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Product details

Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.93 Ounces
Director ‏ : ‎ Fritz Lang
Media Format ‏ : ‎ DVD
Actors ‏ : ‎ Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Carl Esmond, Hillary Brooke, Percy Waram
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0018V3MVE

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4.5 348 ratings

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4.5 out of 5

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Amazon Customer

Great classic

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2023

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Great classic movie. Complying story. Good twist and turns.

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2021

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This is the second time I've seen this movie, but it's the first time I saw the Criterion Collection version. The film looked beautiful; good levels of black and white, barely any speckles (if any - the picture quality was so good I was more interested in the story than any imperfections), and the sound is solid. Criterion always puts out the best quality they can. Recommended.

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(BLU RAY REVIEW) 4 1/2 stars for a Fritz Lang spy thriller

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2013

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There may be spoilers.

I remember getting a pretty good deal on this Criterion Blu ray edition of this Fritz Lang directed film. Although I had never seen it before, I will pretty much see anything with Lang's name attached, especially when he's in charge. The setting is England smack dab in the middle of WW II and the Nazi's are bombing the hell out of the place. Stephen Neale (Ray Milland) is about to be released from the "asylum" where he was placed after his implication in his wife's death. We are not sure early on what happened but it comes out in bits and pieces as the story develops.

Before getting on a train to London where he will get a fresh start (dodging bombs I guess) Neale stops for a charity event near the station. He's persuaded to guess the weight of a large cake which he correctly guesses thanks to a fortune teller who gives him the answer. Alas the fortune teller gave the information to the wrong man. After Neale boards the train, complete with cake in hand, he is joined in his compartment by a supposed blind man. As it turns out the blind man isn't what he seems. As a quick aside this is the first time I've ever heard anyone pronounce Nazi as Nazee rather than Natzy. Sorry.

The blind man is just the first in a series of misdirection involving people and who they may or may not be. While it is certainly not difficult to identify the bad guys for most viewers of this stylized type thriller, there is enough illusion to keep you guessing. As Neale runs after the man who took his cake, a Nazi bomb drops on the guy as well as the cake. So what's going on here?

After getting to London, Neale hires a private investigator to help him figure that out beginning with the charity organization who sponsored the cake guessing contest. Eventually he meets the lovely Austrian woman, Carla Hilfe (Marjorie Reynolds) and her brother Willi (Carl Esmond) who head the organization. It turns out there are German spies afoot in England and the cake was smuggling microfilm containing British defense secrets.

Lang's use of the camera is very well done. There are some interesting scenes where the angle of the camera is tilted up or down giving the shots a different perspective. In one particular scene, as Neale is about to confront one of the bad guys at a tailor's shop, he sits next to a wall that turns out to be a wall-to-wall mirror just reflecting what he was looking at, off screen from the viewer's perspective. It had me fooled! "Ministry of Fear" was adapted from a Graham Greene novel and he was allegedly furious over the film. Lang had changed many of the elements Greene thought were critical to the story. Personally, I don't care. While this may not be the masterpiece film in Lang's body of work, it is still an excellent film by any standard.

As usual Criterion handles the transfer well. Look for a 1.37:1 aspect ratio and a 1080p resolution. Here are the notes from Criterion regarding the video:

"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics scanner from a 35mm safety fine-grain master. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, and jitter were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Image Systems' Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise reduction, and flicker.

Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline.
Colorists: Jason Crump/Metropolis Post, New York; Lee Kline."

The audio only has one option, a lossless mono. It is certainly fine for this film but has obvious limitations. Extras include a trailer, an interview with Lang biographer Joe McElhaney and a booklet containing an essay by critic Glenn Kenny.

25 people found this helpful

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Bruce Eder

Criterion-lite -- but Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2013

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The Criterion Collection has licensed Fritz Lang's MINISTRY OF FEAR from Universal, and while they haven't given this picture first-cabin treatment -- there's no wall-to-wall commentary, and the only video supplements are a talk by a Lang biographer and the movie trailer -- it is well put together, and the picture looks and sounds great; I saw this in a theater just a couple of years ago, and the DVD compares well to the 35mm print shown at New York's Film Forum. The menu is easy to use, and the discussion about Lang and the movie is informative, especially in resolving differences between the movie and Graham Greene's original novel (Greene didn't like the movie adaptation). As for the film, it's a keeper -- perhaps not the best of Lang's wartime output (Scarlet Street, Man Hunt), but just below those in quality, and certainly superior to some of his other thrillers of his era (Cloak And Dagger).

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David Evans Katz

Great Classic Movie

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2022

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"Ministry of Fear" is a mystery-thriller based on a classic Graham Greene novel. Very enjoyable.

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M. Kenny

Criterion Blu-ray editon looks great.

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2013

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In my opinion this is a lesser Fritz Lang film but the Criterion BD gives a beautiful picture and good sound.
Reading the Amazon reviews of this film is very enjoyable, one saying that Ray Milland puts him to sleep and another saying the only good thing about the film is Ray Milland's acting.
The plot is convoluted, a bomb exploding in an apartment is one of the worst effects ever done in Hollywood and the contrived romance between the two leads is far fetched even by Hollywood standards. The only suspense is the lead character trying to convince the police that what he says is true.
So what is good about this film? The acting is good (unless you hate Ray Milland) even though the plot can confuse the hell out of you with all the loose ends, but if you just let the film unwind and you go with the flow, it becomes an enjoyable spy picture.
It seems that this picture was NOT a "Fritz Lang picture" in that he did not have complete control, others controlled the script, but even with that he did a good job of setting up the scenes and the lighting and photography are really good. If you are looking for a really great spy thriller, this ain't it. It is an enjoyable spy picture as long as you don't analyze it too much.

