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'Metropolis' is an important film in movie history. It is not a pleasure to watch, but is undeniably a master work which all serious movie students should watch. It is German expressionist science-fiction drama movie. It was directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou in collaboration with Lang. It is one of the most important silent films and shows the vitality of the the German film industry before the NAZIs seized power. Eugen Schüfftan created pioneering special effects for Metropolis. seized power in Germany (1933). It was a pioneering sci-fi, one of the first sci-fi feature films. The film is notable for painstaking design of the film, the camera positioning, and dramatic lighting. Lang's choreography has been described as 'muscular'--especially the crowd scenes. It was an expensive film to make, causing problems at UFA--Germany's major movie studio. Eugen Schüfftan created pioneering special effects. And we have the appearance of an early robot--the Maschinenmensch (the machine person). The plot is about a dystopian futuristic city. The workers live in poverty and are dominated by elite city planners. It that society the son of the city's mastermind falls for a working-class prophet who predicts the arrival of a savior to mediate their differences. The savior role shows Lang's Catholic upbringing. Some perhaps to protect Lang's reputation say 'Metropolis' was not depicting the future controlled by capitalists, but rather city managers. We believe it would have been seen as capitalist exploitation of the working class. Strangely that more or less describes the Communists who seized power in many countries and the poverty they created in their wake. We are not sure, however, just what were Lang's intentions. What it does not show is the power of capitalism to create wealth and prosperity--in sharp contrast to socialism.
'Metropolis' is an important film in movie history. It is not a pleasure to watch, but is undeniably a master work which all serious movie students should watch. It is German expressionist science-fiction drama movie. It was directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou in collaboration with Lang. It is one of the most important silent films and shows the vitality of the the German film industry before the NAZIs seized power. Eugen Schüfftan created pioneering special effects for Metropolis. seized power in Germany (1933). It was a pioneering sci-fi, one of the first sci-fi feature films. The film is notable for painstaking design of the film, the camera positioning, and dramatic lighting. Lang's choreography has been described as 'muscular'--especially the crowd scenes. It was an expensive film to make, causing problems at UFA--Germany's major movie studio. Eugen Schüfftan created pioneering special affects. And we have the appearance of an early robot--the Maschinenmensch (the machine person).
It is important to stress that 'Mtreopolkis was a silent film. This meant that movies were international to a degree unimaginable once the talkies appeared (1930s). This is one reason Hollywood became so dominant. All you had to do was to replace the written passages. But it also mean that foreign film makers had access to the American market. So films like 'Metropolis' were widely seen in America. This was of course during the Roaring Twenties. It would have had a much greater impact during the Depression.
Metropolis was an early science fiction novel by the Fritz Lang's wife and collabotrator, Thea von Harbou. The book show cases her literary talents. An it fit in with the prevailing socialist world of the Weimar Republic. It was written with the expection of being done as a movie. The plot of the novel is the same as the film with some notable exceptions such as ocultism. Von Harbou's novel was serialised in Illustriertes Blatt (1925). This of course provided the maximum publicity for the film. There were even screenshots from the film adaptation. It was published as a book (1926) with an English-language translation (1927). Of course many more people saw the film than read the book. It is notable as an early sci-fi book and one of the first sci-fi movies. It was well recrived in the literary world. Book critic Michael Joseph wrote, "It is a remarkable piece of work, skilfully reproducing the atmosphere one has come to associate with the most ambitious German film productions. Suggestive in many respects of the dramatic work of Karel Capek and of the earlier fantastic romances of H. G. Wells, in treatment it is an interesting example of expressionist literature. [...] Metropolis is one of the most powerful novels I have read and one which may capture a large public both in America and England if it does not prove too bewildering to the plain reader." 【Joseph, p. 227.】
"Metropolis' was clearly a labor of love for Lang. His original version was very long. It is likely that even film critics have seen the original version. It was cut down to a more normal length for public release. The original premiere version, Lang's director's cut) ran an amazing 3½ hours. This was considered lost for 80 years. A version restored by the German Democratic Republic runs 115 minutes (1980s). The East Germans saw it as an attack on capitalism, ignoring the fact that German workers rose up against Communism (1953) and not capitalism. As this was a silent film. It is up to whoever released it to supply the music. And thus we have various versions, differing primarily with the music.
