**Fritz Lang** (Vienna, 1890 – Beverly Hills, 1976) was an influential Austro-German director, a key figure in 20th-century cinema. His career is inextricably linked to German Expressionism, culminating in the silent masterpiece *Metropolis* (1927), a dystopian science fiction epic that explores social and technological themes.

With the advent of sound, he directed *M - Il mostro di Düsseldorf* (1931), an innovative psychological thriller about the hunt for a serial killer, celebrated for its pioneering use of sound. Having fled Nazism, he emigrated to Hollywood, where he became a master of film noir. Works such as *Furia* (1936), *La donna del ritratto* (1944), and *Il grande caldo* (1953) are emblematic examples of his style, characterized by dark atmospheres, meticulous visual construction, and the exploration of themes such as fate, guilt, and moral corruption. Lang is remembered for his ability to create cinematic worlds of profound psychological and social resonance.