Though the thousands of unseen Mabuse minions are downing tools from today, I have taken delivery of this treasure. Before even popping a disc into the player, I have to say Bravo, Nick and team. Gorgeous package, from box to cases to booklets. Looking forward to diving in this weekend.

DVD Outsider.

Clydefro Jones will be reviewing for DVD Times.

Leaving all the dvdbeaver discussion aside I assume people got their sets already? So far finished the Dr. Mabuse Gambler discs, first time I ever watched it (still pretty new at these), and I was pretty much blown away by the film. I couldn't help but think Les Vampires in that they both turn the ordinary into the fantastic but Lang took it to a different level with Mabuse as there was just so much details. And the devil literally was in the details (scene with the fire place comes to mind) that the world really came to life as this world were Mabuse could exist and thrive as he does in the movie, almost taylor fit for him. Also Mabuse and Wenk were great, both were quite intelligent and likeable especially Mabuse whose calculating and omnipotent presence really was the highlight (especially part 2 when he executes more of his plans). I loved the score that played for the film, I could keep listening to it. Can't wait to get to the other films! Probably will get into the commentaries after this accursed week, damn finals week!

I thought the Pialat films were a highlight already for me from MoC, but this and A Time to Love and a Time to Die have been such impressive packages its not easy to decide which I'd rank best among their releases this year. I'm guessing though that the commentaries may skew the favor onto this set. Bravo really

I just got this set today. What joy ripping open the box and looking at the discs and the booklets. I thought the additional cover for the first movie was a nice touch. I always thought Criterions were really good DVD's and I love having a nice collection, but MOC's have become must buys lately. Keep them coming.

It took 2 or 3 days than on average for it to cross the Atlantic to Canada, perhaps because of the mail strike in the UK, but no matter, I received it on Friday. A very nice object, with great care being taken even with the box, with probably the most striking poster amongst those used at the time for Testament chosen to represent the series as a whole and making the set an excellent choice to display prominently on one's shelves. A nice choice of covers also for the discs themselves (they did the best they could with 1,000 Augen; what funny tastes marketing people had in the 60's).

The booklets are perhaps slighter than usual, especially if you already own some of the sources that were mined for these, like the Eisner magnum opus on Lang, Chion's essay from one his books, or the Fritz Lang interviews anthology. But it is convenient to have these in a single place when you want to quickly find some references to the films.

I had resolved to wait patiently before watching the discs since other titles are waiting on my desk, but in the end I could not resist the temptation to at least sample the images. Der Spieler is noticeably better than in the Kino and certainly much better than the very flawed (and shorter) print Image Entertainment had used (although it did have a Kalat commentary); Testament is a notch above the Criterion; 1,000 Augen is also 2 or 3 steps above from the All Day release, although I could not judge by direct comparison since I have lent it to a colleague.

I have also sampled the commentaries and although Kalat unavoidably covers some of the same ground as in his previous efforts for the same titles, he seems to bring new insights. It may only be due to the way he organizes the information anew, but we might then consider these as remakes, made with a new perspective and focus.

Congratulations are once again in order for the MoC team for putting out such a beautiful release. I still have many hours to go before I go through the whole set, but I am already convinced that it was well worth double- (and even triple- in the case of Der Spieler) dipping to purchase it.

I got my set last week, and I have only gotten halfway through it, but for Gary this is a surprisingly crisp review, at least much better than the amateurish review at DVDTimes.

I've had the Criterion "Testament" for a long time and have never watched it... but the reviews are making me want to get this new set now....

EDIT: and now I have watched it. Brilliant stuff, and great extras on the Criterion. So the commentary is completely different on the MoC?

I got my set this morning and WOW.

This is truly the gem of my collection. Astonishingly beautiful.

Seriously, I sold my Criterion and Eureka DVDs to buy this set and I don't regret it a split second. GREAT job MoC!

While I see no problem selling the Eureka version the Criterion version isn't necessarily inferior, and you definitely jumped the boat on that one. As you not only get another Kalat commentary but you also get the French version, along with several other extras comprising interviews (I'd say Testament of this boxset has the leanest extras in comparison to the other two films which have the addition of interviews and such). They both compliment each other well really, so double dipping and keeping both is definitely good in this case.

Back on the films, I'm down to 1000 eyes. Dr. Mabuse Der Spieler is by far my favorite, that isn't to say Testament wasn't lovely. Just that Dr. Mabuse Der Spieler was just far more expansive and all out for me. Testament also had that great experimental mode with the sound, which brought the omniscence of Mabuse to a totally new level, but the amount of detail in the first and the way its incorporated so well that you don't even notice the length is what wins me over. Its hard to explain, I find the films to be almost apples and oranges due to the use of image and sound for both.