Fritz Lang is one of the most notable early director and a rare one that did not come from Hollywood. Fritz was born in Vienna, Austria to a prosperous family (1890). His father was the manager of a construction company. His mother, Pauline Schlesinger, was Jewish but converted to Catholicism when Lang was 10 years old. Lang was raised a Catholic. After completing secondary school. Lang at his parents behest entered the the Technische Hochschule Wien, but remained there only briefly. He ran away because of his ambitions to become an artist. He traveled widely in Europe (1910-14). He later claimed his travels took him to Asia and North Africa. He studied painting in Paris (1913-14). With the outbreak of World War I, he went back to Vienna. He was drafted into the army (January 1915). He was badly wounded (June 1916). He began to take and interest in movies. And he sketched out some scenarios for films while convalescing. He was sent home, still suffering from what is now called shell shock. He tried acting in Viennese theater. He then tried writing in Erich Pommer's production company in Berlin. This seems to have captured his interest. He was hired as a writer by UFA and then began to get directing commissions, first at UFA and then Nero-Film which was owned by American Seymour Nebenzal. It is at this time that he began a relationship with actress and writer Thea von Harbou (1889-1954). She collaborated with him on the script for many of his most important movies, 'Dr. Mabuse the Gambler' (1922), 'Die Nibelungen: Siegfried' (1924), 'Metropolis' (1927) and 'M' (1931). The later was credited to only von Harbou. They married (1922), but divorced (1933). That was the year the NAZIs seized power. Her pro-NAZI sentiments were a factor in their divorce. Pro-NAZI has to be taken with some reservations. Many Germans werevattracted to the NAZIs fo rpatriotic reasons and not with any desire to start a workd wa and murder millions. Von Harbou, for examole, clarly did not harbor racist sentiment. There were also personal reasons for their divorce, such as affairs with other men. In fairness, Lang himself was a notoriosus philanderer with younger women. She was not much of a NAZI given that her final affair was with an dark-skinned Indian with whom she unofficilly married but could not do so officially marry because of NAZI race policy. Hitler upon seizing power personally chose Josef Goebbels for Propaganda Minister (1933). He was disappointed with his new post, but took it up energetically. Goebbels like Hitler were movie fans. And Goebbels seized control of all German media, including movies. Goebbels summoned Lang to his office and according to Lang 'apologetically' informed him that the 'The Testament of Dr Mabuse', was being banned. Goebbels decided that the film 'showed that an extremely dedicated group of people are perfectly capable of overthrowing any state with violence'. According to Lang, Goebbels was, however, impressed by his talents as a filmmaker -- especially' Metropolis'). And Lang claims that Goebbels wanted him to head UFA. Goebbels was unaware that he was half Jewish, that only later came out later. Lang was a confirmed anti-NAZI, in part because of his Catholic upbringing. He wisely immediately took off for Paris, managing to take some of his estranged wife's jewelry with him. He spent a year in Paris and then took off for the United States and Hollywood (1934). During his 20 years in Hollywood he directed several films, leaving a lasting impact. He began working with MGM. He is noted for his Film Noir work like 'The Big Heat' (1953). He eventually returned to Germany where he made his final three films. One of which was another adaptation of his former wife's novels.
