METROPOLIS

Metropolis is a silent film that was released in Germany in 1927. It was directed by Fritz Lang. It is regarded by many film historians as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made… for good reason. This movie is magnificent. Despite being nearly a century old, it is still smart and dynamic. The special effects and the variety of innovative filming techniques are a marvel of ingenuity. This movie would influence other iconic films for years to come, including Mad Max, Star Wars, Batman (1989), and Parasite.

When the film debuted, it was accompanied by an original orchestral score that was composed by Gottfried Huppertz. The Huppertz score was used only once… at the film’s premiere. The original movie was sadly deemed to be too long (it ran 153 minutes), so it was edited down after the premiere. Various copies of the film were distributed with run times of 116 minutes (1927), 105 minutes (1927 U.S. edition), 91 minutes (1936), 83 minutes (1984), and several other lengths. These butchered versions of the movie all had numerous independent scores that were written for them. The original full-length version of the film was considered lost to the ages. That is until 2008 when a damaged copy of Lang’s original full-length cut was discovered in an Argentinian museum. Using this film, a restored version of the original motion picture was created and released in 2010. It is 95% restored, with title cards filling in the few minutes of the movie that were too damaged to be used. To accompany the release of this restored masterpiece, the original Huppertz score was performed live and recorded by the Berlin Radio Symphony. The restored film and its original operatic score finally married, eighty-three years later, for all posterity.

The story is about a future dystopian world where the privileged live above ground in a bustling and thriving metropolis, referred to as Babel. It is presided over by Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel). Meanwhile, there is another sect of humanity that lives below ground, performing all the work required to keep Babel running. These people live lives totally devoted to jobs they don’t want, devoid of any opportunity. Their glimmer of hope comes from the religious teachings of Maria (Brigitte Helm), a virgin Mary-type character who takes care of the children and reads of God’s love for them. Soon, Joh’s son Freder (Gustav Frohlich) is exposed to the bleak existence of the lower world, and he becomes enamored with Maria. Freder seeks to change the status quo, much to the dismay of his father.

The plot is a rich and dense one that can be viewed through the many lenses of economics, politics, science, religion, philosophy, and other aspects of human existence. Most central to the core of the film is the notion of the head/brain (the paradise above) and the hands (the workers below) requiring a middle… a heart. Will the two differing sects be able to find that heart, the mediator, in order to coexist? Or will they destroy each other as the elites struggle to maintain a status quo, while the workers refuse to accept that status quo any longer?

Added into the mix, is a robot, disguised as Maria, seeking to mislead the masses. An allegory for the misuse of science and machines. A prescient allegory still today as we grapple with the pros and cons of artificial intelligence… nearly one hundred years after Fritz Lang first introduced the world to his magnificent vision that is Metropolis. This is a masterpiece that should be a must-see for any true film lover.