Metropolis (1927) - Film Review.

Figure 1 - Metropolis Flim Poster.

German director, Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) embodies that of a "technical marvel" (Hall, 1927) as "its scenes bristle with cinematic imagination" (Hall, 1927) and bewilderment that is then thrust upon the audience leaving them in awe. Metropolis was originally a novel written by novelist and screenplay writer Thea Von Harbou, she and Lang worked together to create (despite parts of the original film being lost due to it being shortened and/or altered over time) what was thought to be "considered the first great science-fiction film" (Ebert, 1998) of the time (figure 1).

At the time Metropolis (1927) was filmed, in Germany the Weimar Republic was at a loss for solutions due to the aftermath of World War One (1914-1918) and having a new democratic government forced upon them; not knowing how exactly the new democracy worked, it created political unrest within the German communities'. Despite Germany having an unstable government between 1924-1929, it did not hinder the creation of Metropolis (1927). in fact it is likely that Lang even incorporated the ideas of the unstable constitution at the time within the cinematography; as seen in the silent picture where the working class revolt against Jon Frederson by destroying the heart machine, similarly to how the German community reacted to the government of the Weimar republic with attempts to overthrow the already unstable Reichstag (parliament). 

Figure 2 - Worker Shift Change.

Lang is also able to convey the 'beat-down' nature of the workers that work the ten hour shifts to man the machines for the above city, this seen in the opening scene where the workers are either finishing or just starting their ten hours (figure 2), as shown in their postures where it is visibly  slouched and curled into oneself. German audiences at the time may of found this relatable, as when the Treaty of Versailles was signed, Germany had to pay back an extortionate amount to France. "The buried message of powerful: Science and industry will become the weapons of demagogues." (Ebert, 1998) as Ebert states it makes an easy correlation to Germany as they simply couldn't pay back the reparations, leading the French - in this case the "demagogues" - to seize occupation of The Ruhr (Germany's industrial district) in 1923; this possibly causing the working class audience of Germany to understand the characters bone-wearing labour.

Figure 3  - Rotwang's Laboratory.

Figure 4 - Yoshiwara Club.

The moving picture also varies in religious references as seen with the story of the Tower of Babel that Maria retells to the workers, the reference to the seven deadly sins (pride, envy, gluttony, sloth, greed, lust, wrath) that robot Maria embodies and the biblical god Moloch that is associated with (child) sacrifice. Each of these elements thicken the plot of Metropolis (1927) as it "defies common sense"(Ebert, 1998), creating a science-fiction film like no other as it alternates between religious and futuristic imagery. An example of this can be seen (figure 3) where Rotwang is transferring Maria's likeness to his mechanical-man; where in the background -although faint- a five sided star is depicted upside down above the robot, suggesting Rotwang has some Satanism beliefs. With this ideology in mind it can easily be seen in the nature of robot Maria as she entices, evokes and manipulates the workers and men of the upper class to bend to her will and create chaotic destruction within the futuristic society above and below ground; (figure 4) which is a complete opposite/parallel to real Maria who is kind and talks of peace within the community.

Figure 5 - Workers Revolution.

Figure 6 - Set Construction.

Fritz Lang and his production team were even able to explore a range of "Technical surprises, new methods of treating scenes in double exposure so as to produce brilliant and extraordinary effects" (The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW:1842-1954)) as seen in the robot Maria takeover phase (figure 5) and in the scale of the set designs of the city where scenes would be just slightly taller than the average sized man (figure 6). Formulating an immersive spectacle for the audiences of 1927 all the way through to audiences of the modern age (2019); influencing and transforming the film industry as we know it today, as seen in other futuristic films like I, Robot (2004) by Alex Proyas and Bicentennial Man (1999) by Chris Columbus, where the robot/scientist concepts and visual effects have developed drastically and expanded since the creation of Metropolis (1927).

Bibliography:

Ebert, R. (1998) Metropolis movie review & film summary (1927) | Rodger Ebert, Available from:  https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-metropolis-1927 [Accessed 8th October 2019]. In-text citation: (Ebert, 1998)

Hall, M. (1927) A Technical Marvel. - The New York Times, Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/1927/03/07/archives/a-technical-marvel.html  [Accessed 8th October 2019]. In-text citation: (Hall, 1927)

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW:1842-1954) 16 Apr 1928 - NEW FILMS. - Trove, Available from: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16457359  [Accessed 8th October 2019]. In-text citation: (The Sydney Morning Herald  (NSW:1842-1954))

Illustration list:

Metropolis (1927) Figure 1: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/mediaviewer/rm1081276928
[Accessed 9th October 2019].
Metropolis (1927) Figure 2: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/mediaviewer/rm1670790656
[Accessed 9th October 2019].Metropolis (1927) Figure 3 :  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/mediaviewer/rm3585407488
[Accessed 9th October 2019].Metropolis (1927) Figure  4: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/mediaviewer/rm4071946752
[Accessed 9th October 2019].Metropolis (1927) Figure  5: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/mediaviewer/rm3249863168
[Accessed 9th October 2019].
Metropolis (1927) Figure  6: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/mediaviewer/rm2301447424
[Accessed 9th October 2019].