The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse" or "The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse" or "The Shadow vs. the Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse" or

"The Eye of Evil" or "The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse" or "Diabolical Dr. Mabuse" or "Eyes of Evil")

Germany 1960

After enjoying fantastic success with Fritz Lang s two-part "Indian Epic" in 1959, German producer Artur Brauner signed the great director to direct one more film. The result would be the picture that, in closing the saga he began nearly forty years earlier, brought Lang s career full-circle, and would come to represent his final celluloid testament by extension: his final film masterpiece.

The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse [Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse] finds that diabolical Weimar name resurfacing in the Cold War era, linked to a new methodology of murder and mayhem. Seances, assassinations, and Nazi-engineered surveillance tech all abound in Lang s paranoid, and ultimate, filmic labyrinth.

One of the great and cherished "last films" in the history of cinema, The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse provides a stylistic glimpse into the 1960s works on such subjects as sex-crime, youth-culture, and LSD that Lang would unfortunately never come to realise. Nonetheless, Lang s final film remains an explosive, and definitive, closing statement. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Fritz Lang s final film on Blu-ray.

***

Back in Germany for the first time since 1933, Lang returned to the screen character that brought him enormous success in his pre-Hollywood years. THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR.MABUSE (1960) is not so much a sequel as an extension of Lang's early Mabuse films. Set in 1960, the film begins with a series of unsolved murders in a Berlin hotel. The modus operandi of the murderer is the same as that of long-dead megalomaniac Dr. Mabuse. Police detective Gert Frobe and amateur sleuths Peter Van Eyck and Dawn Addams suspect that the killer is a man who believes that he is the reincarnation of Mabuse. Could the culprit be secretive insurance salesman Werner Peters, or blind seer Wolfgang Preiss?

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 14th, 1960

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Comparison:

Masters of Cinema - Region 0 - PAL vs. Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover
	Part of Masters of Cinema's The Complete Fritz Lang Mabuse 4 DVD Box Set (Reviewed HERE):	Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Eureka - Masters of Cinema spine #' 91 - Region 0 - PAL	Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:39:45 (4% PAL Speedup)	1:43:37.592
Video	1.366:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.54 mb/s PAL 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 39,095,400,776 bytes Feature: 34,089,355,584 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.84 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	German (original mono or 2.0 channel), Optional English DUB on 1000 Eyes	LPCM Audio German 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Eureka Aspect Ratio: 1.69 anamorphic Edition Details: • Feature-length audio commentary by film-scholar and Lang expert David Kalat • 2002 video interview with actor Wolfgang Preiss (15;10) • An alternate ending taken from the French print of the film (1:02) • Optional English-language dub track, approved by Fritz Lang • 36-PAGE BOOKLET featuring vintage reprints of writing by Lang, new writing by David Cairns, notes by Lotte Eisner on Lang’s final, unrealised projects DVD Release Date: October 19th, 2009 Three transparent Keep cases inside a sturdy cardboard box Chapters: 22, 20 + 14	Release Information: Studio: Masters of Cinema 1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 39,095,400,776 bytes Feature: 34,089,355,584 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.84 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Feature-length audio commentary by film-scholar and Lang expert David Kalat • 2002 interview with Wolfgang Preiss (15:50) • Alternate ending (1:05) • Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned and original poster artwork PLUS: a collector s booklet featuring a new essay by Philip Kemp; vintage reprints of writing by Lang; an essay by David Cairns; notes by Lotte Eisner on Lang s final, unrealised projects Blu-ray Release Date: May 11th, 2020 Custom Blu-ray Case Chapters 14

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Masters of Cinema Blu-ray (May 2020): Masters of Cinema have transferred Fritz Lang's The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse to Blu-ray. It looks absolutely delightful in 1080P losing most of the greenish hue of the DVDs. The HD presentation is not only brighter but each still looks like a photo glossy... unfortunately, with no texture or grain - which is a shame. Stunning detail in close-ups (skin pores evident) though but there is no natural depth. The contrast is a significant improvement over SD but those sensitive to digitization will be disappointed.

It's on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and looked consistent on my system if not film-like. I'm often not a fan of heavy gloss (as it is a strong indicator of digitization - and there does appear to be DNR) but for Krimi cinema - it kinda worked for my viewing - adding a surreal expressionist layer to the Langian-pulp.

NOTE: We have added 75 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Masters of Cinema use linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original German language with the option of an English DUB (approved by Fritz Lang). It is another advancement in the film's audio - flat but some depth in the frequent effects - and score by Gerhard Becker (Lang's Indian Epic), sounding a bit deeper and more impacting on the adventure-esque aspects that we love. Masters of Cinema offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray has repeats the extras of the 2009 DVD set with Fritz Lang expert David Kalat author of The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuse. You couldn't ask for a more knowledgeable commentarist covering so much on the production, Lang and the Mabuse series. We get a 1-minute alternate ending taken from the French print of the film, a 15-minute video interview with actor Wolfgang Preiss from 2002 and a liner notes booklet with a new essay by Philip Kemp; vintage reprints of writing by Lang; an essay by David Cairns; notes by Lotte Eisner on Lang s final, unrealized projects. Ohh... there is a reversible sleeve on this cover's fabulous art.

For those who haven't over-dosed on the good Doctor - both Gert Frobe and Peter van Eyck continued their Mabusery in a couple of the latter, non-Lang films in The Dr. Mabuse Collection - The Return of Dr. Mabuse (1961), The Invisible Dr. Mabuse (1962) and The Death Ray Mirror of Dr. Mabuse (1964) HERE.

Fritz Lang's The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse is pure stylistic joy - Krimi (if not a bona-fide part of the German Krimi genre - it's close enough to hug) and pulpy crime appeal abound. Another of the many, endlessly, re-watchable Fritz Lang films - combining young boys adventure, spy-like mysteries, great characters from cops to a clairvoyant - absolute perfection. Masters of Cinema have brought us this delightful Fritz Lang ride on Blu-ray - with an image not suiting purists but it worked for me in-motion. We hope to compare it to another 1080P image one day.

Gary Tooze

Masters of Cinema - Region 0 - PAL

Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray