NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Masters of Cinema Blu-ray (March 2025): Masters of Cinema have transferred six Dr. Mabuse films to four dual-layered Blu-rays in their "Mabuse Lives! Dr Mabuse at CCC: 1960–1964" package. The features include The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, The Return of Dr. Mabuse, The Invisible Dr. Mabuse, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1962 version), Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse, and The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse plus the alternate Italian cut, I raggi mortali del Dr. Mabuse. It is cited as being from a "1080p HD presentations of all six films from 2K restorations of the original film elements undertaken by CCC".

CCC (Central Cinema Company) founded in 1946 by producer Artur Brauner in West Berlin, became a significant player in post-war German cinema, known for its prolific output across various genres, including crime thrillers, comedies, and historical dramas.

For The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, we compared the Eureka 2009 DVD and Blu-ray (from 2020) HERE. This 1080P appears to be the exact same transfer - we have compared captures below. Directed by Fritz Lang, this black-and-white crime thriller marks his final film and return to Germany after decades in Hollywood. It was Lang’s return to his German Expressionist roots, tempered by a sleek, modern edge. Fritz Arno Wagner’s (Nosferatu, The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes) lighting is high-contrast, with deep shadows slicing across faces and rooms, evoking Lang’s M and Metropolis. The use of mirrors and reflections amplifies the sense of omnipresent observation, while claustrophobic framing traps characters in their fates. Contrast in the HD presentation is highly pleasing. The black-and-white palette ties it to Lang’s past while symbolizing a timeless battle between order and chaos. The second Blu-ray has The Return of Dr. Mabuse and The Invisible Dr. Mabuse - both have supportive bitrates. In 2007, we reviewed Image Entrainment's The Dr. Mabuse Collection on DVD, HERE. 1961's The Return of Dr. Mabuse is also in black-and-white (1.66:1,) Harald Reinl’s direction leans into a grittier, more grounded Krimi aesthetic. The urban settings - prisons, warehouses, and rain-slicked streets - carry a noirish weight, with Karl Löb’s lighting favoring stark contrasts and wet reflections to heighten the mood. The look bridges classic noir with 1960s crime pulp, less poetic than its predecessor but visually cohesive in its bleakness. The look of The Invisible Dr. Mabuse straddles horror and thriller - think Phantom of the Opera meets The Invisible Man - with a slightly looser, more theatrical style that sacrifices some tension for visual novelty. Both films on the second Blu-ray are a massive upgrade over the SD versions - contrast, sharpness, and minor grain textures. The third Blu-ray has the 1962 version of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse and Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse. We have no capture comparisons for these two films. The remake (Testament) simplifies the original’s political allegory - swapping Nazi parallels for generic crime - while amplifying supernatural hints (Mabuse’s ghostly influence.) The 1080P supports Ernst W. Kalinke’s lighting and is less dramatic than Wagner’s, favoring even tones over stark contrasts, which flattens the mood compared to Lang’s version. The bitrate is supportive and the resulting image presentation is fetching. The camera stays static or gently tracks, prioritizing clarity over stylization, resulting in a functional but less evocative look - more procedural than poetic, reflecting its streamlined remake status. Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse has London’s foggy streets - shot on German sets - feature swirling mist and iconic red phone booths, paired with stark German interiors (labs, offices) to create a Cold War dichotomy. Vogel’s lighting mixes noir shadows with brighter, more even tones, reflecting the shift toward action-oriented clarity, and the transfer has impressive depth. The last Blu-ray has The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse and the longer, alternate Italian cut, I raggi mortali del Dr. Mabuse. While the former has a more robust transfer - we have compared the 1080P image - and it's quite similar. We also compared to the Image Entertainment SD. The Italian cut does have rough patches. The Maltese landscapes get more screen time - shimmering cliffs, sparkling waves - enhancing the exoticism for Italian audiences. The re-sequencing doesn’t alter the core look but stretches it, making the vivid contrast and dynamic framing feel repetitive rather than refined. While possibly the weakest of the HD presentations, it still exports strong, reasonably consistent visuals. Aside from a few errant speckles or surface scratches, I thought all the films in MoC's Mabuse Lives! Dr. Mabuse at CCC: 1960–1964 looked so fresh and impressive on my system.      

