Released 1927
German
Silent, b&w (tinted)
153* minutes
Directed by Firtz Lang
Starring Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Frohlich
(watched via Netflix streaming)
Metropolis is one of those iconic films that you recognize even if you've never even heard of it before because images - especially homages or direct copies of the robot Maria - are EVERYWHERE. They are mentioned in other films, they are referenced in articles and essays about science fiction/silent/early film. I actually saw an anime interpretation before I saw the original, which looked alot like Astro Boy and took quite a bit of artistic license with the overall story. But even with all of the conscious and subconscious exposure, actually seeing Metropolis for the first time was an experience all its own.
This film, in my not so humble opinion, is BRILLIANT. It is dark and intelligent and frightening on several levels. It shows a future that looks all shiny and perfect but is really built on the backs of corruption, death, and pain. Without a single spoken word (it does have title cards) it manages to tell a complete story from beginning to end. I've read 500+ page novels that couldn't even manage that. And the imagery, while certainly not as bizarre and gothic as the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, is still absolutely breathtaking. There are vast cities and immense skyscrapers and billowing clouds of industrial smoke and dark caverns teaming with sweat and dirt and life. And everything that you can directly see has several meanings that you are meant to understand and see on another level. Its amazingly complex, like epic visual poetry.
*There are multiple cuts of this film that are available for viewing. The "German Premiere Cut" is 210 minutes, while the 1927 release was only 114 minutes. The 2002 "restored" version is 153 minutes, while the 2010 "restored" version is 145 minutes. There is also an old "re-release" version that is only 93 minutes. I saw a 153 minute version through Netflix.
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