Among the most celebrated of Expressionist filmmakers in Weimar Germany (Metropolis, Spies, M), the Austrian-born Fritz Lang escaped Nazi Germany in 1934 and became part of the mass wave of Jewish émigré directors, actors, screenwriters, composers, and art directors who eventually ended up in Hollywood. Lang's American films were crucial to the development of film noir, centering on themes of religious and political persecution, tyranny, and mob rule.