Alfred Abel

Fritz Lang's two-part criminal epic introduced cinema's first great supervillain. Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) is a hypnotist, master of disguise, and criminal psychologist who manipulates Berlin's decadent gambling clubs, ruins the industrialist Hull, and destroys the young Count Told — all while state prosecutor von Wenk (Bernhard Goetzke) doggedly hunts the phantom pulling the strings. Adapted from Norbert Jacques's novel and subtitled *A Picture of the Time*, the film is both a cracking crime saga and a portrait of Weimar Germany's postwar instability. Mabuse's chilling final descent into madness made him an archetype Lang would revisit twice more. Published in 1922, it is in the public domain in the United States.

Crime · Thriller · Silent

In a vast future city, the wealthy live in pleasure gardens above ground while workers toil underground to keep the machines running. Freder, the son of the city's master, follows a woman into the workers' city and sees the human cost of his father's order. A robot built in the shape of Maria is set loose to destroy the workers' hope. Fritz Lang's film is one of the most influential ever made; its images echo through every science fiction film since, from the robot design to the towering cityscape. The film was cut down and re-edited for years after its premiere, and a near-complete restoration was assembled decades later from archives around the world. Thea von Harbou wrote the screenplay and the novel it is based on. The film is in the public domain as a pre-1930 work.

Sci-Fi · Silent