Metropolis Reviews

What is to say about Metropolis that hasn't been said already? For me, probably very little. Metropolis is an awe-inspiring and influential masterpiece of the sci-fi genre, and one of the best movies I have seen in recent memory.

Metropolis perfectly demonstrates the artistic vision of director Fritz Lang. Lang was a fine and intelligent director, and Metropolis shows this loud and clear as Lang's direction is superb. The film is very rarely boring to me, both the pace and length were well-judged in my view, and while the message may seem muddled to some people for others including me perhaps it is relevant and even powerful.

The music is haunting, beautiful and evocative, the story really impresses with its originality and the acting is expressive, although silent the facial expressions and gestures speak volumes. The best part about Metropolis and what resonates with me are the visuals, the cinematography is fluid same with the lighting while the costumes and effects are wonderful, but the real revelations are the city landscapes and settings which are gorgeous.

All in all, a brilliant film and an influential film not only of the genre but of cinema itself. 10/10 Bethany Cox

(OK) Aesthetically astonishing, anticipation modernism on expressionism basis. The story in grandilocuent in the 'mediator' side, better in the plot to make the girl a robot that perverts men, as you see in the dance scene, one of the best in all Lang's...

‘Metropolis’ is hard to understand but I had my own vision of what was going on in the plot, the music was very good and it just looked great

It's Indianastar Monsters Mash 2012, Now we come to one of the most important science fiction film of time Metropolis by Fritz Lang, It has influenced every movie in the future from Things to Come (1935)-The Hunger Games (2012) Is one of the most famous science fiction films of all time now it not the first but it was the first to define a genre the plot set take place in the year 2026, where high society rules over the middle class and the poor. It's follows through the eyes of a man named Freder who meets the virginal Maria they encounter a mad scientist named Rotwang who turned Maria into a robot how is it possible? well it's a little complicated but the robot became one of the most influential artificial intelligence in the history of science fiction cinema. It so famous George Lucas use the robot as a influence to C-3PO in Star Wars (1977) how could you not see that resemblance? Metropolis is a great film.

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Set in a futuristic metropolitan city, Metropolis is the story of the conflict between the workers of that city and the heads who designed it.

Woooooow! Whenever I hear the name of Lang, Metropolis is the first thing that pops in my head. This German cinema has become a priceless classic today. Metropolis shows us big roads, tall skyscrapers, planes flying in the sky, nudity as a new fashion, etc. So far, Metropolis has been right in it's futuristic design and imagination. (Even about robots) That's one aspect of Metropolis that shows us how great film this is. Another aspect of it is that, Metropolis shows us the conflict between the people who made the city and the people who designed it. If both don't work together properly, then the city won't function properly. The film while explaining this situation also brings into limelight examples from other ancient civilizations that went under similar circumstances. Thus, this film is actually a lesson for us future generation that these kind of problems might arise. It also shows us the effect of "Seven deadly sins", sins that could destroy us.

The Fact is that over the years, about 25 to 30% of the film was believed to be lost. Thankfully, the damaged prints were found and a completely new Metropolis came out of the restoration process. Even it's score was re-recorded.

But overall, even if one ignores it's moral lessons, Metropolis is silent but highly entertaining art film. The score of the film is quite ahead of it's time. It was made in the silent film era when expressions not dialog was the center of all emotions. Even if you don't like the overacting stuff they do in silent films and even if Metropolis is your "first" silent film, you would probably enjoy it a lot! Highly recommended!

