The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960)

 Fritz Lang's "The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse"


In 1960, Fritz Lang returned to Germany to make his last film before his death, The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse. Lang adapted the story from Mr. Tot Buys a Thousand Eyes by Jan Fethke. The story does not contain Dr. Mabuse in actuality, however, his name is used to carry out grand destinies. The film is about a hotel owner who manipulates political diplomats in his hotel by spying on them with cameras and see-through mirrors. As all of Lang's Mabuse stories, the film is a representation of a contemporary Germany. At the height of the Cold War, Germany was in a surveillance state, as differing factions of Russian and Americans occupied it. The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse envisions a scenario in which the surveillance state is used to escalate global conflict, resulting in a Nazi-esque plan to create chaos and destruction so that a true leader will dominate in the ashes. 



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