Ministry of Fear Milland

(aka "Ministry of Fear" or "Espions sur la Tamise" )

USA 1944

Lang had himself wanted to purchase the film rights for Ministry of Fear, as a long time admirer of Grahame Greene. As it turned out Paramount trumped him but asked him to direct from a screenplay adaptation by Seton Miller. As a consequence Lang continued to play down the value of this movie to whoever would listen. But it is in fact something of a "missing in action" gem. Nowhere does Lang so wonderfully set up a linear and compulsive atmosphere of unnerving paranoia in the opening sequences, save perhaps for the incredible opening of Testament of Dr Mabuse. And the movie forces the viewer to constantly take on Milland's POV in comprehending the succession of action and mistrust which advance the narrative. Although Lang may have been right about the casting of, say Marjorie Reynolds and Carl Hilfe as the German couple, these characters are more than amply compensated for by splendid bits from Allan Napier and Hillary Brooke as the "Mentalist". And Milland is perfect.

In odd ways the movie is like a variation of some aspects of Woman in the Window, released earlier the same year but made later. The theme of the Doppelganger (Edward G Robinson) which is played out in that picture as a literal examination of how a man might kill, is here supplanted by a man who has already killed but is - in typically Langian style - taken through even more ambiguities of guilt at the behest of narratively enforced espionage and war elements. In some ways both movies are perhaps Lang's most Hitchcockian, while still being pure Lang.

Ministry is also graced by the archetypal Langian villain in the form of Dan Duryea, wielding giant clothing shears in one critical scene.

For all Lang's dismissals Ministry is a highly worthy subject for much further study.

David Hare

Theatrical Release: 16 October 1944

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Comparison:

Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL vs. Optimum - Region 2 - PAL

(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL LEFT vs. Optimum - Region 2 - PAL RIGHT)

DVD Box Cover

Distribution	Carlotta Region 2 - PAL	Optimum Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	83 minu (4% PAL speedup)	1:22:54 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.5 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.6 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Carlotta
Bitrate : Optimum
Audio	DD Mono English;	DD Mono English;
Subtitles	French (Optional), none	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Carlotta Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Video Essay (15 minutes - no Eng subs) DVD Release Date: 4 July 2007 keep in cardboard package Chapters 11	Release Information: Studio: Carlotta Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Trailer DVD Release Date: September 3rd, 2007 Transparent Keep Case Chapters 12

Comments:

ADDITION: Optimum - R2 UK - September 07': Short take - looks exactly the same - same audio. Progressive and single-layered again. Only difference is that it has no optional subtitles (Carlotta had French) and no French essay - only a trailer. We say - purchase the cheapest one!

****

Having only appeared previously on home video in a mid 90s US VHS this - along with Manhunt from Fox - has long been one of Lang's most anxiously awaited pictures.

I'm afraid the Carlotta is let down by a quite weak source print and telecine. IN fact the scratches, speckles and an electronic-like edit in a scene when Milland and Carl Hilfe enter the "Mentalist's" Parlor are completely identical to the VHS. The print used looks somewhat second gen-y - there's a gray pallor over the image that never allows for sufficient contrast or gray scale to make the most of the chiaroscuro palette (The MGM Woman in the Window is far superior in this respect.) Carlotta have done their best with a DL transfer, avoiding any additional artefacting or digital manipulation. But in the end it comes down to the print. A weak one I'm afraid with some minor but not bothersome surface damage. If I thought this was never going to get a better sourced release from Universal I would recommend the Carlotta (and the forthcoming Optimum which will be presumably be a port.) But unless you are a voracious Langian - as I am - I would suggest holding out a while longer.

The disc includes a 15 minute video essay of considerable interest (but no English subs) - "L'Esprit emiette" presented by Lang scholar Jean Douchet, and there's a (very ragged) trailer.

- David Hare

DVD Menus

(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL LEFT vs. Optimum - Region 2 - PAL RIGHT)

Screen Captures

(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs. Optimum - Region 2 - PAL BOTTOM)

(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs. Optimum - Region 2 - PAL BOTTOM)

(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs. Optimum - Region 2 - PAL BOTTOM)

The remaining captures are from the Optimum UK