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kareecarney's review
informative
medium-paced
3.0
would have been marked higher if it wasnt so sexist
aiwendil's review
3.0
This study of (most of) the films directed by Lang is not exactly what you could call a quick, breezy read, but as something of a big Lang fan (I've seen all 41 of his extant films), I found it interesting. Gunning focuses on what he calls the "Destiny-machine" in Lang's works - a kind of modern reinterpretation of the idea of fate as a product of the impersonal network of technology that pervades the modern world. It's an interesting idea, and Gunning supports his readings of the films with detailed and astute examinations of them. There were moments when I disagreed with him (and other moments when I rolled my eyes at some of the very much steeped-in-academic-film-theory language) but overall I found his arguments compelling. I do sometimes wish that he had taken a slightly broader approach, and in particular I missed any real discussion of some of Lang's films that were left out as not being pertinent to his thesis (the war films, Rancho Notorious, Moonfleet, and the Indian epic, mainly).
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