Fritz Lang

Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (Austrian German: [ˈfriːdrɪç ˈkrɪsti̯a(ː)n ˈantɔn ˈlaŋ]; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (Austrian German: [ˈfrɪts ˈlaŋ]), was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked in Germany and later the United States. One of the best-known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute. He has been cited as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time.

Lang's work spans five decades, from the Expressionist silent films of his first German creative period to his short stay in Paris and his work as a Hollywood director to his last three films made in Germany. Lang's most celebrated films include the futuristic science-fiction film Metropolis (1927) and the influential M (1931), a film noir precursor. His 1929 film Woman in the Moon showcased the use of a multi-stage rocket, and also pioneered the concept of a rocket launch pad (a rocket standing upright against a tall building before launch having been slowly rolled into place) and the rocket-launch countdown clock.

His other major films include Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) and its sequel The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933), Die Nibelungen (1924), and after moving to Hollywood in 1934, Fury (1936), You Only Live Once (1937), Hangmen Also Die! (1943), The Woman in the Window (1944), Scarlet Street (1945) and The Big Heat (1953). He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1939. He returned to Germany in the late 1950s, directing a two-part adaptation of his ex-wife Thea von Harbou's novel The Indian Tomb, and a third Dr. Mabuse film (1960).