Now available from Eureka! Entertainment
This set includes 6 feature films of the Dr. Mabuse series: The Thousand Eyes of Dr Mabuse, The Return of Dr Mabuse, The Invisible Dr Mabuse, The Testament of Dr Mabuse, Scotland Yard Hunts Dr Mabuse, The Death Ray of Dr Mabuse
This review will be a bit different than the usual, trying a new format if you will, so let me know if it works or not in the comments. This new set of the Dr. Mabuse films includes 6 films (listed above) with some of them sharing discs within two boxes and with an accompanying booklet that includes the best extra of the bunch, writing by Fritz Lang, something one doesn’t come across often. Each film here has an introduction by Tim Lucas and an audio commentary by film historian David Kalat. The presentation here is lovely with a hard cardboard box for the disc cases to slip into along with the booklet. The art on the set is stunning with new art for each movie in each case (reversible with 1 film’s art and extras listed on one side and the other 2 films’ art on the other side). The packaging here feels close to a luxury set.
As for the films themselves, they look great in their new transfers with restoration work done to make them look as good as possible. The sound here is a bit limited but not unexpectedly, filmmakers didn’t shoot in THX back in the day. Or even in surround sound. The cinematography of these films is very pretty and dark but making good use of light. The black and white here is crisp and feels quite appropriate for the material at hand.
In terms of stories, the films are not quite even from one to the next with the best of the six being The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, The Return of Dr. Mabuse, and The Testament of Dr, Mabuse. These have the better writing and story points. They are the ones that keep the attention the easiest and make the most of their story, cast, and cinematography. While the other three films are interesting, some of them fall in the more fantastical side of this universe, on particular The Invisible Dr. Mabuse which may appeal to fans of The Invisible Man but feels a bit out of place here. The acting in the first two films (1000 Eyes and Return) is good and makes watching the films a breeze while further entries show more of the international cast of who did their lines in their own language and then were dubbed. What this means is that some of the performances feel disconnected from the others and the dubbing can feel off at times. Overall, though, these films work well on enough fronts to be considered excellent films and be important to cinema history.
In the end, this set is one that is worth getting and digging into if you are a fan of these films in particular, but also if you are into fun international films with good writing, good acting, solid cinematography. This is one of those sets that should be picked up immediately before it runs out of copies available.