Fritz Lang’s classic M coming to Criterion Blu-ray

By Michael Gingold

Criterion has announced that it is giving the landmark 1931 chiller M its Blu-ray debut May 11. The German-language feature stars Peter Lorre as one of film history’s most memorable villains, a child murderer who terrorizes Berlin and is hunted by both the authorities and members of the city’s underworld.

The disc will contain a restored hi-def digital transfer with uncompressed monaural sound, and will exclusively feature the long-lost English-language version of the film. Also included will be all the extras from the previous DVD edition:

• Audio commentary by German film scholars Anton Kaes and Eric Rentschler

• Documentary on the physical history of M

• “Conversation with Fritz Lang,” a 50-minute film by William Friedkin

• Claude Chabrol’s M LE MAUDIT, a short film inspired by M, plus an interview with Chabrol

• Classroom audiotapes of editor Paul Falkenberg discussing M and its history

• Video interview with Harold Nebenzal, son of M producer Seymour Nebenzal

• Still gallery with behind-the-scenes photos and production sketches by art director Emil Hasler

• Booklet featuring an essay by film critic Stanley Kauffmann, a 1963 interview with Lang, the script for a missing scene and contemporaneous newspaper articles

Retail price is $39.95.