Overview
A gripping tale of crime and deception unfolds as a detective races against time to uncover the truth.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- foreboding
- hallucinatory
- oppressive
- classic film night
- halloween viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly admire Fritz Lang's direction, striking photography, and capacity to evoke terror, while some find the film overlong, repetitive, and unevenly acted.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The investigation traces an organized criminal campaign back to the long-isolated Dr. Mabuse and the transmission of his doctrine.
The criminal organization seeks social chaos and total control, giving the police investigation an unmistakably anti-Nazi political resonance.
Lang turns hospitals, offices, telephones, machinery, and shadowed interiors into sources of hallucinating dread.
Inspector Lohmann pursues the criminal network successfully, yet the film offers no uncomplicated heroic alternative to the forces of domination.
Films like The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, and why
M
German expressionist crime filmmaking, hypnotic criminal influence, and oppressive visual suspense
Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler
Fritz Lang's stylized urban paranoia, criminal conspiracy, and morally anxious atmosphere
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
German expressionist horror, psychological manipulation, and a sinister institutional setting
The Third Man
Noir-inflected police investigation, criminal networks, and brooding fatalism
Movie Details
- Director
- Fritz Lang
- Release Date
- 1933-04-21
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (298)
Cast
- Rudolf Klein-Rogge
- Oscar Beregi Sr.
- Camilla Spira
- Otto Wernicke
- Paul Henckels
- Theo Lingen
- Rudolf Schündler
- Theodor Loos
- Karl Meixner
- Gustav Diessl
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Testament of Dr. Mabuse about?
- A police inspector confronts the lingering doctrine of a confined criminal genius as Berlin descends into hypnotic conspiracy and expressionist dread.
- What is The Testament of Dr. Mabuse like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Testament of Dr. Mabuse violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Testament of Dr. Mabuse as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse?
- Critics broadly admire Fritz Lang's direction, striking photography, and capacity to evoke terror, while some find the film overlong, repetitive, and unevenly acted.
- Which films are like The Testament of Dr. Mabuse?
- Films with a similar feel include M, Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and The Third Man.
- How long is The Testament of Dr. Mabuse?
- The Testament of Dr. Mabuse runs 122 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Testament of Dr. Mabuse?
- In United States, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max.
