This is a fairly interesting and extremely well made spy film from Germany. It is interesting to see the German secret service as the good guys as well as the Japanese Secret service to a lesser extent. They battle the head of a crime syndicate a lot like Bond's nemesis, Blofeld. They both use wheelchairs and seem pretty bent on evil. And, there are some interesting a realistic-looking moments that make this a very interesting film.
These elements are pretty interesting, though the film drags a bit when it shies away from the cool gadgets and action and tries to create a rather forced love story between enemy agents. The hero is vamped by a woman blackmailed to help the bad guys and she later falls in love with him and ultimately betrays her team. This reminded me a lot of Pussy Galore and other Bond girls who were forced by the hero's magnetic personality to betray their cause and just seems like a cliché.
One of the first films of its type, so for historical reasons it's an important film. Plus, being directed by Fritz Lang, it had excellent production values and camera-work.
Plot summary
Haghi is a criminal mastermind whose ubiquitous spy operation is always several steps ahead of the police and the government's secret service. Enter Agent 326, the daring and dashing young man, who thinks his disguise as a dirty, bearded vagrant is fooling the unknown mastermind and his minions. But Haghi is well aware of 326's existence and what he looks like. Enter Sonya, a Russian lady in Haghi's employ. Haghi wants Sonya to subvert the efforts of the government agent, but doesn't count on her falling in love with him. Meanwhile, Haghi is anxious to get his hands on a Japanese peace treaty in the possession of the cunning Doctor Masimoto, whose mistress is also in his employ.
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Very interesting silent spy tale
Even without music I was enthralled for 3 hours.
I saw the restored version which is an hour longer than the print commonly available. Lang did some amazing things with text and graphics. His great reputation for innovation is well deserved.
This film is also very funny at times... as a result of intentional exaggeration for the most part. The level of expressionist abstraction allows one to view the mechanisms of the plot at some distance... the better to enjoy the formal qualities of Lang's vision.
Rather Dull Lang
Fritz Lang is one of my favorite directors and ''Metropolis'' is my favorite film. I love ''Woman in the Moon'', ''M'', and ''The Testament of Dr. Mabuse''. ''Spies'', sadly, is incredibly average. Don't get me wrong, this film has great moments. The opening is thrilling. The train scene is suspenseful. And the last 10 minutes are really good. Everything in between is uninteresting and drawn out. I got bored a lot (this is coming from somebody who loves 2001: A Space Odyssey) and found myself looking at the time displeased. I usually despise when studios cut films (Metropolis),but Paramount was smart in cutting this from 130 minutes to 90 minutes. I got the pleasure of seeing an original Paramount copy at the Denver Silent Film Festival and found myself enjoying Spies much more. In conclusion, ''Spies'' has some standout sequences, but is a major step down from ''Metropolis''