ESSAYS

Fritz Lang’s narrative power

Explaining the importance and influence of Fritz Lang, one of the most important directors of the classical fabular style, the author describes historical changes in his career in the context of classical narrative procedures, collaboration with Thea von Harbou, insisting on doubles, parallel editing, subjective camera and other important techniques. Social power demonstrated by the evil villain in the Mabusetrilogy can also be understood as power over the story, and this essay, although written on a specific occasion, explains the basic problems of Lang’s work, that is his character and social units’ construction techniques, as well as firm positioning (linking) of viewers’ attention to the very often bizarre (and often also genre’s) narrative structure.

Sonja Tarokić