Fritz Lang was a remarkable filmmaker, pushing German expressionism out of the silent film era. Many know him for creating what is regarded as the first science fiction film ever made, Metropolis. In 1931, when sound cinema in the U.S. generally involved actors walking into a set shot and yelling their lines into a microphone, Lang made one of the first films about a serial killer, entitled M. M broke ground on so many levels. Its political themes of poverty and bankruptcy in post-WWI Berlin, corrupt police, and organized crime watching over the city, combined with moments of complete silence in the film make this a classic in film studies.
When the film was being rereleased in 1960, however, it was a little too ahead of its time for Germany, even 30 years after the fact, and M faced censorship. Scenes mocking the police and government were trimmed or cut altogether. The avant-garde moments of silence on film had sound effects added, and to make the film move at a faster pace, artistic edits were trimmed to only include the most necessary moments in the film for more modern audiences.
This reissue was the most well-known version of the film, and early home video releases, including a laserdisc by Embassy Home Entertainment, used this until the year 2000, when a new restoration was done of the film. Beyond reinserting as much footage as possible, it also brought the film back to its original 1.19:1 aspect ratio and restored the sound to its original presentation, with silence in areas that were initially silent. A note, however, that when the film was originally presented in theaters in 1931, because an optical head would have been passing over the film's soundtrack, there would have been some white noise in the theater, not moments of dead silence that were presented on this 2004 DVD.
At any rate, because I love comparing versions of films where a comparison doesn't already exist online, here are the differences between the two versions of M. All timecodes refer to the 2004 Criterion DVD. Allegedly a minute more of footage has been found since this release and perhaps these edits can be added in if someone knows what they are. Screenshots also come from the 2004 Criterion DVD, and are used for educational purposes only-- no copyright infringement is intended. When the reissue features different footage, a screenshot from the Embassy Home Entertainment laserdisc is included.
00:00:00-00:00:50
Reissue opens with an orchestra playing In the Hall of the Mountain King whereas in the original version, the titles are silent. In the reissue version, this music plays over the first few lines of the children playing. The original has a gong sound after the titles before fading into the children.The reissue features more production credits than the original.
Original Credits
Reissue credits
00:02:02-00:02:21
The woman with the laundry is seen bringing it up the stairs and talking about how heavy it is before ringing the doorbell. The reissue cuts from her yelling at the children to her ringing the doorbell.
00:03:05-00:03:15
We see Elsie's mother scrubbing the laundry before the clock chimes for a longer period in the original version.
00:03:33-00:03:44
The original has footage of Elsie's mother preparing her child's lunch before the shot of Elsie at school.
00:03:55-00:04:02
The original has more footage of Elsie's mother setting her child's place setting at the table.
The original once again shows a longer shot when it cuts back to Elsie's mother preparing lunch than the reissue.
00:07:15-00:07:30
After the clock chimes again, where the reissue cuts to Elsie's mother opening the drapes, the original shows her pacing slowly around the apartment first, worried, then hopefully turning to the window where she hears a man's voice.
00:07:30-00:08:18
Elsie's mother's voice as she repeatedly calls after Elsie uses different vocal takes in the reissue version as remnants objects of her kidnapping and her empty kitchen setting are shown.
00:08:33-00:08:47
After the newspaper man hands the passerby a paper, there is more footage as he walks past and a number of paperboys run into the same frame and sell their papers.
00:09:00-00:09:32
As Hans writes his letter to the police, the original version has a line of the paper man saying "Who is the murderer" is overlapped onto this shot. Also, Peter Lorre's whistling uses a different sound take in the reissue version than in the original.
00:09:32
When the reword poster is shown, the original version has the voice of the paper man saying "10,000 marks' reward."
00:13:50-00:13:59
When the crowd suspects a man being escorted by police as the child murderer, there is more footage of them trying to attack him in the original, but it is unclear if this is intentional or because there was missing footage at the end of the reel in the reissue. In addition, the first shot of the next reel, a publishing of the letter by Hans, is featured for a few more seconds in the original-- perhaps for the same reason.
