Metropolis (1927)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jameson W

  
  I didn't like it all. Interesting, classic, but odd, cheesy, and annoying!

• Matthew R

  
  One of the first major science fiction films, and one of the most expensive films made at the time, Fritz Lang's dystopian future hits all the right notes about social class, the importance of conformity, monetary extortion, and the future fate of political tumult. The scope for… More
  One of the first major science fiction films, and one of the most expensive films made at the time, Fritz Lang's dystopian future hits all the right notes about social class, the importance of conformity, monetary extortion, and the future fate of political tumult. The scope for this film is just gigantic and unbelievable inventive, using architecture to explore social concepts, and the idea of revolution through means of non-violent cooperation, challenging the idea of class struggle and subsequent unrest. One of the great classic silent films, and always a testament to our past, present and future.

• Zach B

  
  I love film myths. I love German cinema (if it is subtitled). I love classic silent films. So, in that sense, I love Fritz Lang's epic masterpiece Metropolis. From the stand point of a person that watches countless films in order to review them, I would say that this has to be,… More
  I love film myths. I love German cinema (if it is subtitled). I love classic silent films. So, in that sense, I love Fritz Lang's epic masterpiece Metropolis. From the stand point of a person that watches countless films in order to review them, I would say that this has to be, all around, one of the most well made and enjoyable films I have ever sat through. But, when asked why, it has to do with the history of this legendary film, the impact it has left, and the sheer scope that was created. Made back during the golden age of Silent cinema, Germany had proven that they are the masters of cinema with their silent films by creating two of the greatest: Nosferatu and Metropolis. But it was with Metropolis that the most attention and love was shown towards. But, sadly, when this film was distributed, it was butchered and edited in a shameless manner with a good chunk of footage missing. Until 2010 when a completed version was found, but more on that in a different review. This review is for the edited, generic version. Even with a good percentage of film missing, this is still a complete beautiful piece of artwork to watch. From the expressions on the actors's faces to the sets built for the film, there is not one scene that does not ponder your mind. Even more the story and scenes that have been tribute and parodied in years to come. If one was to think about it, this film demands the love and respect it has gotten over the years due to so many films in the science fiction genre taking liberites to try and master. Now, there are two main reasons why I consider this film a great film. The first will have to be the visual direction. As a lot of my readers know, one of the greatest (that I consider great) directors of all time is Stanley Kubrick. Watching this film, I am left wondering if he ever saw this film when he was trying to film his films, Just, the attention to the detail of every shot (mainly the beautiful models) are, rather impressive and just breath taking. Even if the film was damaged and destroyed over time. The attempt and the passion is still there, and you still feel it no matter what. Then you have the breath taking score. Another thing about me that is well known is my love for film scores, and this is still the only film I have found that has perfected films scores (even beating my all time favorite score: Trent Reznor's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo). From the begining notes to the ending, this film never hits a sour note. With silent films, the score has to be great in order to help keep people's attention to the film. This film does that plus creating a piece of music that can stand on it's own. A rare feat. At the end of the day, I still see films that take so much from this films. Films ranging from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Blade Runner to the entire Star Wars saga. This film is still a testament to the power of cinema, and to the impact it has on people and their love for art.

