Metropolis (1927)

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),

Stars:

Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge

Top 250 #90 | 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Alfred Abel	...	Joh Fredersen
Gustav Fröhlich	...	Freder - Joh Fredersen's Son
Rudolf Klein-Rogge	...	C.A. Rotwang - the Inventor
Fritz Rasp	...	The Thin Man
Theodor Loos	...	Josaphat
Erwin Biswanger	...	11811 - Georgy
Heinrich George	...	Grot - the Guardian of the Heart Machine
Brigitte Helm	...	The Creative Man / The Machine Man / Death / The Seven Deadly Sins / Maria

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, Joh, with the assistance of an old colleague and now nemesis named ...

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Plot Keywords:

worker | children | future | savior | garden | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official North American site for 2002 restoration

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

13 March 1927 (USA)

Also Known As:

Metrópolis

Filming Locations:

Filmwerke Staaken, Staaken, Spandau, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,070 (USA) (8 August 2003)

Gross:

$26,435 (USA) (11 November 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universum Film (UFA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

153 min 210 min (premiere cut) 93 min (re-release) 114 min (1927 cut) 123 min (2002 Murnau Foundation 75th aniversary restored) 119 min (DVD edition) (2002 Murnau Foundation 75th aniversary restored) 80 min (Giorgio Moroder) 145 min (2010 restored)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

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.

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Goofs

On the Kino DVD, this is a dark scene in chapter 15. The brightness setting has to be turned up to catch this mistake. Rotwang is escorting Joh Fredersen to the catacombs. He has just closed a trap door and is passing Fredesen down the stairway. A cord or cable (possibly an extension cord) is visible fluttering besides Rotwang's right foot.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Referenced in Special Collector's Edition: Blu-ray: El Bueno, el Feo y el Malo (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Cage of Freedom"
Music by Giorgio Moroder
Lyrics by Pete Bellotte
Performed by Jon Anderson
Courtesy of Columbia Records
(from the 1984 re-release)

User Reviews

Highly influential and, dare I say, prophetic?

Fritz Lang's Metropolis is the first true masterpiece of science fiction in film. You can see it's influence in films such as Star Wars, The Matrix, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Blade Runner, and countless others. Despite the fact that parts of the film are no longer available, the efforts to reconstruct the original film from its remains are valiant enough to provide enough to make the story clear. The special effects were far ahead of their time and the set designs were, in some cases, phenomenal. I can see where some people may not enjoy this movie. It is hard for some to really appreciate a movie that is 77 years old, because a lot has happened in film since then. Yet, if you look at the basic elements of this movie - its story, characters, artwork, cinematography, etc., I believe this movie has just as much to offer now as it must have in the late 1920's. Also, take into consideration the asthetics of German expressionist film when viewing this. The performances and set designs are going to be over the top. That was part of the style. Metropolis may not be for everyone, but, for those willing to read between the lines, this film still has a lot to offer!