M

Actually not so bad, although it doesn't live up to Lang's original. The one area of improvement is the pacing. It's relatively short on "dead space" by comparison. Most of the other changes are either dumbing down or unnecessary. The film is loaded with a lot more Freudian psychology, which doesn't help and arguably hurts. Some of the characters are pretty silly, and Wayne is far less compelling than Lorre. Still, the tighter pacing and overall atmosphere makes it not a complete waste of time.

It's hard to avoid comparing it to the greatness of the original, but it works quite will by changing a bit of the focus and style. It trades the longer evocative shots, visual creativity and Lorre for a quicker paced story and slightly more developed secondary characters. It makes for a slightly more exciting film but it also undermines the impact of the ending. Even so it has its share of great moments and interesting commentary.

This remake works fairly well, but why not just rewatch Lang's vastly superior version instead?

Nothing on the original.

Viewed February 23, 2021.

This American remake of the original is pretty solid.

There are some nice little touches and one very good location, but not much works in this remake.

I like the change in political subtext.

Evitei esse filme por anos, não só porque a cópia que constava por aí era medíocre, mas porque não via razão de uma obra-prima irretocável como M ter um remake. Enfim, ledo engano achar que isso é um mero remake, Losey faz dele uma grande obra por méritos próprios com grande viés pelo humanismo e psicanálise, muito em função do seu time de colaboradores, um time de esquerda progressista que seria caçado em massa por Joseph McCarthy. DVD duplo Versátil.

More of an ordinary crime film compared to the original, with a faster pace and duller aesthetics. The tradeoffs are unfortunate but ultimately inevitable as nothing could replace Lorre and the atmosphere of Lang’s masterpiece. This one is still worth seeing, especially if you like film noir.

It takes some nerve to remake a masterpiece like M. Standing in for the creepy-cowardly Peter Lorre as the killer is the wallpaper David Wayne in this version's most immediate failure. Otherwise, for the first hour, Losey relocates the story to L.A successfully, shifting the political subtext but loyally maintaining Lang's tone - no small feat. It is the revised ending that really ruins things. I won't give it away, but the finale is now more like a sermon, less believable - and less poignant.

M = Mimicking