The plot is about a dystopian futuristic city. Interestinly, the set of Metropolis was inflienced ny the skyline of very capitalist New York City. There is a gleaming technologically advanced surface world of abundance and pleasure. The workers are, however, kept underground and live in poverty and squalor. They are dominated by elite pleasure loving 'city planners'. While the elite live in luxury, the unseen workers toil in dreary poverty to support them. Lang's genius is seen in the way the the almost robotic workers are portrayed. They are portrayed as almost part of industrial machines. The workers are also shown as part of a amorphous group with no individuality. They are shown living drab unchanging lives with no hope of redress. In that society the son of the city's mastermind leader falls for a working class prophet who predicts the arrival of a savior to mediate their differences. The savior role may show Lang's Catholic upbringing. The film is set around Freder, the privileged son, and the compassionate Maria, revered by the workers. ivil war threatens. An icomic feature of the film is the Maschinenmensch (robot)created to destroy the workers rebellion. some say, perhaps to protect Lang, Metropolis was not depicting the future controlled by capitalists, but rather 'city managers'. Strangely that more or less describes the Communists who seized power in many countries and the poverty they created in their wake. It is especially relevant to the socialist regimes that followed Weimar, both the NAZIs and the Communist DDR. We are not sure, however, just what were Lang's intentions. What it does not show is the power of capitalism to create wealth and prosperity--in sharp contrast to socialism.
Germany's capitalist class structure was explored in director Fritz Lang's great film, 'Metropolis' (1927). Germany's class system was largely created in aristocratic times, but but Lang gives it a Marxist view s he hones in on industrial workers. His film tells of a futuristic city in which a small group of pleasure-seekers live off the labors of an much larger underclass of workers. 【Ott, p. 74.】 The son of the leader of the city, becomes aware of the plight of the down-trodden workers after becoming attached to the daughter of a worker. 【Ott, p. 74.】 As worker discontent threatens the capitalist leaders, the leader has an android replica of his daughter stir up the oppressed workers into destroying themselves. 【Ott, p. 75.】 After seeing his son actually risking his own life in defense of the workers, the Metropolis leader is so moved that he actually is changed and embraces the oppressed workers. 【Ott, p. 75.】 In the final scene where the workers and the leader are reconciled, the heroic son becomes a kind of link between the workers and former elite pleasure seekers--almost a kind of secular Christ-like figure. The film ends with "There can be no understanding between the hand and brain unless the heart acts as a mediator." The employment of a robotic figure has been seen as a metaphor for oppressed masses of workers and their loss of humanity --, a people turned into toiling slaves for the benefit of a capitalist minority enjoying decadent pleasures. The glorious conclusion of 'Metropolis' with its Marxist promise of a of a socialist future in which humanity flourishes. It is surely the finest example of German socialist fueled Expressionism. And not unlike the vision of the NAZI New Order or the new Soviet Man. Both appealed to the idea that defeat and revolution would lead to a ideal regenerated society and both peace and above all social equality. 【Ott, p. 78.】 To dramatize the grim suppression of the toiling workers, the masses portrayed as being of one single entity with no individual existence. Lang does this by showing drab housing complexes to costumes deprived of any individuality. They also move in in total uniformity in a symbolic mass shuffling gait. Their heads are bowed in quite acquiescence of their condition. 【Eisner, p. 225.】 Lang even depicts robot like workers, almost integrating their very bodies into the machines. Their arms substitute mechanical parts of the machines. Their bodies pulse with the the functioning mechanical movements of the machine. 【Eisner, p. 229.】 In a frightfully choreographed scene, the workers function by rote movement to the required cadence of industrial machinery. Even when the rebel, Lang maintains the group identity. The mob is still depicted as a single group. One film historian maintains, "ruled by the whims of a single person, seeking domination even in the face of independence." Particularly noteworthy in 'Metropolis' is how Lang the uses of light to dramatize his ideas. Light is used to alternatively dramatize both doom and salvation. There is great irony in Lang's 'Metropolis'. The film was made during the socialist Weimar era as a condemnation of the capitalist created class structure. The socialist NAZIs and communists after the War destroyed the old class system, but many of the dystopian horrors dramatized by Lang, actually materialized during the NAZI and Communist era as well as a new class system. And Lang himself fled Germany and found refuge in the United States where Capitalism fundamentally destroyed the European class structure without the dystopian horrors perpetrated by the NAZIs and Communists. Lang even became a naturalized citizen of the most capitalist country in the world.
Eisner, Lotte H. Haunted Screen (Los Angeles: University of California Press,1969).
Joseph, Michael. "The Seven Seas". The Bookman (April 1937).
Ott, Frederick W. The Great German Films (Seacaucus, NJ: 1986).
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