Metropolis (1927)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Thea von Harbou (screenplay)
Thea von Harbou (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

13 March 1927 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

There can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Worker | Future | Vision | Bible Quote | Class Conflict

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

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
Heinrich George	...	Grot, the guardian of the Heart Machine
Brigitte Helm	...	Maria
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fritz Alberti	...	Creative human - man who convinces Babel (uncredited)
Grete Berger	...	Working woman (uncredited)
Olly Boeheim	...	Working woman (uncredited)
Max Dietze	...	Working man (uncredited)
Ellen Frey	...	Working woman (uncredited)
Beatrice Garga	...	Woman of Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
Heinrich Gotho	...	Master of Ceremonies (uncredited)
Dolly Grey	...	Working woman (uncredited)
Anny Hintze	...	Woman of Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
Georg John	...	Working man who causes explosion of M-Machine (uncredited)
Walter Kuehle	...	Working man (uncredited)
Margarete Lanner	...	Lady in car / Woman of Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
Rose Lichtenstein	...	Working woman (uncredited)
Hanns Leo Reich	...	Marinus (uncredited)
Arthur Reinhardt	...	Working man (uncredited)
Curt Siodmak	...	Working Man (uncredited)
Henrietta Siodmak	...	Working Woman (uncredited)
Olaf Storm	...	Jan (uncredited)
Erwin Vater	...	Working man (uncredited)
Rolf von Goth	...	Son in Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
Helen von Münchofen	...	Woman of Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
Helene Weigel	...	Working woman (uncredited)
Hilde Woitscheff	...	Woman of Eternal Gardens (uncredited)

Directed by
Fritz Lang

Writing credits
Thea von Harbou		(screenplay)
Thea von Harbou		(novel)
Fritz Lang		screenplay (uncredited)

Produced by
Giorgio Moroder	....	producer (1984 restoration)
Erich Pommer	....	producer

Original Music by
Gottfried Huppertz
Abel Korzeniowski
Giorgio Moroder		(1984)
Peter Osborne		(1998)
Bernd Schultheis		(2001)
Wetfish		(1999)

Cinematography by
Karl Freund
Günther Rittau
Walter Ruttmann

Art Direction by
Otto Hunte
Erich Kettelhut
Karl Vollbrecht

Costume Design by
Aenne Willkomm

Art Department
Otto Hunte	....	set designer
Erich Kettelhut	....	set designer
Walter Schulze-Mittendorf	....	sculptor (as Walter Schultze-Mittendorf)
Karl Vollbrecht	....	set designer
Edgar G. Ulmer	....	set designer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ernst Kunstmann	....	special effects
Konstantin Irmen-Tschet	....	special photographic effects sequences (uncredited)
Erich Kettelhut	....	trick photography (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Jeff Matakovich	....	restoration
Eugen Schüfftan	....	special visual effects
Erich Kettelhut	....	painting effects (uncredited)
Ernst Kunstmann	....	assistant compositing effects artist (uncredited)
Willy Muller	....	model maker (uncredited)
Hugo O. Schulze	....	assistant trick photography (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Karl Freund	....	camera operator
Günther Rittau	....	camera operator (as Gunther Rittau)
Robert Baberske	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Horst von Harbou	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Hermann I. Kaufmann	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Berndt Heller	....	conductor: original score: restoration
Berndt Heller	....	score reconstruction: original score: restoration
Otto Harzner	....	conductor: original score (uncredited)
Robert Mitchell	....	pianist (uncredited)

Other crew
Robert Gray	....	English translation: restoration, Kinograph
Martin Koerber	....	restoration director: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation
Enno Patalas	....	restoration director
Rudi George	....	key production assistant (uncredited)
Erich Holder	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Erich Kettelhut	....	technical consultant (uncredited)
Gustav Püttjer	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Hans Taussig	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Rusty Lemorande	....	special thanks (1984 restoration)

Production Companies

• Universum Film (UFA)

Distributors

• Metropol-Verleih (1984) (West Germany) (theatrical) (re-release) (Moroder short version)
• Universum Film (UFA) (1927) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Eureka Entertainment (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2003) (Germany) (DVD) (DeLuxe Edition)
• Vestron Video (1985) (West Germany) (VHS) (Moroder short version)
• Paramount Pictures (1928) (USA) (theatrical)
• Hollywood Home Theatre (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• Vestron Video (1985) (USA) (VHS) (1984 version)
• Lax Video S.A. (1986) (Spain) (VHS) (1984 version)
• Divisa Ediciones (1995) (Spain) (VHS)
• Navarre Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Divisa Home Video (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Delta Expedition (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (video)
• Reel Media International (2005) (USA) (TV)
• SBP (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• SBP (2005) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Atlantic Film (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Cable Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Forward (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Killiam Collection (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Kino International (USA) (restored version)
• Kino Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Kino Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Kinokuniya (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• LS Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (two-disc special edition)
• Paramount-Ufa-Metro-Verleihbetriebe GmbH (Parufamet) (2006) (UK) (DVD) (as Parufamet)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Stokey Video (????) (USA) (video)
• Transit Film (2006) (UK) (DVD) (as TF Transit Film)
• Vestron Video International (1986) (Belgium) (video)
• Vestron Video (1985) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Video Yesteryear (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Vivarto (2008) (Poland) (all media)

