Dr. M (film)

Dr. M
French theatrical release poster
Directed by	Claude Chabrol
Produced by	Hans Brockmann François Duplat Christoph Holch
Screenplay by	Claude Chabrol Sollace Mitchell
Story by	Thomas Bauermeister
Based on	Mabuse der Spieler by Norbert Jacques
Starring	Sandrine Bonnaire Jacques Gamblin
Music by	Mekong Delta Paul Hindemith
Cinematography	Jean Rabier
Editing by	Monique Fardoulis
Studio	N.E.F. Filmproduktion und Vertriebs Ellepi Films Italian International Film Cléa Productions Solyfic ZDF Telefilm Saar GmbH La Sept
Release date(s)	24 May 1990
Running time	111 minutes
Country	Germany  France  Italy
Language	English

Dr. M. is a 1990 film co-written and directed by Claude Chabrol. The film is a remake of 1922's Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, which was in turn based on Mabuse der Spieler by Norbert Jacques.^[1]

Plot

In the near future, a deadly epidemic is infecting people throughout West Berlin, leading to people taking their own lives to avoid catching it. All the media reports seem like unusual propaganda. No one knows what to do or how to help, except for one police officer who suspects that the suicides are really caused by a lone madman. His investigations lead him to a beautiful, enigmatic woman and the revelation of a sinister plot to manipulate the population through mass hypnosis.

Principal cast

Actor	Role
Alan Bates	Dr. Marsfeldt / Guru]]
Jennifer Beals	Sonja Vogler
Jan Niklas	Lt. Claus Hartman
Isolde Barth	Mrs. Sehr
Andrew McCarthy	Assassin
Hanns Zischler	Moser
Benoît Régent	Stieglitz
Alexander Radszun	Engler
Jean Benguigui	Rolf

Critical reception

Steve Simels of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C-:

“

[T]his is a standard-grade, low-budget European B movie. The plotting is absurd (with anachronistic elements; though the film is set in the future, the Berlin Wall has not yet come down); the stars — including the still fetching Jennifer Beals and the usually cool Alan Bates (doing what seems like an eccentric imitation of Albert Finney doing Hercule Poirot) — either overact or sleepwalk; and the pacing is lethargic verging on comatose.[2]

”

Jackson Adler of TV Guide gave the film 3 out of 4 stars:

“

Club Extinction is something of a mishmash. But it's a mostly engaging mishmash with Chabrol operating in a satirically sinister mode that should come as no surprise to his devotees... In contrast to many American genre pictures, the problems with Club Extinction stem from aiming too high rather than too low... [M]ostly to Chabrol's credit, the going never gets boring, no matter how many times one views it. Club Extinction is an absorbing and even amusing thriller with brains--even if it does take more brains than should be necessary to follow its helter-skelter plot.[3]

”

Availability

VHS cover when retitled as Club Extinction

The film was released in the United States as Club Extinction on VHS.^[4]

See also

• Dr. Mabuse the Gambler

References

1. ^ Claude Chabrol (2011-08-04). "Docteur M. - Cast, Reviews, Summary, and Awards". AllRovi. http://www.allrovi.com/movies/movie/docteur-m-v10066. Retrieved 2011-08-22. 
2. ^ Reviewed by Steve Simels (1991-04-05). "Club Extinction Review | Reviews and News". EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,313844,00.html. Retrieved 2011-08-22. 
3. ^ "Club Extinction Review". Movies.tvguide.com. http://movies.tvguide.com/club-extinction/review/128483. Retrieved 2011-08-22. 
4. ^ "Club Extinction VHS". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Club-Extinction-VHS-Alan-Bates/dp/6301954882. Retrieved 2011-08-22. 

External links

• Dr. M at the Internet Movie Database
• Dr. M at AllRovi
• Scene from the film featuring Andrew McCarthy