• Mark H

  
  Giorgio Moroder Presents Metropolis is a marvelous reinterpretation of an incredible film. Fritz Lang's Metropolis is an important work and synth wizard Giorgio Moroder complements Fritz Lang's artistic vision. Metropolis was a silent first released in 1927. It had an… More
  Giorgio Moroder Presents Metropolis is a marvelous reinterpretation of an incredible film. Fritz Lang's Metropolis is an important work and synth wizard Giorgio Moroder complements Fritz Lang's artistic vision. Metropolis was a silent first released in 1927. It had an orchestral musical arrangement by Gottfried Huppertz which included elements from the music of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. In 1984 Giorgio Moroder took the Metropolis print, composed a new more modern score, added sound effects, and color tinted certain scenes. The Giorgio Moroder entry was actually shorter than existing prints at the time. This was due mainly to the addition of subtitles to replace intertitles displaying dialogue and running at a quicker 24 frames/second. This version was a restoration of sorts for the time, but it's also HIS vision. Highly controversial when it was released back in 1984, this strongly divided audiences. I can imagine that to purists, taking a respected work of art and applying such changes is something akin to blasphemy. I, however, am not one those people. Obviously the concept isn't meant to replace the original Metropolis, which still exists in all its glory, but it is a revitalization of a silent classic. In fact, Moroder's undertaking was key in stoking renewed interest in the seminal work. In 2010 the most compete version of Metropolis was discovered totaling 147 minutes. I recommend seeking that as well as it approximates Fritz Lang's work as it was originally presented. Metropolis is a fundamental work in science fiction. True, the melodramatic acting of silent films can come across as unintentionally comedic. And the parable of class warfare is about as timeworn an idea as they come. At one point, Maria implores "There can be no understanding between the hand and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator." That sounds like the wisdom from a fortune cookie, but along with those overworked ideas, beats Fritz Lang's vision of a ultramodern city that continues to influence filmmakers of today. Star Wars, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element all gather inspiration from Metropolis. Even the video for Madonna's "Express Yourself" relies heavily on the masterpiece. Giorgio Moroder's reinterpretation only accentuates Fritz Lang's imaginative talent. At times it's ridiculously over the top, but that's what makes the story so endlessly watchable. It stands up to repeated viewings. Giorgio Moroder's presents Metropolis is a revitalized adaptation of a classic film and deserves a hallowed place along side the original.

• Dan S

  
  An over-rated though impressive sci-fi spectacle whose influence on the film industry can not be questioned, concerning a rich son who abandons his life of luxury with the chance to be with a girl who resides in the underbelly of a futuristic society. There are times when this film is… More
  An over-rated though impressive sci-fi spectacle whose influence on the film industry can not be questioned, concerning a rich son who abandons his life of luxury with the chance to be with a girl who resides in the underbelly of a futuristic society. There are times when this film is incredibly dull, where certain plot points keep getting more and more detailed to the point where you want to yell "I get it!". However, the movie is still a James Cameron-esque "experience", with appropriate melodramatic acting to compensate for the lack of audio (this is a silent film). As said, there are times when the film bogs down, and the ending is corny to the highest degree, but there are certain aspects of it that are admirable, such as the ability to implement a successful love story amongst no audible dialogue and ambitious plotting in the story. Still worth a view just to see the influence this movie had alone, legend has it this was one of Adolf Hitler's favorite films (ironic considering the plot of the story - the weak overpowering a dominant upper-class and dictator-type character).

• Spencer S

  
  Note: The version watched was a spliced together feature including the half hour missing from the original Lang production. My rating is based on all material included. I've always pondered how 1939 yielded so many legendary films, when the era of silent film had only passed by… More
  Note: The version watched was a spliced together feature including the half hour missing from the original Lang production. My rating is based on all material included. I've always pondered how 1939 yielded so many legendary films, when the era of silent film had only passed by ten years prior. Metropolis proved all of my hang-ups concerning silent films to be unjust. Yes, the acting is as over the top and hammy as the usual silent fair, but because of the German Expressionist nature the acting almost created an aura of believability. Just as lavish and expensive as you expected, Metropolis includes backdrops that fade in and out of paintings, a metal woman made for companionship instead of actual work, scenes that shift from modernistic to include a flashback of ancient Babylon. Before watching I was told not to look for realism in this film, but instead surrealism of a dystopian metropolis, vengeful against everyone except the people who actually live on a surface world. Below is the worker's city, full of smoke, sludge, and decay. The workers keep hunched, their ears pointed out of caps, a Nosferatu caricature of despair. Without sound the film used light, interesting camera work, backdrops, and atmospheric music, in order to imply things such as Maria's purity, dictatorship, and poignancy. The film is Biblical, lifting passages and scenes from the Good Book frequently, even using the main character as a template for Christ-like beings. An innocent figure is thrust into a land he's never seen before, and used to become a mediator between the workers and his father, the proprietor of the entire city. A jealous scientist, obsessed with the dead wife of a friend, betrays everyone by trying to kill the workers' children. Many things bothered me: the character of Maria resembling Olive Oyl, the machine functions being similar to an arcade game, and the strange acting of the Thin Man character, who resembles Count on Sesame Street. Though actress Brigitte Helm (Maria, Fake Maria, and Robot) does a great job of being vulnerable and saint like, she became hammy when portraying a winking, saucy version of herself as the Fake Maria. Even director Fritz Lang admits the message and ending are boring and contrived, but because of that you may choose for yourself what the film's message is. A masterpiece of all ages: Metropolis.

