Lars von Trier on "The Element of Crime" (1984) being compared to Fritz Lang's "M" (1931): "Interviewer: Why does Fisher ki!! little girls if he's a humanist? Trier: That's a good question that not even Osborne can answer. From a dramaturgic point of view it's interesting to let a person arrive in Europe with the best intentions and to end up having him commit the worst imaginable crime. And ki!!ing little girls, that is the worst imaginable crime. Interviewer: It's a little similar to Fritz Lang's 'M' (1931). Trier: Fair enough: this film has many forerunners. It's based on expressionism and is the b@stard child of a mating between American and European cinema." (Lars von Trier's interview with Jan Kornum Larsen, 1984) P.S: On this day, 42 years ago, "The Element of Crime" (1984) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, France.