Metropolis (1927)
Country: GER
Technical: bw 140m
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich
Synopsis:
In a city of the future where the oppressed work force begins to resent the remoteness of the ruling intelligentsia, the son of the grand designer resists his birthright to side with the underdog, ultimately providing the mediating role prescribed by the preachings of the demagogic Maria. Meanwhile his father's arch-enemy plans to destroy father, son and holy ghost with a 'man-made machine' also modelled on Maria.
Review:
Complexly plotted science-fiction classic, the Ur text for countless subsequent depictions of dystopian future cities and undoubtedly inspiring the production design of James Whale's Frankenstein films in its laboratory scene. Thematically the film speaks of a humane capitalism, or enlightened autocracy, in its dictum: 'Between the Head and the Hand the mediator must be the Heart'; but the images of its black-clothed workers trudging as one in phalanx formation have uncomfortable resonances in the light of future events in Germany, as do the vengeful character of Rotwang and the curious stars inscribed on the doors of dwellings. Then there's the mise-en-scène, with the sleek lines and gaudy decadence of the scenes above ground contrasted with the inferno-like power station and catacombs below. Lang's camera prowls and leaps, the editing and performances are positively dancelike at times, and there is a cathedral which provides meat for a gothic Revelation scene or two and a proto-Hitchcockian rooftop finale. The film underwent many transformations after original footage was excised in 1927, most notoriously Georgio Moroder's video-age remix and retint, but footage unearthed in Argentina gave rise to a 'complete as we are going to get' version in 2010.
Country: GER
Technical: bw 140m
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich
Synopsis:
In a city of the future where the oppressed work force begins to resent the remoteness of the ruling intelligentsia, the son of the grand designer resists his birthright to side with the underdog, ultimately providing the mediating role prescribed by the preachings of the demagogic Maria. Meanwhile his father's arch-enemy plans to destroy father, son and holy ghost with a 'man-made machine' also modelled on Maria.
Review:
Complexly plotted science-fiction classic, the Ur text for countless subsequent depictions of dystopian future cities and undoubtedly inspiring the production design of James Whale's Frankenstein films in its laboratory scene. Thematically the film speaks of a humane capitalism, or enlightened autocracy, in its dictum: 'Between the Head and the Hand the mediator must be the Heart'; but the images of its black-clothed workers trudging as one in phalanx formation have uncomfortable resonances in the light of future events in Germany, as do the vengeful character of Rotwang and the curious stars inscribed on the doors of dwellings. Then there's the mise-en-scène, with the sleek lines and gaudy decadence of the scenes above ground contrasted with the inferno-like power station and catacombs below. Lang's camera prowls and leaps, the editing and performances are positively dancelike at times, and there is a cathedral which provides meat for a gothic Revelation scene or two and a proto-Hitchcockian rooftop finale. The film underwent many transformations after original footage was excised in 1927, most notoriously Georgio Moroder's video-age remix and retint, but footage unearthed in Argentina gave rise to a 'complete as we are going to get' version in 2010.
Country: GER
Technical: bw 140m
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich
Synopsis:
In a city of the future where the oppressed work force begins to resent the remoteness of the ruling intelligentsia, the son of the grand designer resists his birthright to side with the underdog, ultimately providing the mediating role prescribed by the preachings of the demagogic Maria. Meanwhile his father's arch-enemy plans to destroy father, son and holy ghost with a 'man-made machine' also modelled on Maria.
Review:
Complexly plotted science-fiction classic, the Ur text for countless subsequent depictions of dystopian future cities and undoubtedly inspiring the production design of James Whale's Frankenstein films in its laboratory scene. Thematically the film speaks of a humane capitalism, or enlightened autocracy, in its dictum: 'Between the Head and the Hand the mediator must be the Heart'; but the images of its black-clothed workers trudging as one in phalanx formation have uncomfortable resonances in the light of future events in Germany, as do the vengeful character of Rotwang and the curious stars inscribed on the doors of dwellings. Then there's the mise-en-scène, with the sleek lines and gaudy decadence of the scenes above ground contrasted with the inferno-like power station and catacombs below. Lang's camera prowls and leaps, the editing and performances are positively dancelike at times, and there is a cathedral which provides meat for a gothic Revelation scene or two and a proto-Hitchcockian rooftop finale. The film underwent many transformations after original footage was excised in 1927, most notoriously Georgio Moroder's video-age remix and retint, but footage unearthed in Argentina gave rise to a 'complete as we are going to get' version in 2010.