Work Of Fritz Lang. Paul Dobryden: Spies: Post-war Paranoia Goes To The Movies. Olga Solovieva: Identifying The Suspect: Lang's M And The Trajectories Of Film Criticism. David Phelps: The Medium's Re-vision (or The Doctor As Disease, Diagnostic, And Cure). Part Two: Myths, Legends And Tragic Visions. Nicholas Baer: Metaphysics Of Finitude: Der Müde Tod And The Crisis Of Historicism. Chris Fujiwara: Beyond A Reasonable Doubt And The Caesura. Thomas Leitch: Lang Contra Wagner: Die Nibelungen As Anti-adaptation. Steve Choe: Redemption Of Revenge: Die Nibelungen. Phil Wagner: Furious Union: Fritz Lang And The American West.^ Tom Conley: It Was A Horserace Sorta: Fortunes Of Rancho Notorious. Part Three: Matters Of Form. Daniel Morgan: Beyond Destiny And Design: Camera Movement In Fritz Lang's German Films. Brigitte Peucker: Fritz Lang: Object And Thing In The German Films. Anton Kaes: A Stranger In The House: Fritz Lang's Fury And The Cinema Of Exile. Will Scheibel: Fritz Lang's Modern Character: You Only Live Once And The Depth Of Surface. Steven Rybin: Joan Bennett, Fritz Lang, And The Frame Of Performance. Vinzenz Hediger: I'd Like To Own That Painting: Lang, Cezanne And The Art Of Omission. Pamela Robertson Wojcik: Tumbling Blocks And Queer Ladders: Notions Of Home In The Big Heat. Paolo Bertetto: Metropolis And The Figuration Of Eidos. Part Four: Rediscoveries And Returns. Lutz Koepnick: Not The End: Fritz Lang's War. Jakob Isak Nielsen: Classic(al) Lang: Conflicting Impulses In Ministry Of Fear. Doug Dibbern: Multiple Reflections: The Woman In The Mirror In Fritz Lang's Cloak And Dagger.^ Carlos Losilla: Suspended Modernity: On The Last Five Films Of Fritz Lang. Adrian Martin: The Limit: House By The River. Joe Mcelhaney: Looking For A Path: Fritz Lang And Clash By Night. Sam Ishii-gonzales: Notes On Human Desire (lang, Renoir, Zola). Tom Gunning And Katharina Lloew: Lunar Longings And Rocket Fever: Rediscovering Woman In The Moon. Edited By Joe Mcelhaney. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

This collection of critical essays offers an unrivalled and up-to-the-minute assessment of the prolific and resilient life and vision of one of cinema’s greatest auteurs.

• The first edited collection of essays on Fritz Lang’s body of work in over thirty years
• A comprehensive assessment of one of cinema’s most influential figures
• Brings together key scholars, including Tom Gunning and Chris Fujiwara, to share their latest insights
• Features translated contributions from writers rarely rendered in English such as Nicole Brenez and Paolo Berletto
• Offers multinational and multi-perspectival analysis of Lang’s oeuvre, including all his key films

This anthology collection of critical essays on one of cinema's great auteurs provides a vital reappraisal at a time when Fritz Lang's prolific output is attracting renewed scholarly attention. * The latest critical perspectives reflecting renewed interest in this master auteur. * A comprehensive assessment of one of cinema's most influential figures. * Key scholars share their newest insights, including Tom Gunning, Janet Bergstrom, and Chris Fujiwara. * Features translated contributions from writers rarely rendered in English such as Nicole Brenez and Paolo Berletto. * Multinational and multi-perspectival analysis of Lang's oeuvre, including all his key films This collection of critical essays offers an unrivalled and up-to-the-minute assessment of the prolific and resilient life and vision of one of cinema’s greatest auteurs. - The first edited collection of essays on Fritz Lang’s body of work in over thirty years - A comprehensive assessment of one of cinema’s most influential figures - Brings together key scholars, including Tom Gunning and Chris Fujiwara, to share their latest insights - Features translated contributions from writers rarely rendered in English such as Nicole Brenez and Paolo Berletto - Offers multinational and multi-perspectival analysis of Lang’s __oeuvre__, including all his key films This collection of critical essays offers an unrivalled and up-to-the-minute assessment of the prolific and resilient life and vision of one of cinema's greatest authors. The first edited collection of essays on Fritz Lang's body of work in over thirty years A comprehensive assessment of one of cinema's most influential figures Brings together key scholars, including Tom Gunning and ChrisFujiwara, to share their latest insights Features translated contributions from writers rarely rendered in English such as Nicole Brenez and Paolo Berletto Offers multinational and multi-perspectival analysis of Lang's A Companion to Fritz Lang offers the first full-scale collection of scholarship available in English on one of the most important filmmakers of all time. Over two dozen essays add up to an unrivalled and up-to-the-minute assessment of Fritz Lang s prolific and resilient life and vision.