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Metropolis (1927)

153 min  -  Drama | Sci-Fi   -  13 March 1927 (USA)
8.4
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Ratings: 8.4/10 from 53,072 users   Metascore: 98/100 
Reviews: 345 user | 192 critic | 14 from Metacritic.com

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Thea von Harbou (screenplay), Thea von Harbou (novel), and 1 more credit »
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Cast

Credited cast:
Alfred Abel Alfred Abel ...
Gustav Fröhlich ...
Rudolf Klein-Rogge Rudolf Klein-Rogge ...
Fritz Rasp Fritz Rasp ...
Theodor Loos Theodor Loos ...
Erwin Biswanger Erwin Biswanger ...
11811 - Georgy
Heinrich George Heinrich George ...
Brigitte Helm ...
The Creative Man / The Machine Man / Death / The Seven Deadly Sins / Maria
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gisele Eve Schittenhelm Gisele Eve Schittenhelm
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Storyline

Sometime in the future, the city of Metropolis is home to a Utopian society where its wealthy residents live a carefree life. One of those is Freder Fredersen. One day, he spots a beautiful woman with a group of children, she and the children who quickly disappear. Trying to follow her, he, oblivious to such, is horrified to find an underground world of workers, apparently who run the machinery which keeps the above ground Utopian world functioning. One of the few people above ground who knows about the world below is Freder's father, Joh Fredersen, who is the founder and master of Metropolis. Freder learns that the woman is Maria, who espouses the need to join the "hands" - the workers - to the "head" - those in power above - by a mediator or the "heart". Freder wants to help the plight of the workers in the want for a better life. But when Joh learns of what Maria is espousing and that Freder is joining their cause... Written by Huggo  

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Worker | Children | Future | Savior | Time  | See more »

Taglines:

Fritz Lang's 1927 Masterpiece Now With 25 Minutes of Lost Footage (2010 re-release) See more »

Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German (intertitles)

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

The Complete Metropolis See more »

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DRM 1,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$19,386 (USA) (14 July 2002)

Gross:

$650,422 (USA) (10 August 2003)
See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universum Film (UFA) See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

 | Germany: (premiere cut)  | Germany: (re-release version)  | USA: (25 fps) (1927 cut version)  | USA: (2002 Murnau Foundation 75th aniversary restored version)  | (DVD edition) (2002 Murnau Foundation 75th aniversary restored version)  | (Giorgio Moroder version)  | (2010 restored version)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (1995 restored version) | Silent (original release)

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

In Oct of 1984 the world premiere of Digital sound in a motion picture theatre took place, using Moroder's digitally recorded version of Metropolis. Orchestrated by John Allen of High Performance Stereo, the event took place in the Magestic Century Plaza Theatre in Los Angeles and was an invitation only event consisting of a few hundred sound professional in the industry. Since the technology of placing Digital sound on film did not exist at the time, the 5 track discrete audio was recorded on an Industrial Sony 3324 digital tape recorder and synced with the picture. The sound system used to present this historic event was John Allen's HPS-4000 system and had the acoustic power equal to 10 Symphony Orchestras. See more »

Goofs

Continuity: When Fredersen and Rotwang leave Rotwang's laboratory to observe Maria's secret meeting, they descend a spiral staircase that spirals clockwise. When they reach the bottom of the stairs, they are seen descending a spiral staircase that spirals counterclockwise. This is repeated when Freder uses the same staircase later in the film. (This could very well be the result of editing: the footage could have been reversed by mistake. This was the case in some of Lawrence of Arabia's footage of the desert panoramas where a whole reel was reversed.) See more »

Quotes

Freder: It was their hands that built this city of ours, Father. But where do the hands belong in your scheme?
Joh Frederson: In their proper place, the depths.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Restoration based on the version in the Filmmuseum Munich and material preserved in the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv See more »

Connections

Featured in One Night Stand (1984) See more »

Soundtracks

"Cage of Freedom"
Written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte
Performed by Jon Anderson
Courtesy of Columbia Records
(from the 1984 re-release) See more »