Fritz Lang (1890-1976) was an Austrian-born American filmmaker, pioneer of German Expressionist cinema and later of Hollywood film noir. His major works such as Metropolis and M left a profound mark on the history of cinema.
Fritz Lang(1890 — 1976)
Fritz Lang
États-Unis, Autriche, Allemagne
9 min read
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« Film is the greatest mirror of our time.»
« I don't make films for critics. I make them for the audience.»
Key Facts
- 1890: Born in Vienna, Austria
- 1927: Directed Metropolis, a landmark work in the history of science-fiction cinema
- 1931: Directed M, the first great German-language sound crime film
- 1933: Fled Germany following the rise of Nazism, refusing to work for Goebbels
- 1936-1956: Career in Hollywood, contributing to the development of American film noir
Works & Achievements
A two-part crime film portraying a brilliant manipulator who sows chaos throughout Weimar society. The film is read as a prophetic metaphor for the rise of dictatorships.
An epic two-part fresco adapted from Germanic mythology, shot with impressive formal mastery. A monumental work that confirmed Lang as the preeminent master of German cinema.
The undisputed masterpiece of silent cinema and a founding act of science-fiction filmmaking, Metropolis depicts a dystopian future city divided between an idle elite and workers enslaved to machines. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001.
Lang's first sound film, a portrait of a child murderer hunted by both the police and the criminal underworld across an anxious Berlin. Considered one of the ten greatest films in the history of cinema.
Lang's first American film, a denunciation of lynching and mob justice in the United States. It marks the beginning of his collaboration with Hollywood and his adaptation to American filmmaking.
A landmark psychological film noir starring Edward G. Robinson, which established the visual and narrative conventions of the genre — high-contrast lighting, the femme fatale, and the tragic fate of the ordinary hero.
The pinnacle of Lang's Hollywood noir output, this unsparing film exposes police corruption and the brutality of American society. Gloria Grahame and Glenn Ford deliver unforgettable performances.
Anecdotes
In March 1933, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels summoned Fritz Lang to offer him the leadership of German cinema, despite his Jewish maternal heritage. Lang recounted that he left Berlin that very evening for Paris with all the money he could carry, leaving behind his home, his possessions, and his European career rather than serve the Hitler regime.
The filming of *Metropolis* (1927) was an organizational nightmare: Lang put thousands of extras through grueling conditions, submerging them in a tank of ice-cold water for hours at a time to capture the crowd scenes. The film devoured five million Reichsmarks and nearly bankrupted UFA Studios, the largest German studio of the era.
For *M* (1931), his first sound film, Lang drew inspiration from the real-life case of serial killer Peter Kürten, nicknamed the 'Vampire of Düsseldorf.' He spent weeks in police stations and with criminologists to make the film as realistic as possible — a documentary approach that was revolutionary for the time.
Lang was notorious for his authoritarian manner on set. He wore a distinctive monocle and would push his actors through dozens of takes until they were exhausted. Peter Lorre, who played the murderer in *M*, testified that Lang made him rehearse the arrest scene for days on end to capture the perfect expression of terror.
Having arrived in the United States in 1936 with little command of English, Lang had to start from scratch in Hollywood. He adapted his style to the American industry and largely shaped the codes of film noir — that dark, disenchanted genre that would go on to influence generations of filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles.
Primary Sources
Goebbels notes in his diary that he received Fritz Lang and offered him the position of head of film production for the Reich. The entry confirms the meeting took place, which ultimately drove Lang into exile.
A founding work of science-fiction cinema, *Metropolis* portrays a dystopian city divided between an underground elite and an exploited workforce, raising social questions that remain relevant today about alienation through technology.
Lang's first sound film, *M* follows the manhunt for a child murderer pursued by both the police and the Berlin underworld. The final interrogation sequence is regarded as a pinnacle of Expressionist filmmaking.
In this extensive interview, Lang reflects on his flight from Nazi Germany, his adaptation to Hollywood, and his vision of cinema as a popular art form with political and moral reach.
Shortly before Lang was summoned by Goebbels, the Nazi authorities banned his film *The Testament of Dr. Mabuse*, on the grounds that the speeches delivered by the Mabuse character too closely resembled Hitler's own methods — a ban that hastened Lang's departure.
Key Places
Fritz Lang's birthplace and the cultural capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where he grew up in a middle-class family. He studied architecture there before turning to the arts and cinema.
Lang's primary workplace in Germany, these studios founded in 1912 near Berlin were the largest in Europe. It was here that *Metropolis*, *M*, and his other masterworks of the Weimar period were filmed.
The city where Lang achieved cinematic fame in the 1920s. Berlin was then a vibrant, decadent, and creative metropolis that directly inspired his works on urban modernity and its dangers.
Lang's first stop in exile after fleeing Nazi Germany in 1933. He directed *Liliom* (1934) there before continuing on to the United States, refusing to put his talent in service of the Hitler regime.
The setting of Lang's second artistic life, where he settled permanently from 1936 onward. There he helped shape the codes of Hollywood film noir and produced the second half of his body of work until his death in 1976.
