Metropolis (1927) – The silent movie classic about a dystopian future society. The workers and the wealthy live in two different worlds. Above, life is a bacchanal, while below the workers toil at mindless jobs and live in featureless hives.
Directed by Fritz Lang Starring Gustav Frolich, Brigitte Helm
Why I Liked It – An early epic movie that paved the path for the dystopian movies of today.
Yes, it’s another Fritz Lang movie. I promise no more for a while. But let’s be honest, this is THE Fritz Lang movie!
I don’t know if it still is, but “back in the day” if you were a film student, you would find Fritz Lang’s monumental “Metropolis” on the list of “must see” movies. For science fiction fans, here is the first feature length film of the genre. Perhaps it is the silent movie at the apex of its aspirations and achievements. Yet the full original of the movie hasn’t been seen since the premiere. At 153 minutes, the demands to shorten the film came from the start. By 1984, the version shown was a mere 83 minutes. Over the years, copies of the original disappeared. With the discovery of a damaged original print, plus resources found elsewhere, the current version available is up to 148 minutes. Close but still not the original. We may never see the film that Lang premiered.
The story is straightforward and familiar. The scion of the leader of the privileged class “discovers” the true underbelly of his comfortable life. Freder meets Maria, a teacher from the lower reaches. He follows her back to the working class levels. It’s an enormous change from the thousand story buildings above, and he witnesses an accident that kills many workers. When he returns to confront his father, the callous reaction from the people in power stuns Freder. The story winds through a variety of surprising events, including a robot designed to impersonate Maria.
There are strong biblical references (Tower of Babel and the Prodigal Son), plus tastes of Frankenstein’s monster, “Ex Machina” and the story of the Prince and the Pauper. Lang aimed at an epic, a story of height and breadth. The visuals are amazing. Your first view of the main factory, the “Heart” of the city, is stunning. The choreographed movements of the workers through multiple levels fascinated me. At the same time, the running time of almost two-and-a-half hours was a slog.
The history of the time shows up in the story. It’s interesting to note that in the City it is only the sons who train to rule. Daughters are rarely mentioned, and only as worshipful decorations for the sons. The most powerful women are found below. At a time of a worldwide surge of communist movements, there is a strong vein of “Workers of the World, Unite!” here. At the same time, the message feels contemporary in our modern age of wealth disparity.
For whatever shortcomings the movie’s plot and politics have (they are both a bit simplistic), “Metropolis” meets the criterion for greatness. Ninety plus years later, the movie still touches on ideas that are relevant today. Lang used all the tools in his considerable creative tool box to bring a stunning vision to the screen.
For those of us who love the movies, it remains one that you watch at least once in your lifetime.
Rating -**** Recommended
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