NOTE: We have added 250 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Masters of Cinema use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original German language - except I raggi mortali del Dr. Mabuse (Italian dual-mono) and all have optional English - occasionally clunky - DUBs - appreciated by many. Lang’s final film, The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, employs a restrained yet evocative audio landscape. Gerhard Becker’s (The Indian Tomb) score blends jazzy undertones - soft piano riffs, muted brass - with eerie, minimalist strings that hum with menace, echoing the hypnotic control of Mabuse (Wolfgang Preiss). The music is sparse, swelling during key moments like the car chase or hotel confrontations, where staccato horns and percussive beats heighten the chaos. Ambient sound is critical: the whir of hidden cameras, the click of switches, and the echo of footsteps in the Luxor Hotel’s sterile halls amplify the surveillance theme. Dialogue, delivered in clipped German (with Preiss’ icy monotone), carries a noirish weight, while silences - punctuated by distant traffic or a ticking clock - build dread. The sound mirrors Lang’s visual precision, subtle yet suffocating, rooting the film in his Weimar-era style. The lossless does an exceptional job of cleanly exporting the film's important soundscape. The Return of Dr. Mabuse ramps up the pulp energy - clanging cell doors, revving engines, gunfire - add a gritty realism, with wet streets and industrial hums enhancing the urban decay. Gert Fröbe’s gruff Lohmann and Lex Barker’s smooth Como create a vocal contrast, their exchanges sharp against the chaotic backdrop. The sound is livelier, less psychological than Thousand Eyes, prioritizing genre thrills over subtlety. Composer Peter Sandloff (Mädchen in Uniform) injects a playful sci-fi twist in the score of The Invisible Dr. Mabuse. It mixes jazzy motifs with eerie theremin-like tones and dissonant strings, underscoring the invisibility device’s otherworldly menace - think The Day the Earth Stood Still meets lounge music. Effects like whooshing air or clattering props sell the invisibility gimmick, though they're rudimentary. 1962's The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (aka 'The Terror of Doctor Mabuse') has Raimund Rosenberger's score utilizing brooding strings and low brass to evoke asylum dread, with staccato bursts during crime scenes echoing the original’s chaotic energy. It’s less distinctive than Becker’s work, leaning on generic suspense cues. Ambient sounds - distant screams, creaking asylum doors, dripping water - build a claustrophobic mood, while Berlin’s street noise (car horns, wind) grounds the action. The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse has spy excess - blaring horns, swirling strings, and dramatic cymbals mimic John Barry’s Bond work (Carlos Diernhammer and Oskar Sala - Ring of Spies), saturating underwater battles and death-ray tests with over-the-top flair. The 107-minute Italian cut retains the brassy score but stretches it across extended action - more underwater gurgles, fish attacks, and ray zaps - amplifying the bombast for Italian pulp fans. I noted no pops or drop-outs in the effective lossless transfers. Sound underscores Mabuse’s control - hypnotic whispers, mechanical hums, ray blasts - evolving from intangible menace to tangible threat, paralleling Cold War fears of unseen power. Masters of Cinema offer optional English subtitles on their four Region FREE Blu-rays.

