{"id":71385,"date":"2021-04-14T13:49:16","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T20:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=71385"},"modified":"2021-04-14T13:49:16","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T20:49:16","slug":"metropolis-1927","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=71385","title":{"rendered":"Metropolis (1927)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Maria speaks of peace &#8212; not killing. This is not Maria!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Poster-201x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-71387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Poster-201x300.png 201w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Poster-687x1024.png 687w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Poster-86x128.png 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Poster-181x270.png 181w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Poster.png 747w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn a future dystopia, the wealthy son (Gustav Frohlich) of a city leader (Alfred Abel) is inspired by a righteous messenger (Brigitte Helm) to descend into the bowels of the workers&#8217; realm and get to know his &#8220;brothers&#8221;. Meanwhile, a mad scientist (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) previously in love with Abel&#8217;s now-dead wife creates a robot which he eventually infuses with the life of Helm in order to confuse her followers.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dystopia<\/li>\n<li>Fritz Lang Films<\/li>\n<li>German Films<\/li>\n<li>Mad Doctors and Scientists<\/li>\n<li>Robots<\/li>\n<li>Science Fiction<\/li>\n<li>Silent Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that &#8220;Fritz Lang&#8217;s colossal silent [science] fiction classic&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;set 100 years in the future&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;was visually inspired by New York&#8217;s skyline, which Lang had recently seen, and thematically inspired (in part) by the increasingly dehumanizing industrialization within Germany.&#8221; He notes that this &#8220;epic was originally almost 200 minutes long&#8221; &#8212; and given that <em>GFTFF<\/em> was published in 1987, he couldn&#8217;t have known that years later, an original version would be found <a href=\"https:\/\/brightlightsfilm.com\/metropolis-the-reconstructed-original-cut-does-it-make-sense-does-it-need-to\/\">and painstakingly restored<\/a>. With that said, Peary&#8217;s frustration with the &#8220;drastically shortened prints&#8221; &#8212; that &#8220;there&#8217;s no way to figure out why Maria tells the workers not to revolt and to wait for a &#8216;mediator&#8217;, when revolution is definitely their only hope&#8221;, or to know why &#8220;Frederson [Abel] would want to destroy all the machinery below, since the robot workforce would have to use it anyway&#8221; &#8212; remain salient concerns even in the reconstructed version. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s3380metr.html\">DVD Savant<\/a> notes:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;This reviewer was hoping that the nearly complete 2010 restoration would plug a frustrating plot hole in Metropolis, a lack of logic around the actions of the mastermind Joh Fredersen&#8230; When the power goes out, Joh is not upset, merely interested in seeing the city lights dimmed for the first time&#8230; Why? The answer is still not certain. Fritz Lang may have left a hole in the story, or the German restorers may have neglected to tell us everything that happens in the still-missing fight scene between Joh [Abel] and Rotwang [Klein-Rogge].&#8221;   <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Regardless, &#8220;the film is a visual tour-de-force&#8221; and &#8220;much is stunning,&#8221; including &#8220;the march of the workers: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-March.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-March.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-March.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-March-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-March-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-March-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; the fabulous robot-transformation sequence (which would be copied many times):<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot2.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot2-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Robot-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; Helm&#8217;s erotic, bare-chested dance:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dance.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dance.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dance.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dance-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dance-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dance-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; [and] the great flood.&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Flood.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Flood.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Flood.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Flood-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Flood-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Flood-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Peary notes that &#8220;of course the <em>look<\/em> of the future it presents would serve as the model for almost all futuristic cities in film and conceptual art until <em>Blade Runner<\/em>.&#8221; Indeed, <em>Metropolis<\/em> remains must-see viewing for its iconic relevance, not its less-than-satisfying storyline.   <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brigitte Helm as Maria<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm1.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm1-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm1-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm1-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm2.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Helm2-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Karl Freund&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still2.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still2-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Glove.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Glove.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Glove.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Glove-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Glove-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Glove-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li>Edgar Ulmer&#8217;s set designs<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets2.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets2-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets-Planes.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets-Planes.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets-Planes.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets-Planes-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets-Planes-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Sets-Planes-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The truly surreal dream sequence<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still1.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still1-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still1-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Still1-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dream.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dream.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dream.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dream-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dream-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Metropolis-Dream-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for its historical status as a classic of sci-fi cinema by a master director. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1458\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0017136\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/5892\/metropolis#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1927\/03\/07\/archives\/a-technical-marvel.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moviediva.com\/MD_root\/reviewpages\/MDMetropolis.htm\">Movie Diva Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s3380metr.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Maria speaks of peace &#8212; not killing. This is not Maria!&#8221; Synopsis: In a future dystopia, the wealthy son (Gustav Frohlich) of a city leader (Alfred Abel) is inspired by a righteous messenger (Brigitte Helm) to descend into the bowels of the workers&#8217; realm and get to know his &#8220;brothers&#8221;. Meanwhile, a mad scientist (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) previously in love with Abel&#8217;s now-dead wife creates a robot which he eventually infuses with the life of Helm in order to confuse her&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=71385\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71385"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71414,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71385\/revisions\/71414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}