Director Fritz Lang collaborated with legendary playwright Bertolt Brecht on this 1943 wartime drama inspired by a real-life historical event: the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich—the brutal Nazi Reichsprotektor of Czechoslovakia (nicknamed “the Hangman”)—by the underground Resistance in occupied Europe. Brian Donlevy stars as the assassin, Dr. Franticek Svoboda, who hides out with the Novotny family to escape the Nazi manhunt. When Professor Stephen Novotny (Walter Brennan) is taken hostage by the Nazis in retribution, his daughter Masha (Anna Lee) threatens to turn in Svoboda to save her father's life, which only adds to the tension. The actual killing of Heydrich takes place off-screen in the opening moments, which keeps the focus on the plight of the citizens under the boot of Nazi tyranny, with Lang's message reverberating in every scene that follows: never inform, no matter how many die in reprisal. The sprawling story leans heavily toward propaganda, and the stolid Donlevy is an uninspiring hero; but the mixture of patriotic narrative, detective story, and espionage thriller eventually knits together and pays off in a climactic bit of poetic justice that is oddly satisfying despite the terrific cost in innocent lives. Hangmen Also Die has been released on DVD before, but this new edition mastered from a 2013 restoration and presented on DVD and Blu-ray is a marked improvement. Extras include audio commentary by film historian Richard Peña, an interview with historian Robert Gerwarth on the real-life Heydrich, a 1942 newsreel, a restoration comparison, and an illustrated essay. While not Lang's best work, this is still a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)
Hangmen Also Die
Cohen, 135 min., not rated, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99 Volume 30, Issue 1
Hangmen Also Die
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