The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.5

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 1, 2025

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Mabuse Lives! set from Eureka! Entertainment.

The infamous Dr. Mabuse made his literary debut in 1921, one which made such a considerable impact that barely a year later the inimitable Fritz Lang offered a (silent) film adaptation with Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler. That film actually presaged such later blockbuster efforts like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, or alternatively The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, by unspooling in two parts (unlike the foregoing more contemporary features, Lang's two related 1922 Mabuse entries were released only a month apart). The film was such a sensation that Lang revisited the source property in 1933 for a sound film called The Testament of Dr. Mabuse*. Lang, who had famously become an expat due to the rise of Hitler (some aver the 1933 Mabuse is a thinly veiled commentary about Hitler), was coaxed back to his native Germany in the late fifties by producer Arthur Brauner, for whom Lang made his last three films, The Tiger of Eschnapur, The Indian Tomb (another "diptych" from Lang available on Blu-ray as part of the Film Movement release Fritz Lang's Indian Epic), and The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, which saw Lang wrapping up his career by returning to arguably the most redolent character (and/or characters) of his filmography, and in so doing launching a whole new series of Mabuse films (albeit without Lang's continued involvement). This new "franchise" was fashioned to compete with or at least appeal to the same demographic as first Rialto Films' krimi productions, and then the somewhat later Wallace Krimi at CCC films, itself rather interesting since CCC produced these films. (The link points to a nice looking upcoming release from Eureka that may well serve as a companion piece to the Dr. Mabuse set). Also kind of interestingly just as this Dr. Mabuse cycle was close to coming to an end, another property which is mentioned in some of the supplements in this collection as featuring a sort of companion character to Mabuse resurfaced as part of a resurgent Fantomas series which began in 1964, almost exactly as the Mabuse films were ending (Jess Franco took up the veritable mantle in 1970 for The Vengeance of Dr. Mabuse, but for purposes of this review, the "official" original reboot series was over by 1964).

*Note: The link points to a Region B release.

Arthur Brauner actually evidently wanted Fritz Lang to remake Lang's 1933 The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, but the relationship between Brauner and the iconic director was reportedly so strained that a hoped for collaboration on the project never materialized. This fourth entry in the new if not always improved saga of Dr. Mabuse is probably unabashedly a major step down from even the already lowered echelon of The Invisible Dr. Mabuse, something that's probably especially sad given how redolent the very title of the film will be for some. (It's interesting to note the film was also released under the alternate title The Terror of Dr. Mabuse.) Rather interestingly, Dr. Mabuse is back to being at least hinted at as an actual person (in the inimitable form of Wolfgang Preiss), but it's the traditional "mind control" aspect of the character that actually plays into the plot (which won't be spoiled here despite its fairly early reveal in the tale). This may or may not be due to the fact that Tim Lucas actually thinks of this particular outing as a prequel of sorts.

Gert Fröbe is back as Lohmann, though Lex Barker's Joe Como is nowhere to be found (maybe for the same "prequel" reasons). The film offers a curious little quasi cameo for Senta Berger, then still fairly early in her career. According to the interview with Alice Brauner included with this set, this fourth film marked the beginning of the end for the series, with box office evidently pretty seriously falling off in what Brauner calls "Dr. Mabuse fatigue".

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. For all of its general excellence with its releases, Eureka tends not to provide much technical information, and in that regard the only real mention is some J card verbiage which states "1080p presentations of all six films from 2K restoration of the original film elements undertaken by CCC". Despite its narrative shortcomings, this entry actually has some nice cinematography and at times at least some of the more evocative lighting of the series, and both of those elements receive generally very good support from this transfer. The near chiaroscuro moments are rather striking at times, with good deep blacks and very nicely modulated gray scale. This film features a probably above average number of close-ups, all of which offer generally great fine detail levels. There are very slight but understandable downgrades in overall quality during some of the optical effects, including some brief allusions to Dr. Mabuse engaging in mind control and/or possession (see screenshot 10). Grain resolves without any issues. Age related wear and tear is minimal.

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in either German or English. Both of these tracks provide perfectly fine listening experiences, though as with some of the other presentations in this set, I found the English track to be just a bit louder and more full bodied than the German track. Scoring (which is once again kind of fun), sound effects and dialogue are all delivered without any issues. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Eureka! Entertainment has packaged The Testament of Dr. Mabuse and Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse together on one disc with the following supplements:

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

• Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 7:58) is accessible as either a standalone supplement or under the disc's Play Menu for this feature, where it's authored to lead directly into the film.


• Audio Commentary by David Kalat

Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse

• Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 8:37) is accessible as either a standalone supplement or under the disc's Play Menu for this feature, where it's authored to lead directly into the film.


• Audio Commentary by David Kalat

(General)

• Kriminology (HD; 30:17) is a fun video essay by David Cairns and Fiona Watson looking at the series within the context of other trends in German cinema at the time.


• The Testament of Dr. Mabuse German Trailer (HD; 3:25)


• The Testament of Dr. Mabuse US Release Trailer (HD; 00:53)

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You can definitely start to feel this series giving into a certain amount of lethargy by this fourth entry. Things are probably spelled out too clearly this time around, kind of ironically, and the film certainly is no patch on the original Lang effort. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements appealing and informative, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.