Fritz Lang’s delirious 1928 epic of espionage, opium, fiendish gadgetry and sexual intrigue set the template for virtually every spy movie for the next 80 years. Accompanied by visiting UK piano legend Neil Brand.
Fritz Lang's 1928 tour de force... a world of ceaseless fear, moral dubiety, organized lunacy, fascist ambition, and implacable revenge.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2009
Spies 1928
Spione
A banner event for lovers of Fritz Lang (M, Metropolis), machine-age decadence, or just plain pulse-pounding entertainment: the New Zealand Film Archive has imported from Germany a gorgeously restored print of the film that set the template for virtually every spy movie for the next 80 years. Neil Brand will provide piano accompaniment to match Lang’s delirious epic of espionage, opium, fiendish gadgetry, and sexual intrigue. The film’s reptilian master criminal, Haghi, doubles as respected director of an international bank and evil mastermind – the head of a spy ring specializing in the theft of government documents. — BG
“The exploits of the evil genius Haghi represent… criminality almost in the abstract, and plunge the movie into a delirium of disguises, deaths, double-motives, and labyrinthine tricks. The tone is somewhere between true pulp fiction and pure expressionism, and the result remains wholly thrilling.” — Tony Rayns, Time Out Film Guide