Inspector Lohmann talking about his investigation is longer in the original version, featuring more detailed work about what the police department is doing to catch the killer, including the use of a forensic document examiner. As he analyzes the signature, we see the first glimpse of Hans' face, as he looks at himself in the mirror.
00:16:35-17:13
The footage of the policemen sleeping on the job at the station is featured for a longer time in the original version, and Inspector Lohmann gives a longer monologue exaggerating about how hard they are working. He also lies about how hard the homicide squad is working, while there is footage of them not doing so.
00:18:56-00:19:15
Inspector Lohmann gives more excuses as to why the killer hasn't been found, blaming the conflicting eyewitness accounts.
00:19:41-00:19:52
After Inspector Lohmann dismisses the witnesses fighting over what color the girl's hat was, the original version extends this scene to show them angrily leaving the office as Inspector Lohmann asks for the next witness.
00:20:26
As a dog is seen barking when it thinks it found the scent of a killer, the reissue features a sound effect of the barking dog whereas this doesn't exist in the original.
00:20:57-00:22:22
The montage of night shots of the streets features sound effects in the reissue version, whereas the original does not feature these sound effects. The sound comes back in the original for a few more seconds of footage that don't exist in the reissue, of the empty street, before cutting to a woman tipping off the customers at a speakeasy that the police have arrived.
00:24:37-00:25:14
There is footage of an empty tables and a patron hiding under a coat rack and trying to escape as we hear the prostitutes heckle the police in the original version.
00:25:25-00:27:50
As the police interrogate each of the speakeasy customers, the reissue features more sound effects whereas the original uses minimal sound, mainly just the dialogue.
00:27:50-00:28:35
The original version has a longer shot of all of the weapons and stolen items the police have collected from the speakeasy customers. It also shows an officer knocking on the door of the ladies room and escorting a man out.
00:30:39-00:31:07
There is more footage of the thief examining the stolen watches at the table in the original. The audio take of his line about there being more police on the streets than whores comes earlier in the rerelease.
00:32:46-00:33:00
After the leader of the criminals tells the men to close the blinds, the original version shows a criminal creeping to the blinds and closing them.
00:35:39-00:35:57
During the intercutting of the different groups (thieves vs. cops and government officials) discussing how they will find the murderer, the reissue cuts a shot of a government official insisting every citizen and landlord must consent to a property search.
00:37:54-00:38:19
The commissioner asks if the situation with public cooperation is as bad as the government official suggests and another man at the meeting says it is, reiterating that the public cares only about themselves and not the community before it cuts back to the criminals in the apartment (where the reissue picks the scene back up).
00:39:32-00:40:41
The original features a line by a government official insinuating the conditions of the bodies of the children are unspeakable but well known to everyone at the meeting. He also says that murderers of this kind rarely leave clues.
00:42:16-00:42:52
After the criminals decide they need to consult the organization of beggars, a beggar is seen organizing rolled cigarettes and cigars, stealing the largest cigar for himself. The camera pans to a sign reading Mr. Credit is dead and buried-- the management" before the camera pans to the section of the shot where the reissue picks up.
00:42:50-00:45:55
The montage of the organization of beggars has an added sound effect of crowd noise throughout in the reissue version.
00:46:02-00:46:23
When the young girl throws the blind man a coin and walks with to school with her father, the reissue version has an added sound effect of traffic noise whereas the original doesn't pick up this traffic noise until a car horn starts honking as it passes them.
00:50:23-00:50:34
As Hans shops at the fruit cart while his home is being searched, the reissue version features more traffic sound effects than the original.
When the investigator is snooping in Hans' home, there are sound effects of paper crinkling in the reissue as he goes through the waste basket. This is mostly silent in the original, but does feature a longer take of the shot as he pulls out a notebook at takes notes. Again, it is unknown if this is due to a reel change and missing footage, or an intentional edit. The next shot of the sidewalk starts earlier in the original as well.
