Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist science-fiction drama film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou in collaboration with Lang from von Harbou's 1925 novel of the same name. Intentionally written as a treatment, it stars Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, and Brigitte Helm. Erich Pommer produced it in the Babelsberg Studios for Universum Film A.G. (UFA). The silent film is regarded as a pioneering science-fiction movie, being among the first feature-length movies of that genre. Filming took place over 17 months in 1925–26 at a cost of more than five million Reichsmarks, or the equivalent of about €21 million. Made in Germany during the Weimar period, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the city master. The film's message is encompassed in the final inter-title: "The Mediator Between the Head and the Hands Must Be the Heart". Metropolis met a mixed reception upon release. Critics found it visually beautiful and powerful – the film's art direction by Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, and Karl Vollbrecht draws influence from opera, Bauhaus, Cubist, and Futurist design, along with touches of the Gothic in the scenes in the catacombs, the cathedral and Rotwang's house – and lauded its complex special effects, but accused its story of being naive. H. G. Wells described the film as "silly", and The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction calls the story "trite" and its politics "ludicrously simplistic". Its alleged Communist message was also criticized. The film's long running time also came in for criticism. It was cut substantially after its German premiere. Many attempts have been made since the 1970s to restore the film. In 1984, Italian music producer Giorgio Moroder released a truncated version with a soundtrack by rock artists including Freddie Mercury, Loverboy, and Adam Ant. In 2001, a new reconstruction of Metropolis was shown at the Berlin Film Festival. In 2008, a damaged print of Lang's original cut of the film was found in a museum in Argentina. Per the opening explanation: "...The material was heavily damaged and, because it had been printed on 16mm film stock, does not have the full-aperture silent picture ratio. ...In order to maintain the scale of the restored footage, the missing portion of the frame appears black. Black frames indicate points at which footage is still lost." After a long restoration process that required additional materials provided by a print from New Zealand, the film was 95% restored and shown on large screens in Berlin and Frankfurt simultaneously on 12 February 2010. Metropolis is now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, ranking 35th in Sight & Sound's 2012 critics' poll. In 2001, the film was inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, the first film thus distinguished. SYNOPSIS 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. CAST & CREW Alfred Abel as Joh Fredersen, the master of Metropolis Gustav Fröhlich as Freder, Joh Fredersen's son Rudolf Klein-Rogge as Rotwang, the inventor Fritz Rasp as The Thin Man, Fredersen's spy Theodor Loos as Josaphat, Fredersen's assistant and Freder's friend Erwin Biswanger as 11811, a worker, also known as Georgy Heinrich George as Grot, guardian of the Heart Machine Brigitte Helm as Maria / The Machine Man Directed by Fritz Lang Screenplay by Thea von Harbou Based on Metropolis (1925 novel) by Thea von Harbou Produced by Erich Pommer Cinematography Karl Freund, Günther Rittau Music by Gottfried Huppertz Production company UFA Distributed by Parufamet Release date 10 January 1927 Running time 153 minutes (original) 116 minutes (1927 edit) Country Germany Languages Silent film German intertitles Budget 5.3 million ℛℳ (estimated)[2] (equivalent to €21 million 2021) Box office 75,000 ℛℳ (estimated), $1 million (U.S. and Canada rentals) NOTES The original premiere cut of Metropolis has been lost, and for decades the film could be seen only in heavily truncated edits that lacked nearly a quarter of the original length. But over the years, various elements of footage have been rediscovered.This was the case even though cinematographer Karl Freund followed the usual practice of the time of securing three printable takes of each shot in order to create three camera negatives which could be edited for striking prints. Two of these negatives were destroyed when Paramount reedited the film for the US market and the UK market. UFA itself cut the third negative for the August 1927 release.

• published: 01 Jan 2023
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