The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (The Criterion Collection) - Region 1 DVD

Though it works best as a textbook thriller, some commentators, including Lang, suggested that the pulp plot was intended to allegorize the evil influence of the Nazi party, with a crime boss who rants like Hitler. The many impressive set-pieces still work, too: the pursuit of a spy through a grinding print-works, an assassination at a traffic light, hero and heroine trapped in a room with a bomb cutting a water main to flood their way to freedom, the persecution of the asylum head by a phantom of his patient, and a last-reel night-time chase. --Kim Newman

Locked away in an asylum for a decade and teetering between life and death, the criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse has scribbled his last will and testament: a manifesto establishing a future empire of crime. When the document's nefarious writings start leading to terrifying parallels in reality, it's up to Berlin's star detective to connect the most fragmented, maddening clues in a case unlike any other. Fritz Lang's film reunites the director with the character that had effectively launched his career, and Lang puts slogans and ideas expounded by the Nazis into the mouth of a madman, warning the audience of an imminent menace, which was soon to become a reality. A landmark of mystery and suspense for countless espionage and noir thrillers to come, this is the complete, uncut original director's version in a stunning new transfer. The two-disc special edition also includes the alternate French-language version of the film and a wealth of other supplemental materials.