The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray offers supplements, including a commentary for each feature. Firstly, we get the archival commentary on The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, from the previous Eureka digital versions, by film historian and author David Kalat, which provides an in-depth exploration of Fritz Lang’s final film. Kalat, known for his books on Lang (The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuse: A Study of the Twelve Films and Five Novels) and film history, brings his encyclopedic knowledge to bear, dissecting the film’s production context - Lang’s return to Germany post-Hollywood, his collaboration with producer Artur Brauner, and the revival of Mabuse in a Cold War setting. It is a detailed analysis of the film’s surveillance themes, its ties to Lang’s Weimar-era works, and Wagner’s cinematography, alongside anecdotes about the cast (e.g., Gert Fröbe’s pre-Goldfinger role). Kalat’s scholarly yet engaging style makes this a cornerstone extra, offering a definitive lens on Lang’s swan song. There are also new audio commentaries for the other five films by Kalat, who provides fresh discussions and analysis for The Return, Invisible, Testament (1962), Scotland Yard, and Death Ray, tailoring his insights to each film’s unique evolution. For Reinl’s pulpy The Return of Dr. Mabuse and The Invisible Dr. Mabuse, he traces their Krimi roots and sci-fi detours, unpacking Peter Sandloff’s jazzy scores and the series’ shift toward action. In The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, there are comparisons to Lang’s 1933 original, with notes on Klingler’s streamlined approach. Scotland Yard’s spy-thriller pivot and Death Ray’s Bond-inspired excess will get contextualized within 1960s genre trends, with Kalat critiquing their diminishing returns. His consistent voice across the set ties the series together, blending historical trivia, technical analysis, and thematic depth - perfect for marathon viewing or standalone appreciation. A perfect start to each film are new introductions by genre film expert and Video Watchdog founder Tim Lucas (Pause. Rewind. Obsess. One Man’s One Year Escape into Cinema) who provides initiating-viewing and background details for all six films. Topics include Lang’s final bow, its noir roots, and Cold War subtext, Reinl’s Krimi flair and the series’ pulp turn, sci-fi gimmick and theater setting, a comparison of the remake to Lang’s 1933 classic, exploring spy-thriller shift and transatlantic scope and dissecting Bond mimicry and series fatigue. Lucas’ intros offer concise primers, blending plot summaries with critical insights and historical context. His genre expertise ensures a fan-friendly tone, making these ideal entry points before each viewing, and reward dedicated fans, too. We also get a new 1/2 hour video essay by David Cairns (filmmaker and critic) and Fiona Watson (film scholar), entitled Kriminology, who examine the Mabuse series within the German Krimi genre’s evolution. Illustrated with stills and clips, it traces the films’ roots in Edgar Wallace adaptations, their noir-to-spy-thriller arc, and their influence on European pulp cinema. Cairns and Watson analyze recurring motifs (surveillance, hypnosis, gadgets), the CCC’s production ethos, and the series’ cultural resonance amid Cold War paranoia. At over half an hour, it’s a substantial piece, offering a broader lens than the film-specific commentaries, perfect for viewers seeking a macro view of the Mabuse phenomenon. Repeated from the previous Blu-ray of 1000 Eyes is a 1/4 hour 2002 interview with Wolfgang Preiss who played Mabuse across five films, and offers a firsthand account of the series’ star villain. Recorded in 2002 (Preiss died in 2002), it covers his approach to the role - channeling Mabuse’s icy intellect - his work with Lang and Reinl, and the physical toll of the series’ demands (e.g., minimal screen time in later entries). Preiss also reflects on the character’s evolution and his own career, adding a personal touchstone to the set. It’s a gem for fans, humanizing the spectral mastermind. Included is a brief 'Alternate Ending' for The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, which provides a tantalizing "what if" - differing from the theatrical cut’s ambiguous fade-out (Mabuse’s fate unresolved.) There are many trailers for the films - highlighting the series’ tonal shifts - including a 1000 Eyes US Release entitled "Eye of Evil" hyping the surveillance angle and Lang’s name with dramatic narration and jazzy cuts. It’s a time capsule of 1960s exploitation flair, contrasting with the film’s subtler tone, and a fun archival bonus. The set’s packaging, featuring new art by Tony Stella, elevates its collectible appeal. Stella’s style - bold, evocative - capturing Mabuse’s menacing aura, making it a shelf standout. There is also a 60-page treasure trove collector’s book with notes by Holger Haase (The Many Masks of Dr. Mabuse: Mabuse in the 1960s) with Film-by-film breakdowns from a journalist’s perspective - concise and accessible as well as a new essay by Tim Bergfelder (International Adventures: German Popular Cinema and European Co-Productions in the 1960s) - a German film scholar’s take, possibly on Mabuse’s Cold War relevance or CCC’s legacy, an archival reprinted essay by David Cairns: and archival writing by Fritz Lang with rare insights from the master himself, on Mabuse’s creation. There are also notes by Lotte Eisner (Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt) on Lang’s 'Unreleased Projects'; a scholarly coda on Lang’s late-career ambitions, tying the set to his broader oeuvre.

Masters of Cinema "Mabuse Lives! Dr. Mabuse at CCC: 1960–1964" Blu-ray package is an absolute triumph for cinephiles, a meticulously crafted love letter to one of cinema’s most enduring and sinister masterminds. The clarity and detail breathe new life into these Cold War-era thrillers, showcasing their moody cinematography and inventive set pieces with a crispness that honors their historical significance while making them feel vibrant and fresh. The original German audio tracks, paired with optional English dubs on all six features, offer a viewing experience that’s both authentic and accessible. This extras package is a masterclass in curation, balancing archival gems (Preiss interview, alternate ending) with fresh scholarship (Kalat’s commentaries, Cairns/Watson essay). Kalat’s exhaustive coverage across all six films ensures depth, while Lucas’ intros offer bite-sized context. The Brauner interview and I raggi mortali cut add historical flavor, and the physical book elevates the set’s prestige. At 2,000 limited copies, it’s a definitive release for Mabuse fans, Krimi buffs, and Lang devotees, though casual viewers might find the academic heft overwhelming. The focus on analysis over raw behind-the-scenes footage reflects the series’ cult status - prioritizing insight over nostalgia - but it’s a near-perfect companion to the restored films. This Blu-ray set gets our absolute highest recommendation.

Gary Tooze