THE 1,000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE On Blu-ray From Eureka

 

Eureka's amazing MABUSE LIVES! box set starts off with THE 1,000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE, the very last feature film directed by the redoubtable Fritz Lang. (The movie's original title is DIE 1,000 AUGEN DES DR. MABUSE.) 

Made in 1960, 1,000 EYES acknowledges that the original Dr. Mabuse died in the early 1930s. Now, in present day Berlin, someone--or some group--is recreating the crimes and methods of Mabuse to gain power and wealth. This new master criminal genius has affected the lives of a number of people, and most of this group has a connection with the Hotel Luxor, a building created by the Nazis in 1944 for the express purpose of spying upon the international clientele that would be staying there. A rugged police inspector (Gert Frobe) and an American businessman (Peter Van Eyck) attempt to come to grips with the new Mabuse's schemes. 

Paranoia and voyeurism abound in this film. Nearly every major character is acting under an alias, or pretending to be something they are not, and Fritz Lang constructs the story in such a way that the audience is never really sure what they are being presented. This is a movie in which one must pay attention--and it's also a good idea to watch it again after a first viewing in order to understand how the pieces of the puzzle fit. Fritz Lang was 70 years old when he made 1,000 EYES, but this definitely doesn't feel like the work of a past-his-prime old man. The film has a determined momentum to it. 

Peter Van Eyck isn't the most captivating of leading men, even though he would play the hero in a couple of the later Mabuse films. In this type of movie one starts to think that he might turn out to be a bad guy. Gert Frobe gives a solid foundation to all the bizarre aspects of the story as the down-to-earth and realistic Inspector (he too would make return appearances in the Mabuse series). Dawn Addams (who ironically gets lead billing in the main credits) as the leading lady is someone else the audience can't be all that sure about, and Wolfgang Preiss is the "new" Mabuse....or is he??

The supporting cast is spiced with a number of faces well known to Euro Cult fans. Werner Peters (another Mabuse series veteran) plays an insurance salesman who tries so hard to be ingratiating to everyone that you just know there's something going on with the guy, and there's also Andrea Checci (from Mario Bava's BLACK SUNDAY), Howard Vernon (who appeared in several of Jess Franco movies), and Krimi veteran Albert Bressler.  

Eureka presents THE 1,000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE uncut, and in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The visual quality of this black & white film is superb, as is the sound of the original German voice & music track. An English dub is provided, along with English subtitles. 

The extras include a 12-minute introduction by Tim Lucas (it was his VIDEO WATCHDOG magazine that got me interested in the Krimi genre in the first place). We hear Lucas speak while stills from the movie are shown onscreen. Lucas does a fine job setting up the entire set, giving info on the original Mabuse films, and how Fritz Lang and producer Artur Brauner wound up getting together and making this film. An audio commentary by David Kalat, recorded in 2009, is also here, and it's a good one, with Kalat examining Lang's directorial choices, the movie's unique story structure, and comparing it with PSYCHO and PEEPING TOM, two other 1960 features made by acclaimed directors that have similar themes. Also included is a trailer for an American release of the film, in which it was re-titled EYE OF EVIL and promoted as a straight horror film (which it isn't). There's also an interview with Wolfgang Priess himself, recorded shortly before his death. THE 1,000 EYES rates its own disc on this MABUSE LIVES! set. 

I don't believe that THE 1,000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE has ever gotten a major North American home video release before this, and it certainly deserved one, for the fact that it was Fritz Lang's final film alone. I personally think 1,000 EYES is much better than most of Lang's Hollywood movies from the 1950s. With its themes of powerful shadowy unknown forces and sudden and inexplicable violence, it has an almost 21st Century feel to it. (What would have Fritz Lang whipped up if he was around today, in a world of drones, AI, and constant surveillance & media bombardment??)