Fritz Lang in Movie M

Fritz Lang, in his film M, uses editing and sounds to influence the audience’s perception of the characters and events. On multiple occasions, voiceovers are used when a character is reading off a paper or making some sort of announcement. Often, while the voiceovers are being spoken parallel editing is used with cutaways to show the actions of other characters happening simultaneously. These covey to the audience a sense of chronology: with the character continuously speaking, the audience is able to follow what is shown onscreen while allowing new information to be added without lengthening the film. Other uses of parallel editing are employed with shots of the gang discussing what to do about the murderer and the authorities discussing the same subject transitioning between each other. The audience is able to follow along, while getting different perspectives on the same subject. Furthermore, the inspector is later shown investigating the presumed murders home while also transitioning to the murderer out on the street stalking a new victim. The majority of this scene is silent, building anticipation for the rising action. The silence signifies that the investigator is on to something, underscoring and background noise would distract