• Drew S

  
  Warm, textured and endlessly imaginative, Metropolis bankrupted its production studio and went over like a lead balloon with the public at large. Watching it now, its reception seems almost incomprehensible. It is imperatively a film ahead of its time, misunderstood but no less… More
  Warm, textured and endlessly imaginative, Metropolis bankrupted its production studio and went over like a lead balloon with the public at large. Watching it now, its reception seems almost incomprehensible. It is imperatively a film ahead of its time, misunderstood but no less valuable, and only over the course of 85 years have we had the privilege of canonizing it. Metropolis is the sort of movie that really puts the evolution of an art form into perspective. Who's to say that the critically and publicly reviled works of today won't be viewed with unwavering respect in another century? Maybe someone like Bruce LaBruce or Gregg Araki or Gaspar Noe, provocateurs who are generally mocked and pooh-poohed, but whose styles and signatures are unmistakable. I'm not calling Metropolis perfect, threatened unduly by the clash between its grandiose yet restrained images and the overdone acting, and a rather unsavory critical view of the proletariat. As a union of pure spectacle and cultural extrospection, Metropolis is virtually unmatched, by its contemporaries or really anything else. Not my favorite silent film, but an undeniably important one.

• Phil H

  
  First time seeing this epic and I will be honest as I usually am, I found most of this very boring haha! I knew it was a silent pic and black n white of course, even better!, but the plot in this is totally not what I expected. I always thought this was a kind of… More
  First time seeing this epic and I will be honest as I usually am, I found most of this very boring haha! I knew it was a silent pic and black n white of course, even better!, but the plot in this is totally not what I expected. I always thought this was a kind of 'Frankenstein' story, creation of a robot, but it turns out its actually partly that but more so based around a religious theme of a woman (almost akin to Moses and worshipped as a saviour) leading the lowly workers to revolt against the high and mighty city planners which then proceeds to turn to a disaster movie and then ends with a Gothic horror type finale in the realms of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. Its hard to take the whole film in as its very complicated with all its messages, themes and metaphors which are both obvious and hidden, the characters are all very well portrayed and much deeper than you expect as the film progresses although the lack of wording (missing or taken out?) makes it hard to follow and pick up all the information you need, a read on IMDb may be required. The real reason to watch this film is of course the visuals, stunts and musical score, where to begin!? The score is an opera, its first rate, top class, its as good as any known Hollywood musical and practically tells the story on its own...which its suppose to do I might add. Every person and every event is recorded with the perfect tune/note/theme tune which guides you along the way as if you were listening to a classical orchestral piece. The visuals and design of the film are the real stand out spectacles with absolutely incredible special effects ranging from model work to matte painting to create a blend of crafts that truly puts some modern films to shame and this was in 1927 remember! The stark harsh black and white contrast adds to the German expressionism to give it that Gothic, gloomy yet quite realistic feel which I really believe would be lost in colour, the camera angles and forced perspective used to create the towering skyscrapers and sprawling jungle of buildings is simply perfect, you just can't fault it and its so very easy to see where many top directors of the biggest sci-fi and Gothic films in history have gotten their inspiration, but I don't blame them for one minute. Not only the city impresses, the costumes worn by the city planners and their leader 'Fredersen' don't appear dated too much...just smart basic and believeable whilst the set designs and future work on show are pretty accurate of our age and do look really nice (video phone), the offices and building layouts just look right, liveable, clean and well thought out, much like first impressions of 'Blade Runner'. All this without even mentioning the near perfect body suit used to create the robot 'Maria'! the sculpture work is iconic and begs to be worshipped! not only does it look like a real working robot but the actress inside gives a beautiful silent, slow performance with hardly any effort used, merely standing and walking but giving everything to the suit to make it work on every level, the scientists lab around her is gorgeous looking too and those now memorable assending/descending glowing halo's that surround Maria as she sits are the icing on the sci-fi cake :) ( now of course the stuff of the classic B-movie) Not only are the effects amazing but the stunt work during the second half of the film is quite risky and daring to say the least, as the machines crumble after the workers revolt the sets come crashing down in eye widening sequences, the huge props fall apart and chuff out smoke whilst the flooding scenes mix neat model shots with quite large sets and huge amounts of extras used (there are some quite stunning scenes with masses of extras used during the film all without the use of cgi making them very special indeed). Some of the sets must have been vast or at least give that impression, many sequences look like stage sets in a theatre with some props taking up almost all the space with their realistic scale, it really does stun you to see it. A historic film that defies belief, everything is so well done, such precision work and so old you just wonder how film makers can make such trash these days. The story is boring and alittle hard to follow I have to say, lots of odd images, ideas and character arch's going on which isn't surprising seeing as its getting close to a hundred years old (83 so far) but you watch for the craftsmanship on display, the effects, lighting, camera angles, set designs, models, costumes...all these deserve to be viewed and shown or taught...this is the art of proper film making.

