The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 1, 2025

Note: This version of 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.

As of the writing of this review, this film is the only one in Eureka's set that has had a previous release on Blu-ray, probably not so coincidentally by Eureka itself courtesy of its UK division. Svet Atanasov's The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray review provides a plot summary, list of supplements (which unsurprisingly are more or less duplicated on this disc), and an assessment of that disc's technical merits.

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

The Thousand Eyes 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". This offers some appealing detail levels throughout and generally consistent contrast, though some of the relatively minor anomalies Svet mentions in his review are present here. Some of the composited opticals haven't fared particularly well, but on the whole otherwise clarity remains quite commendable. Damage is very minor and fleeting and in my estimation negligible.

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

This release of The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse duplicates the UK disc's LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks in either German (the disc default) or English. I frankly noticed very little difference between these two in terms of amplitude and overall mix, though there may be just a bit more evident hiss on the English track. Both tracks deliver good fidelity and decent support for some of the swingin' score. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

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

• Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 12:12) is accessible as either a standalone supplement or under the disc's Play Menu, where it's authored to lead directly into the film.


• Audio Commentary by David Kalat


• Interview with Wolfgang Preiss (HD; 15:50) is subtitled in English.


• Alternate Ending (HD; 1:05)


• Eye of Evil US Release Trailer (HD; 2:43)

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

Dr. Mabuse is still kinda sorta an actual human being in this film, something that would soon enough morph into almost a metaphysical or at least supernatural presence as the series wore on. This may not be the swan song Fritz Lang imagined for himself, but taken on its own merits and in the peculiar context of the titular character's vaunted history (a history which of course is intimately bound up with Lang's own) this is an engaging and kind of sly story told very well. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements appealing and informative. Recommended.