Hangmen Also Die

Although Director Fritz Lang gives this familiar material occasional touches of distinction, the picture still misses Grade A rank.

From a directorial standpoint this is a triumph for Fritz Lang, who succeeds with singular success in capturing the spirit of the Czech people in the face of the Nazi reign of terror.

For all of Mr. Lang's finesse, his film is too patient -- it runs well over two hours -- too ponderous to hit its stride as melodrama. Nor does it match in emotional power and conviction its heroic theme.

The two-and-a-quarter-hour film has the iconic thrust of a silent; the pro-sacrifice resistance cant has an oddly jihadist tenor today.

Superb performances throughout, while James Wong Howe's photography perfectly captures the spirit of the occupied city, where hiding places are few and far from safe.

Still inspiring as text, the choir of voices of the oppressed victims of fascism transforms the resistance poetry into a marvelous song that matches nearly anything in Lang’s filmography.

The picture is brilliantly produced and acted. Theatricalism is notably absent. It is sufficient in a film of this sort to allow the facts to speak -- and here, action is eloquent beyond words.

The title makes you expect the usual raw melodrama. Actually, you see a vivid, engrossing film, with brilliant direction by Fritz Lang, and some extraordinarily fine character acting.

The atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion evoked here is as pervasive as any Lang ever created.

An effective cat-and-mouse thriller and a paean to resistance, designed to give strength to those under Nazi rule. For a propaganda movie, it's surprisingly dark and not afraid to show the human cost of resistance.