By Recently, I had the chance to check off a major movie on my watch list. (You know how gratifying that is) And I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about it to be honest. This is not a straightforward review, actually it is more along the lines of a PSA. If you consider yourself a fan of Science Fiction, History, Films, and/or want to see a good movie. then you need to go watch Metropolis already.
   Metropolis is a piece of film history and if you want to sound really smart when talking about Sci-FI, Silent Film, or even epics (of sorts) this is not something to be left out of your repertoire. It’s one of the first pieces of Science Fiction Film ever made, and it set in place a surprising number of tropes that are still prevalent today. The effects are still mind-blowing considering when it was made, and I can only imagine how they were received back then in 1927. It’s also the most expensive Silent film ever made, costing about 5 million Reichsmark. (German currency of the time) However for the film to be distributed overseas in America, the distributor demanded that the movie be cut down from it’s 153 runtime in
Recently, I had the chance to check off a major movie on my watch list. (You know how gratifying that is) And I've been trying to figure out how to write about it to be honest. This is not a straightforward review, actually it is more along the lines of a PSA. If you consider yourself a fan of Science Fiction, History, Films, and/or want to see a good movie. then you need to go watch Metropolis already.
Metropolis is a piece of film history and if you want to sound really smart when talking about Sci-FI, Silent Film, or even epics (of sorts) this is not something to be left out of your repertoire. It’s one of the first pieces of Science Fiction Film ever made, and it set in place a surprising number of tropes that are still prevalent today. The effects are still mind-blowing considering when it was made, and I can only imagine how they were received back then in 1927. It’s also the most expensive Silent film ever made, costing about 5 million Reichsmark. (German currency of the time) However for the film to be distributed overseas in America, the distributor demanded that the movie be cut down from it's 153 runtime into a more typical one. Somehow the cut footage was lost and time forgot about it. Over the years film historians have been scourging for the missing footage and new cuts premiered each time a significant portion was found. Recently in 2008, another reel was found with a huge chunk (25 minutes worth) of lost footage on it, and thus we were given the newest restoration. It also helped them cut it to match the original print of the film for the first time. So catch this new cut if you can, ( I did! )
This movie set the standard for giant future cities. With a sprawling cityscape decked out in Art-Deco (the then bleeding edge styling of the time) planes, trains and roads filled with cars high up in the sky, flashing lights everywhere, it was “the future” of the 20’s. Metropolis’s City is as much a character as it is a setting. And like any good character it’s deeper than it seems at first. What keeps this fantastical skyline running smoothly? Why it’s none other than the hard work of the lower class, pulling levers, and such to keep the city planners free to plan and be bourgeois. These people need the machines as much as the city needs them to keep them running well they go on to find out anyway. Aside from the character of it, you can clearly see it’s inspired some video games in a way. Bioshock comes to mind, with the City Planners and the Art Deco Styling really hitting the similarities. So Metropolis helped shape Rapture in a way, for what it’s worth. ( I asked Ken Levine over twitter about this and he said "…I'm guessing Metropolis inspired lots of things that more directly inspired our game." [ https://twitter.com/#!/IGLevine/status/28658578191 ] )
So aside from the fantastic backdrop to the story which is a tale mixing star-crossed lovers, Frankenstein Monsters, Technology gone Awry, And Social Struggles. It’s a lot on it’s plate but the film really pulls it off in this near complete form. From what I’ve understood the other cuts have been missing a lot of scenes so they had to fill in the action with stills and title cards explaining what was happening. This newly restored cut however flows really well given only 1 scene stood out as being missing (a minor chase scene for what it’s worth) Conveying quite smoothly all the twisting plotlines that flow throughout the celluloid.
This theme of symbiotic relationships and depending on one another really is hammered home in the story which I guess now it comes off as tired and cliche in a way, but to it’s credit, the suspense and drama are first rate in this film and really are the reason it’s so good at pushing it’s message. As a first time watcher, (not counting the animated Metropolis movie which I’ll mention later) I was on the edge of my seat by the 3rd act not sure what was going to happen in the end.
Now story and backdrop what of the characters? Well our main hero, Freder Fredersen, Son of Jon Fredersen, the founder and main in charge of Metropolis is the heart of the movie, we watch as he transforms from a shallow playboy enjoying the finest of life in the city to a hero of the people. He’s our eyes in the film, our door to relating closely with the characters and world within. His father is the business man whose eyes have been blinded by power, so much so that he nearly destroys his own city and his life because of it. Maria is a voice of reason who all the workers listen to, as a way to keep their spirits up. She preaches for cooperation and finding a Mediator (a heart if you will) to bridge the gap between the mind (the planners, the guys in charge if I lost you) and the hands (the workers). We also have the voices of discord and chaos, the villains of the film if you will, Rotwang the scientist, who with his evil gloved hand (a trope that was born here, Looking at you Darth Vader and co.) builds the Machine-Man (C-3PO called he says thanks for the design) who is the epitomous robot you see whenever you look up Metropolis. This robot eventually is transformed to look like Maria, thus shenanigans of the movie unfold from Machine-Man causing discourse and trouble.
Now Let’s stop talking about the movie directly for the time being and mention some other influences, Osamu Tezuka’s manga Metropolis was inspired by the Poster for the film. The Manga was somewhat recently adapted in 2001 into a film version. But it wasn’t a direct adaptation, instead it fused together the original movie and the art style of Tezuka to create a stunning film in it’s own right. The story is very close to the original Metropolis but you could say it was “Anime’d up” with robots replacing the worker class and other changes here and there. It’s not the same as seeing the original film but I really loved this movie too, as a thing of it’s own kind. (the soundtrack is big band jazzy goodness, Yum) There’s probably more to say that’s been drawn from the film but that list is too expansive for someone who arguably doesn’t have the proper background yet to discuss.
So That’s a really big overview of Metropolis. I won’t ruin any more of the story than I already have, and really encourage you to seek out and catch this film if you can on the big screen. This didn’t change how I looked at movies, but you could say it pulled the focus a bit wider on the unfocused past of them. The score which I didn’t touch much is really good and follows the action well as a lot of Silent Movie Scores did at the time. Seriously though, if you want to call yourself a movie buff, give credit where credit is due and pay the OG Sci-Fi Epic some credit.
As a bonus for reading, here's the new trailer for the new Restoration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSExdX0tds4
The DVD came out on November 16th, but you really should spring on the Blu-Ray which comes out November 23.
You can find it through Amazon or through the Restoration's site