• Daniel M

  
  Whenever critics or film institutions publish lists of the greatest films ever made, the same old names keep coming up with an air of increasing tedium. It’s very easy to be blasé or dismissive about Citizen Kane or Casablanca on the grounds that nothing original can be said about… More
  Whenever critics or film institutions publish lists of the greatest films ever made, the same old names keep coming up with an air of increasing tedium. It’s very easy to be blasé or dismissive about Citizen Kane or Casablanca on the grounds that nothing original can be said about them; all possible plaudits have been dished out and the matter is settled. Metropolis is one of those films whose reputation is so richly deserved, it is almost annoying. You sit there in the darkness poised ready to pick the film apart, to laugh at all its flaws and scoff at how badly it has aged. But despite its length and the inherent extremities of silent cinema, all you can do is sit there in unrelenting awe of what remains an extraordinary piece of work. Like so many of the films we now revere, Metropolis was severely misunderstood when first released. The New York Times film critic Mourdant Hall described it as “a technical marvel with feet of clay”, and socialist author H. G. Wells dismissed it as “foolishness, cliché, platitude and muddlement about mechanical progress and progress in general.” At a time of high cinema attendance, American distributors refused to distribute any film which ran longer than 90 minutes. The film was therefore cut and edited severely, and some theatres actually ran it through projectors at one-and-a-half times the intended speed to get the running time down even more. The discovery of a longer, 16mm print in Argentina in 2008 means that today’s version of Metropolis is the most complete and logical available. There are still small sections missing from the original version, which are replaced with extended intertitles; we still don’t have the scene of Rotwang and Freder fighting each other in the lab. And in some of the reinstated scenes, the print is grainy and murky. But ultimately none of this matters, because the visual splendour and substance of Metropolis is enough to take one’s breath away. The first startling point about Metropolis is its sheer scale; it was and is the most expensive silent film ever made. The city which Lang puts on screen is absolutely vast, with roads snaking around buildings and aeroplanes dodging the highest floors of the New Tower of Babel. The film popularised the Schufftan process, in which the actors are super-imposed in camera onto a scale model or drawing reflected in a partial mirror. Through this technique, the actors appear small and insignificant against the architecture of the city. The shots of the athletics track or the workers’ underground city look expansive and realistic, and unlike a lot of epics the scenery expresses and communicates the themes, allowing you to lose yourself in this world without losing sight of the characters. In addition to its mechanical scale, the film employs over 37,000 extras and around 750 child extras, in scenes which make Ben-Hur look thin on the ground. Even in this age of advanced motion capture, in which Peter Jackson can create astonishing battles with an artificial cast of thousands, it is fascinating that so many genuine human actors can be captured on camera in such a personal and kinetic manner. The scenes of the workers rampaging through the streets, or the children rushing through the drowning city, are every bit as breathtaking and exciting as the Odessa steps sequence in Battleship Potemkin. Beyond its technical brilliance, Lang’s movie is also hugely influential in its impact on the character conventions of Western cinema. Although doctors and scientists had already been portrayed in a sinister light (in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, for