Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast

This biography of Lang, director of German film classics Metropolis and M, and director of quite a number of not-so-classic American films, attempts to answer the question of whether Lang was like the characters in the movies he directed. The answer appears to be that he was a nasty, short-tempered director who never got along with many producers, writers, and actors, but he wasn't so beastly as might be deduced from his movies. The author makes that point that critics in America highly prize his German movies, while foreign critics highly prize his American ones, perhaps raising the bar on the low critical claim for his American output. In spirit of full disclosure, I must confess to never having seen a Fritz Lang movie, although the clips I've seen of Peter Lorre in M are so chillingly disturbing, I'm not sure I'd want to see the whole thing.

Did you know, dear reader, that Fritz Lang invented the backward countdown that is now a staple of blastoff protocol? We can't ever say art doesn't influence life! It becomes clear though that Mr Lang tried very hard to influence the facts so that some important parts of his lifescript were rewritten to make a better story. For example, his "escape" from Nazi Germany which reads like an inferior Hitchcock. But no less than Braque or Malevich in painting, film artists deserve study too. There are many problems facing the student of the latter however, as the film making process might involve thousands of individuals - the analysis can be quite daunting not to mention whose perspective is the more valid amongst the thousands. Author Mr McGilligan is up to the task. It may be that the qualities of Mr Lang revealed by his research - fastidious attention to detail, healthy ego, obsessive number of takes, authoritarian manner on the job - may be the very ones that made him many enemies as well as a great movie maker. Henry Fonda for one loathed Mr Lang 'til the day he died. Mr McGilligan overcomes the problem of what is "true" by giving the reader the best evidence of alternative viewpoints and invites the reader to choose. For example, Mr Lang may have murdered his first wife, or she may have committed suicide with his gun after discovering him and his mistress flagrante delicto. Either way Mr Lang was in some ways a nasty piece of work. He was also elegant, intelligent, a high decorated Viennese war hero, art collector, painter, of Jewish ancestry on one side of his family, who fully participated in the decadence of 1920's Berlin, and 1930's Hollywood. His appetite for sex and drugs is covered in the book. Even in old age he accepted the "services" of an admiring fan and frequented prostitutes almost to his last days. Nevertheless, the creator of TESTAMENT of DR MABUSE, METROPOLIS, RANCHO NOTORIOUS and THE BIG HEAT was a great enough talent to be paid homage to by GODARD and BUNUEL. Whether your taste runs to the production process of film making, the clash of huge egos, eg, Spencer Tracy V Fritz Lang, gossip, or a part-history of 20th century cinema, or analysis of the life and work of one of its great artists, then this book is a real treat.

Mr McGilligan has brought his usual exhaustive research to this book about the Man Who Made METROPOLIS. Lang has long been an enigmatic character in the film world, always quick to reinvent his own history through the numerous interviews he has done over the years, most notably with Peter Bogdanovich in the book FRITZ LANG IN AMERICA. McGilligan uncovers much new material on Lang, a man who seems to have had just as dark a side as some of the characters in his films. Interestingly, the author seems to have discovered that he didn't actually like the director much as he researched the book! FRITZ LANG: THE NATURE OF THE BEAST is a compelling read.

although the "darkness" of lang's life is described, there are aspects of the atriste that give insight into his "pain"..metropolis was discussed at length and the agonies exposed.. good book,easy to read if you have any real interest in the man behind the robot...

"Nature of the Beast" is an excellent rendering of Lang's life. From Lang's childhood and early films, to the infamous afternoon flight from the Nazi's and beyond, McGilligan's attention to detail brings Lang's mythology alive (and down to earth). Love him or hate him - there was only one Fritz Lang!