Metropolis (1927)

Director: Fritz Lang

Starring: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich

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.

Many people don’t enjoy silent or black and white movies. But if you are a science fiction fan, you simply have to see ‘Metropolis’, which is considered the pioneer of sci-fi movies. There are many different versions of the film – from 83 minutes to 153 minutes. For the full experience, I highly recommend the original 153-minute film.

The film follows Freder Frederson (Gustav Fröhlich), the son of Johann Frederson (Alfred Able), who is the master of Metropolis, a modern city. In Metropolis, the wealthy people live in magnificent high towers, with elaborate water fountains and opulence around every corner. The workers, who built the city, live underground in dire circumstances. When a young woman, Maria, a worker, comes up from the depths – as they call it – along with children who wanted to show her how the wealthy live, Freder is infatuated with her.

The film is a love story, but is also politically charged depicting the great divide between the businessman and the workers, the wealthy and the poor. And then there’s the inventor, Rotwang, who is building a robot – Machine-Man (a woman) – in the hopes of resurrecting his beloved Hel, who left him for Johann, and died soon after giving birth to Freder. He wants Maria’s face for the robot, and much of the film revolves around him pursuing her.

‘Metropolis’ is an incredible film that has to be seen to be believed. One can’t help but marvel at what they have accomplished considering the technology at their disposal at the time. CGI did not exist. Computers did not exist. And yet, this film is still mind-blowing seeing it today. The production design is fantastic, the costumes are breathtaking, the sets and the models are stunning, the lighting is amazing, the editing is good. There are literally thousands of extras. In some scenes, the extras are so perfectly synchronized as if in a modern musical. This is a silent film unlike anything out there. The mere scale of the film has me scratching my head in disbelief, thinking what an immense task filming must have been.

There’s action, adventure, drama, disaster, fantasy, and a darn good story, too. I thought Brigitte Helm was excellent portraying two very different characters. I also enjoyed Gustav Frohlich as the romantic lead, and a very caring and sympathetic character. The film’s climax is sensational! The ending sends out a powerful message, but from a political viewpoint it might be taken the wrong way.

‘Metropolis’ is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. This film was way ahead of its time – in terms of production, story, and gadgets. It is a classic and a must-see for movie buffs.

In German. (Silent Film)

Would I watch it again? Hell yeah!!