instance), Rotwang is the archetypal mad scientist. Both his character and the lab in which he works were a huge influence on the James Swale adaptations of Frankenstein, and reflections of his long hair and gloved hands can be seen in everything from Back to the Future to Dr. Strangelove. The politics of Metropolis are more nuanced and complicated than one would first assume. It is a deeply Marxist film, depicting a rich capitalistic class who live in happiness in the Eternal Gardens while the workers struggle in a subterranean city (which prophetically 1960s architecture, one might add). The workers are both the bottom of the pile and the foundations of this affluent society, depending on where you stand. The early footage of the workers drudging through the gates conveys the misery of proletarian life, with individuals being driven to exhaustion working the same machines, performing the same tasks, day-in, day-out. But although it contains scenes of revolution, Metropolis differs from conventional Marxism both in its treatment of religion and in the role it accords to women. The meetings which Maria holds down in the catacombs are held in a chamber with huge crosses and an altar. She uses the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel to demonstrate the inherent and fruitless conflict embedded in the capitalist system – namely one in which the head (bourgeoisie) and hands (proletariat) are permanently unable to communicate, thereby hampering progress and eliminating any possibility of widespread happiness. The very fact that she invokes a ‘mediator’, who will come and join these forces through the heart, is ample evidence that Lang does not see religion (or at least faith) as purely the opium of the people. The character of Maria is cleverly employed to both subvert traditional expectations of female roles and to expose the excess and hypocrisy of the upper classes. Although she ends up with our male hero, and is frightened to death by Rotwang (who wouldn’t be?), Maria is still an independent, intelligent, forceful figure, who stands up for herself rather than just hanging around waiting to be rescued. When the robotic Maria (or maschinenmensch) is created, Rotwang demonstrates how indistinguishable she is from the real thing by having her perform an erotic dance for the gentlemen of Yoshiwara. These seemingly respectable men drool over her like sex-mad adolescents, and all veneer of dignity is gone. One of the key themes of Metropolis is that of machines being able to replicate and impersonate humans, and in doing so influence the way we live. Like Blade Runner and The Terminator after it, the film entertains the possibility of humans and machines unknowingly coexisting, and the latter being able to manipulate us, either through violence or a more subtle form of suggestion. Lang demonstrates this both through the Frankenstein-like transformation of Maria and by Freder’s emotional responses to the plight of the lower orders. In one terrifying scene, he imagines a malfunctioning machine as a ghoulish face with a mouth full of fire, and man walking into its jaws as human sacrifices to slake its wrath. The perception of machines being human is a two-way process; we have to form an emotional bond to fully believe what we are told. Metropolis remains one of the best films of the silent era. Its impeccable level of craft and beautiful imagery is matched by a storyline so dripping with substance that we forgive any elements which seem confusing or overly familiar. It has dated extraordinarily well on both a technical and a political level; certainly it holds up a lot better than something like The Birth of a Nation. Most of all, Metropolis is one of the foundation stones of modern filmmaking, in science fiction and beyond. It is expressionist cinema at its absolute best, and a real must-see for all film fans.