A big package arrived this morning containing not just my Mabuse set, but about five other MoC releases: La Notte, Muriel, Kwaidan, Vampyr. I went on a MoC rampage after Sunrise became my favourite blu ray, and its only just rampaged its way across the ocean to me.

Thanks again Nick and friends; you continue to astonish me with the quality of your encodes for DVD, which are just to Jupiter and beyond from what (certain other companies) were doing a few years ago on this format; and incredibly pleasing when upscaled, even compared to a blu ray. And such a still and steady image for a silent! You guys really know your stuff; and can I echo everyone else's appreciation of the physical quality of the set. Kudos on the nice green design. This was a blind buy for me, and will be my first experience of any Mabuse films; and so far its the best anyone could have hoped for.

Thanks Ben, it means a lot. We're pushing every day to keep the quality very high.

In case anyone who has only the old Eureka (pre-MoC) DVD of Testament is wondering, the missing two shots (and missing audio on other shots) in that edition - when Kent and his girlfriend are kidnapped - have been restored in the new MoC. As I expected of course! (The Criterion - which I also own! - also has these shots.) There may be other restored footage but that's the bit that always bothered me.

In Der Spieler pt1, when was that shot of the girls legs under the (gambling/bar?) table added back in? It clearly was censored and is in worse condition (in a fun way).

Hard to say there were many things that were cut out before in the trunctuated versions until it was restored, and that shot wasn't of particular noting in the commentary.

I have just started to the commentaries on that set and it looks like David Kalat has done another outstanding job.

Except that he really should take some coaching on how to pronounce French names in his future endeavours. His takes on the pronounciation for Louis Feuillade, Émile Gaboriau and Arsène Lupin are warped to the point of ridiculousness.

A minor point perhaps, but each time I had to stop the disc to give me a chance to stop laughing. A curious lapse in his usual high level of professionalism.

Just finished with der Spieler and what a treat that was. Great film, fantastic score - I'm admittedly rather new to silent film but I thought it was outstanding, pefectly capturing the mood and tempo of the film - superb transfer, informative extras and another beautiful booklet. Looking at the stills in the booklet, I'd love some postcards of stills from the films in future boxsets to display. Kalat is an excellent commentator also. The four and a bit hours I spent translating German earlier flew by listening to that. I look forward to his others on the Mabuses and the two in the Phantom/Großherzogs sets.

Having taken advantage of all the recent Eureka! sales my MoC keyvip is rather large and despite owning around twenty or so spine numbers I've only managed to "complete" Asphalt, Frau im Mond, Ich möchte kein Mann sein, Die Puppe and Dr Mabuse, der Spieler. I've watched Rocco but not had chance to delve into the extras yet. All have been excellent and I can't wait to delve into the rest of my Mabuse and Lubitsch sets!

Glad you liked "Der Spieler", one of the greatest silents ever made in my view. But I'm sorry to disappoint you perhaps: there's no Kalat commentary on "Phantom", only on "Großherzog". However, to call the "Großherzog" commentary merely excellent wouldn't do any justice to it. It's so extremely thoughtful and so knowledgeable, making you consider all sorts of things you never even thought about with regard to that film before, that I must say: it ranks among the top five or three commentaries I ever listened to. I can't bring myself to double-dip on the Mabuse films, but having in mind what Kalat did for "Großherzog", I guess I might be missing quite something.

Oh, and watch "The Oyster Princess" as soon as you can! And your post reminds me of how long I haven't watched "Asphalt"... The gorgeous, gorgeous Betty Amann...

Oh yeah, my bad. I got a little excited reading the specs for Großherzogs and thought there was a comm on Phantom also. Die Austernprinzessin or Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse are next in line and one will be tomorrow night's viewing depending on how much time I have!

Perhaps I'm missing something obvious, but shouldn't 20fps be the simplest silent speed to replicate on BD, without even worrying about interlacing (60p with each frame repeated twice…)?

I've finally made my way through Kalat's commentaries for this set and I had to applaud his marathon effort and commend MoC for letting him get away with it. All that talk is a phenomenal achievement, beautifully structured, crammed with information (essential and esoteric) and fully engaged both with what's happening on screen (even when he's merrily digressing) and with the needs of his audience. This set has earnt a permanent place in the DVD Commentary Hall of Fame.