initiated by roger on September 16, 2008 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049949/)
Fritz Lang is widely regarded as one of the leading directors of his time, so a look at 'While the City Sleeps', one of his last films, should provide an interesting insight into where the art of cinema was in the mid-1950s. By far the weakest part of this film is its ludicrous central story, about a weird psycho-killer who likes to leave clues for the police whilst murdering without rational moti more
Fritz Lang is widely regarded as one of the leading directors of his time, so a look at 'While the City Sleeps', one of his last films, should provide an interesting insight into where the art of cinema was in the mid-1950s. By far the weakest part of this film is its ludicrous central story, about a weird psycho-killer who likes to leave clues for the police whilst murdering without rational motive, but who is ultimately outwitted by a cleverer opponent. This is not a good plot, but it is one that continues to be re-used to the present day. Much stronger, and equally modern, is the irreverent subplot about a group of cynical journalists in a Murdoch-style media conglomerate jockeying for position and hoping to ride to success on the back of their coverage of the slayings. The film cuts between the different story lines with speed and humour, and the dialogue is quite sharp. However, the general level of realism is much poorer than in in today's films, the action scenes are especially weak and there's a stagey feel, even when the script is at it's most sparkling. And while not a criticism of the film, it's also dated by the titanic quantities of drinking and smoking engaged in by all the characters (did anyone ever live past 50?) Still, overall there's a lot to enjoy here, pleasures offset principally by the regretful discovery that Hollywood's misguided fascination with mindless mass-murderers is anything but a new phenomenon.