• danny d

  
  often considered cinema's first great masterpiece. after having seen the film a couple of years ago i finally got a chance to watch the rerelease with the lost scenes last night. the film was already great, but lang's fuller vision definitely brings this film from… More
  often considered cinema's first great masterpiece. after having seen the film a couple of years ago i finally got a chance to watch the rerelease with the lost scenes last night. the film was already great, but lang's fuller vision definitely brings this film from excellent to full scale epic. a marvelous film for its time, this is still a film more than 80 years after its release that belongs on the big screen. the scale of the story is daunting when thought through, containing elements of religion, philosophy, sociology, and economics. there are more biblical parallels than people realize and the symbolism of the film leaves one thinking for days. great film.

• AJ V

  
  One of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made! I love it. It's got a fantastic story, interesting characters, and an important message. Don't miss this movie.

• Jonathan H

  
  Set around the apocalyptic year of 2000, Metropolis has had a seminal influence on science fiction and futuristic movies as diverse as The Bride of Frankenstein, Blade Runner, and Dark City. Featuring literally a cast of thousands, Metropolis creates a reality so complex and… More
  Set around the apocalyptic year of 2000, Metropolis has had a seminal influence on science fiction and futuristic movies as diverse as The Bride of Frankenstein, Blade Runner, and Dark City. Featuring literally a cast of thousands, Metropolis creates a reality so complex and artistically unified the viewer gets swept away to this future world. Director Fritz Lang's surreal and occasionally incomprehensible storyline is overwhelmed by a visually spectacular exercise in German Expressionism. Master cinematographer Karl Freund fills the screen with an array of stylized shadows, oblique camera angles, geometric images, and nightmarish labyrinths. The films dialectical theme may seem dated in these post-Marxist times, and its message that the head and the hand can do no good without the heart may seem a little romantic to more cynical ages, but the warnings about techno-demagoguery continue to have modern relevance. The actors give typical silent-film performances, full of exaggerated expressions and broad gestures, but they express their characters fragile humanity despite these mannerisms. Rudolf Klein-Rogge's unforgettable work as the evil genius Rotwang became the template for all subsequent mad-scientist performances. Despite being a critical and popular disappointment on its initial release, the film eventually gained cult status and was rediscovered by critics and audiences alike. Few films truly deserve to be called masterpieces -- Metropolis is one of those films.

• Wahida K

  
  There can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.

• Jennifer D

  
  Surprisingly good for a early silent era film!

• Morgan S

  
  ok I adore silent films but i jsut COULD NOT GET TROUGH THIS ONE! idk what it was, it was just so,,,, SLOW! and usually idont find silent classics tha way. i felt like there was something i wasnt getting,..... all in all-?????

• Chris W

  
  Much has already been said about this film, so this will be short since I don't really have much, if anything, new to contribute. I will say this though: I knew that this fim was extremely influential ina number of ways, but it wasn't until I finally watched it that I… More
  Much has already been said about this film, so this will be short since I don't really have much, if anything, new to contribute. I will say this though: I knew that this fim was extremely influential ina number of ways, but it wasn't until I finally watched it that I realized just how influential this film really is. Instead of wondering 'how much of an influence does this film have?', I began thinking, 'how much influence doesn't this film have?' I'm serious. This film really is that influential. Now, other than that, there are other reasons to see this film. It is good, entertaining, and compelling, and without this film, then cinema would cdrtainly be different, and not in a good way. Every fan of film needs to see Metropolis. It's a crime not to.

• Tim S

  
  Can't wait to see the newly discovered cut of the movie. A wonderment to behold.

• Ken S

  
  Really impressive...ly boring I know I'm going to catch endless shit for this, but this movie bored me to tears. It's a landmark cinematic and visual achievement to say the least...but a tedious one at that. The missing scenes from Metropolis have been found!!!!… More
  Really impressive...ly boring I know I'm going to catch endless shit for this, but this movie bored me to tears. It's a landmark cinematic and visual achievement to say the least...but a tedious one at that. The missing scenes from Metropolis have been found!!!! http://www.thelocal.de/12847/20080702/

• Ross C

  
  "The mediator between head and hand must be the heart." A classic portrait of a future dystopia, with a social commentary on totalitarian capitalism. Possibly the first silent movie I've seen, I found it quite relaxing, with a pleasant score and sets of impressive art… More
  "The mediator between head and hand must be the heart." A classic portrait of a future dystopia, with a social commentary on totalitarian capitalism. Possibly the first silent movie I've seen, I found it quite relaxing, with a pleasant score and sets of impressive art nouveau sky scraper designs, but the story does drag on a bit too long.

• Cassandra M

  
  I was shocked to find myself riveted to this movie. This is without a doubt the best sci-fi movie I've ever seen! Let me explain my position. We have all seen modern sci-fi movies, and argued over which is the best ever made, but those film makers have high speed film and… More
  I was shocked to find myself riveted to this movie. This is without a doubt the best sci-fi movie I've ever seen! Let me explain my position. We have all seen modern sci-fi movies, and argued over which is the best ever made, but those film makers have high speed film and computers. Imagine trying to make a movie today with only the tools available to Fritz Lang in 1925, and even if you used a modern camcorder it would be nigh impossible! This is a must see for all persons interested in the history of film, as well as just good fun for everyone. The social metaphores as well as the religious and philosophical double meanings are a sight to behold.

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