Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang was an Austrian-American director born in Vienna, one of the defining figures of German Expressionist cinema before building a second major career in Hollywood. Metropolis, an epic vision of a dystopian future city, and M, a tense manhunt for a child murderer that gave Peter Lorre his breakout role, established him as Weimar Germany's most visually ambitious director. Fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s, he reinvented himself in America with taut noir thrillers including The Big Heat, Scarlet Street, and The Woman in the Window, marked by themes of guilt, obsession, and moral entrapment. Lang's visual command of architecture and shadow across both German and American periods made him one of the most influential directors on the development of both science fiction and film noir.
Fritz Lang
52 Directed
Fritz Lang was an Austrian-American director born in Vienna, one of the defining figures of German Expressionist cinema before building a second major career in Hollywood. Metropolis, an epic vision of a dystopian future city, and M, a tense manhunt for a child murderer that gave Peter Lorre his breakout role, established him as Weimar Germany's most visually ambitious director. Fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s, he reinvented himself in America with taut noir thrillers including The Big Heat, Scarlet Street, and The Woman in the Window, marked by themes of guilt, obsession, and moral entrapment. Lang's visual command of architecture and shadow across both German and American periods made him one of the most influential directors on the development of both science fiction and film noir.
Movies
Director
Metropolis
1927
Director
M
1931
Director
The Big Heat
1953
Director
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
1933
Director
Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge
1924
Director
Destiny
1921
Director
While the City Sleeps
1956
Director
Western Union
1941
Director
Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler
1922
Director
The Woman in the Window
1944
Director
Fury
1936
Director
The Indian Tomb
1959
Director
Rancho Notorious
1952
Director
Clash by Night
1952
Director
Die Nibelungen: Siegfried
1924
Director
Man Hunt
1941
Director
Secret Beyond the Door
1947
Director
Scarlet Street
1945
Director
The Return of Frank James
1940
Director
You Only Live Once
1937
Director
Human Desire
1954
Director
Harakiri
1919
Director
Hangmen Also Die!
1943
Director
The Blue Gardenia
1953
Director
You and Me
1938
Director
House by the River
1950
Director
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
1956
Director
Woman in the Moon
1929
Director
Ministry of Fear
1944
Director
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
1960
Director
Cloak and Dagger
1946
Director
Spies
1928
Director
The Tiger of Eschnapur
1959
Director
American Guerrilla in the Philippines
1950
Director
Moonfleet
1955
Director
The Spiders: Part 1 - The Golden Sea
1919
Director
The Wandering Image
1920
Director
Journey to the Lost City
1960
Director
The Spiders: Part 2 - The Diamond Ship
1920
Director
Liliom
1934
Director
Four Around the Woman
1921
Latest Trailers
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Contempt
Full Filmography
Journey to the Lost City
Director
1960
Film
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
Director
1960
Film
The Indian Tomb
Director
1959
Film
The Tiger of Eschnapur
Director
1959
Film
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Director
1956
Film
While the City Sleeps
Director
1956
Film
Moonfleet
Director
1955
Film
Human Desire
Director
1954
Film
The Big Heat
Director
1953
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fritz Lang still alive?
Fritz Lang passed away on August 2, 1976 at age 85.
What are the most famous roles of Fritz Lang?
Fritz Lang is best known for directing Metropolis, M, The Big Heat.
How many movies has Fritz Lang directed?
Over a 60-year career (since 1916), Fritz Lang has directed or written 52 films and worked on 0 TV shows.
What was Fritz Lang's first movie?
The career of Fritz Lang began with Die Peitsche (1916).
What is Fritz Lang's most recent movie or series?
Fritz Lang's most recent release is Journey to the Lost City, which premiered on October 1, 1960.
Fritz Lang
1890-12-05 · Vienna, Austria
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-German film director, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States.
Lang's most famous films are the groundbreaking science-fiction film Metropolis (1927) - the world's most expensive silent film at the time of its release - and the influential thriller film M (1931), made before he moved to the United States. Lang's work had a significant influence on the film noir genre and in Hollywood, he made some classics himself, such as Scarlet Street (1945) and The Big Heat (1953).