Other Companies

• Alpha-Omega Digital  digital restoration (as ALPHA-OMEGA, Munich)
• August Scherl Verlag  original book publisher
• Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv Koblenz  film processing: restoration (as Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, Berlin / Koblenz)
• Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv Koblenz  restoration carried out by (as Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, Berlin)
• Centrimage  digital restoration (as centrimage, Paris)
• Cinémathèque Française  restoration contributor (as Cinémathèque Française, Paris)
• Deutsches Filminstitut (DIF)  restoration carried out together with (member of the Association of Cinematheques) (as Deutsches Filminstitut - DIF, Frankfurt am Main / Wiesbaden)
• Deutsches Filmmuseum Frankfurt  restoration carried out together with (member of the Association of Cinematheques) (as Deutsches Filmmuseum, Frankfurt am Main)
• Filmmuseum Berlin  restoration carried out together with (member of the Association of Cinematheques) (as Filmmuseum Berlin - Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin)
• Filmmuseum Düsseldorf  restoration carried out together with (member of the Association of Cinematheques) (as Filmmuseum der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf)
• Filmmuseum Munich  restoration carried out together with (as Filmmuseum im Stadtmuseum Munich)
• Fondazione Cineteca Italiana  restoration contributor (as Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, Milan)
• Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung  restoration carried out by (as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation, Wiesbaden)
• George Eastman House  restoration contributor (as George Eastman House, Rochester)
• Gosfilmofond  restoration contributor (as Gosfilmofond, Moscow)
• Kinograph Inc.  English translation: restoration (as Kinograph, Montréal)
• Modegeschaft Knitze  costume fitting
• Museum of Modern Art, The (MoMA)  restoration contributor (as The Museum of Modern Art, New York)
• National Film and Television Archive  restoration contributor (as National Film and Television Archive, London)
• Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken  original score performed by: restoration
• Schuhgeschäft Breitspecher  men's shoes
• Schuhgeschäft Reiss  women's shoes
• Screensound Australia  restoration contributor (as Screensound Australia, Canberra)
• Studio Babelsberg  sound stages
• Transit Film  world sales: restoration (as Transit Film GmbH, Munich)
• TrickWilk, Berlin  intertitles: restoration (as trickWILK, Berlin)
• Werkstätten der UFA  costumes

Runtime:

153 min | Germany:147 min (2001 restored version) | Germany:210 min (premiere cut) | Germany:80 min (Giorgio Moroder version) | Germany:93 min (re-release version) | USA:114 min (25 fps) (1927 cut version) | USA:123 min (2002 Murnau Foundation 75th aniversary restored version) | Spain:118 min (DVD edition) | USA:117 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Germany:12 (video rating) (re-release) | West Germany:16 (theatrical re-release) (1962) | Germany:18 (original rating) (1927) | Germany:o.Al. (DVD re-rating) | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Norway:12 (1986) | Peru:PT | Portugal:17 (original rating) | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:T (DVD rating) | Sweden:11 (re-release) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Universum Film (UFA)

Trivia:

Reportedly one of Adolf Hitler's favorite films.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Fritz Lang shot more than one version of this movie. There are differences between the version on the Madacy DVD and the Kino DVD. In the Kino DVD, Freder exits the Moloch machine hall in chapter 7 (at 15:55). The shot of Freder descending the stairs is missing two motorized utility carts. These appear in the Madacy Video DVD in Chapter 3 (at 14:24).

Quotes:

Man at Nightclub: For her, all seven deadly sins!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Soundtrack:

Machines

Movie Milestone and Masterpiece!

Metropolis is surely one of the greatest films ever made. Its scope, its reach, its magnitude and its message are truly incredible even by today's standards of film-making. Seen in context of its premier in 1927, Metropolis is a giant of filmdom and film history. Lots of people always ask what makes a movie great, and in particular, Metropolis. A great film is one that stirs the imagination, leaves the viewer with images that will last perhaps forever, forces contemplation of issues dealing with the very essence of life, and achieves a kind of immortality. Metropolis is a film that succeeds with each of these criteria. Metropolis is a film that hailed in a new era of making films with it futuristic settings, halluciatory scenes, and its breadth of spirit and sheer scope, most clearly exhibited by its cast of epic proportions. There are images that blind the viewer with genius such as the beginning scene of the changing of the workers or the creation of the robot Maria. Metropolis challenges its viewers to think about their relationship with society both as a whole and with each individual, as well as contemplate the rationale of divisions amongst peoples and groups. Lastly, Metropolis has stood the test of time. It is a landmark film and an ignitor for the evolution of the science fiction/fantasy film genre. The story itself is simple,a Biblical allegory, about how people with a vision should share that vision in order to make it happen. The film is anything but simple. It is immense, and a rich legacy that director Fritz Lang has left us.