00:51:35-00:55:38
As Hans looks in the storefront window and notices a girl in the reflection, the reissue features more traffic (mainly car horns) and crowd sound effects than the original. As the mother walks around looking for her mother, there is an added sound effect of footsteps. In addition, the whistling by Hans during this scene is a different take than in the original. As he goes to a restaurant for a drink, the extra sound effects, and the different take of whistling continue in the reissue.
As the man follows Hans and the little girl, eventually hiding across the street from the market where Hans takes the girl, the reissue adds a footstep sound effect that wasn't in the original.
00:59:32
When Hans flips the switchblade to carve a piece of fruit, the reissue adds a sound effect of the blade flipping open.
As the man with the marked M on his hand pretends to trip and marks Hans' jacket before yelling at him for dropping the fruit peel, the reissue adds a footstep sound effect.
01:01:59
The man informing the criminals that Hans has been identified as the killer has an extra line overlapped over the next shot in the original, where he says "His every move is being watched."
As the beggars follow Hans through the city, there are added footstep sound effects and more traffic sound effects throughout the sequence in the reissue.
01:06:29-01:06:43
As the security guard locks the gate of the building where Hans is hiding, the reissue adds a sound effect of him locking it, traffic, and footsteps as the policeman passes.
As the kangaroo court forces their way into the locked building, the reissue adds footstep sound effects.
01:12:29-01:12:54
The shot of the security guard adjusting the alarm is longer in the original version, followed by him getting jumped by one of the trespassers and Hans overhearing it from the other side of the door.
01:16:37-01:16:40
After the man who has spotted Hans runs downstairs, the original features more footage of the man he bumps into inspecting the room he is in and as someone yelling down the stairwell curses.
01:17:25-01:17:29
01:18:51-01:18:57
The original has a longer shot after the police department finds the card identifying the location of the break-in, revealing a blue print of the location. The next shot is longer as well, featuring one of the trespassers warning everybody to get out.
01:20:00-01:20:46
As the trespassers evacuate the building, the reissue features traffic sound effects whereas the original is dialogue only.
01:20:55
The original features more footage during the shot sequence of the damage by the trespassers after they have left.
01:27:08-01:27:28
The police chief responds to the knock on the door in the original version by saying "Come in!", before finishing his conversation where he says to have a criminal surrounded.
01:28:05-01:28:23
01:30:00-01:30:45
After the man is custody is told he's wanted for questioning, the original has him sit up, mock the fact that four men are there to take him in before he is told to move it. He is escorted to the next room, where he looks around before he sees a sign of the plaque of the wall The reissue fades to black after the line that he is wanted for questioning and ades back in as he walks toward the plaque.
01:34:09-01:34:13
When the inspector is asking if the distillery that the man in custody is trying to describe, the voiceover in the original asks if he means the one that went bankrupt. This voiceover is slightly truncated in the reissue to exclude the part about the depression.
01:40:52-01:40:55
After Hans gives his monologue about not being able to help murdering children and a man in the kangaroo court stands and says they've heard that story before, the original version has some more footage in that same shot, where he says before the judge they all "can't help it."
01:48:25
When the mob storms Hans and stops to put their hands up, the reissue adds a line of dialogue off camera of a police officer saying "Police, hands up". This moment is silent in the original.
01:48:35
When the camera cuts back to Hans, the reissue features the musical interlude of "In the Hall of the Mountain King", whereas it is silent in the original.
01:48:48
The reissue follows this shot with a black screen, while "In the Hall of the Mountain King" still plays, and a voiceover has the line "We too should keep a closer watch on our children" followed by the Ende title card, whereas the original shows footage of Hans' proper trial and a woman in the stands as she says this will not bring the children back, followed by the final line, and fading to black with no title card.
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