16 people found this helpful

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halh

Ministry of Fear

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2013

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Good ole B&W Mystery turn off the phone turn off the lights and get into the story. This movie has a STORY. not a script or a screen writers adaptation, nor an Actor or Director's view. Well actually it is all of them but it is seemless. Why can't they make movies today like they did back then? Three men that could lower the temperature in a movie, as clod blooded murders, Richard Widmark giggle pushing an old lady in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs, Jack Plance's stare in anything! and Dan Duryea's smile. Dan Duryea is a pussy cat in this one, and the other two aren't in this one.

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G. Daugherty

Should have stayed in the Asylum

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2013

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As a disclosure, I love the director Fritz Lang. I have most of his German silent movies and American movies. The Ministry of Fear is a World War II thriller with Ray Milland getting caught up in a German spy ring, it is based on a Graham Greene novel. Lang does a great job of leading us through London searching for the spies and their prize. The DVD is a Criterion Collection so the quality is outstanding.

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Jordanship

Blu ray Edition of Ministry of Fear

Reviewed in Italy on January 13, 2018

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I did’t know this film. This is a Great one and a great blu ray edition at special price. Thank you Criterion!

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Philippe Geril

the product is not as advertised

Reviewed in France on August 14, 2015

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The DVD delivered was a REGION 4 DVD. This was not mentioned in the product description. DVD will be returned

Mayor Maynot

Great Film! It stands the test of time.

Reviewed in Canada on May 28, 2013

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This film was my first introduction to Lang and I am very happy that I chose this film. The contrast of the simplicity of the characters contrasted by the complexity and ambiguity of the plot makes for a very entertaining and even tense film.
There is a brilliant use of lighting and subversion. You are never sure until the end who is whom. You are never sure until the end what part each person plays and even at the end there is still a tiny bit of doubt. I very much enjoy films that do that and they are RARE.
This film gets a place in my top shelf films. I have heard that this is a "minor" Lang production. I can't wait to see his majors!
I highly recommend it to any and every film buff!

3 people found this helpful

ENRIQUE M.

excelente

Reviewed in Spain on May 15, 2014

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Es una película excelente, que no hay que perderse. Buen cine sin lugar a dudas. Lo recomiendo a todos los amantes del buen cine.

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Gabor Lux

A bit shy of being a classic, but good in its own right

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2012

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If there ever was a man in movie history to make spy movies, Fritz Lang was that man. He was among the first to lay down the tropes of the genre in Dr. Mabuse and later Spione (which still echoes in James Bond and modern technotrillers), and he could also give it his own paranoid spin, pitting his heroes against all-powerful conspiracies and systems of oppression. Lang's movies are full of people being followed, ransacked offices, webs of deception and characters assuming false appearances and personas. Ministry of Fear is one of the best of those movies.

Set in wartime London, the movie stars Stephen Neale, a man released from an insane asylum, who accidentally finds himself in the middle of a Nazi espionage plot. An innocent fairground prize becomes a deadly lure; people get killed in disquieting ways and shadowy characters begin stalking our hero, who falls for a pretty Austrian refugee while on the run.

The action takes place in a claustrophobic world alternating between shadowy staircases, streets under blackout and dilapidated apartments, intercut with scenes in bright salons and perfectly wholesome offices, which contain a different, more subtle form of menace. It is to the credit of Ray Milland, the actor playing Neale, that he is perfect as the man being followed: he is full of nervous tension as he moves from shadow to shadow, always only a step ahead of his pursuers; it is his eyes, looking out for unseen enemies, that tell us he is being hunted. Marjorie Reynolds is good enough as the beautiful Carla, but credit must especially go to the unctuous Dan Duryea and the menacing Percy Waram, who play some of the movie's opponents with a threatening air.

There is very little in Ministry of Fear someone with a knowledge of the spy genre, thrillers and film noir wouldn't find familiar. It is a formulaic film - but we must not forget that it was made by one of the people who created that formula. It brings an excellent combination of set design (obviously not the real London, but acceptable as its Nazi-haunted counterpart), performance and camera work. The action is tense and packed, and every few minutes, there is some piece of iconic imagery I couldn't help but marvel at. Also, while it may not be chock full of them, this movie gets "Nazis" perfectly as villains: they are out there in the shadows, they move in them with a careless, elegant ease, and they are out to get you. Ministry of Fear is not the best or most important Lang movie, and it is reputedly marred by studio interference. Nevertheless, it is still one of the greats - perhaps not a classic, but close enough, and a perfect introduction to Lang's mid-career work.

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Ministry of Fear [Region 2]

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Format	DVD
Contributor	Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Percy Waram, Alan Napier, Erskine Sanford, Fritz Lang, Carl Esmond, Hillary Brooke, Dan Duryea See more
Language	English