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To say this film is just a science fiction picture is cinematic treason. For it is so much more than that. Whilst the essence of this film is indeed sci-fi, Lang arguably had so much more on his mind. This is evident in the strong symbolism carried in Metropolis and the monumental themes that still stand so relevant today. The division of the working classes and the upper classes and the defining materialistic views that forces the convergence the two. Such themes are as strong as ever in a world still run by the corruptness of capitalism and will continue to stand as strong as they did 83 years ago. Metropolis, having been made in Germany during the height of the deceivingly stable post World War Weimar years, is a damning indictment of the new found materialism and the obliviousness to the inevitable decay of such an unrecognisably weak government structure. Weimar Republic chancellor Gustav Stresemann acknowledged this, stating that Germany was ‘Dancing on a volcano’. Lang clearly knew of the weakness at hand and Metropolis was seemingly proleptic of the downfall of Weimar, at the hands of the American Wall Street Crash that occurred two years after the release of Metropolis. The tremendous and breathtaking flood scenes were awash with this vision, serving as a metaphor for the uncompromising haste of a newly formed government and how the foundations of such a hierarchy were soon to collapse.

Furthermore, Lang and Harbou’s script highlights the flaws of capitalism that still exist today; the rich get rich and the poor stay poor. Metropolis sees the rich living in the lap of luxury, with giant structures (including the fascinating Tower of Babel) and awe inspiring technology whilst the poor remain in squalid houses (set pieces that are possibly even more daunting than the wealthy civilisation) and are marched into worse working conditions. Such a hideous view is what makes Metropolis all the more memorable. Is capitalism as pleasant as it is made out to be? Whilst free speech is certainly a high point, Lang is simply providing the argument that asks whether we are any freer with a capitalist government than we are with Nationalist or Communist government. His portrayal of a seemingly perfect employment of capitalism in a way that mirrors the hierarchy of a nationalist state is damning in its own right. The opening scenes where workers miserably shuffle into their decadent village whilst a new shift of identically dressed people start there tedious working hours is a horrifying and unforgettable scene and one that sets the tone immediately for the rest of the film. Whilst Metropolis serves as a grim portrayal of the faults of a capitalist view, it is also strongly prophetic of Hitler’s nationalist government that followed. Scenes of rebellion take place, with huge riots mirroring Hitler’s rallies, symbolising an age of uncertainty that ultimately leads to evil. Although Metropolis was made twelve years before the outbreak of World War 2, its view of the repression of capitalism leading unknowingly into stricter repression of nationalism was hauntingly spot-on. Additionally, it sparks a reminder of the view of communism and Marxism, with the working class erupting into a siege against the authorities, with an ending that portrays the working class and upper class finally making peace after a powerful stand against the evils of materialism (the burning of the Robot itself can be seen as symbolic of the burning of a hierarchy, particularly the communist point of view, since it was the robot that led to the rebellion and confusion). However, Lang seems to be taking an un-bias stance, choosing rather to take a look at the effects of each individual government form. Whilst the Marxist view appears sturdy at the end, it was only moments before that in which the city was ensued with confusion and a flurry of mistaken identity. Lang may be suggesting that all of the forms of leadership portrayed all have deep, underlying flaws and the happy ending remains less intact that it first appears; for the atmosphere is rank with a lingering feeling of disaffection, corruption and fear.

Lang had once stated that he wasn't as politically minded during his early career, yet his unflinching political scrutiny in Metropolis is admirable, whether he was consciously aware of exactly how powerful parable within his film or not.

As a film and not just a political statement, Metropolis is incredible. Not only does it competently raise questions of politics, it remains an incredible piece of art AND entertainment. The special effects are ahead of its time, as are the complex editing techniques. The set pieces are haunting, remaining both a conventional reminder of German Expressionism as well as remaining unique enough to break through those conventions. The score is incredible, one of the best of all time, as well being blasphemously under-rated, with each note carrying a potent relevance to each scene. The acting is fantastic, with Klein Rogge portraying a truly terrifying mad scientist, one of the first to be shown in a film to such macabre proportions. He far outweighs the literary inventions of over a hundred years beforehand such as Dr. Frankenstein, who is little more than an eccentric physics teacher in comparison to insanity of Rotwang. Brigitte Helm, playing both the monumental product of science (the Robot) as well as the kind hearted Maria is perfect. Her dual roles contrast substantially in character and Helm delivers a flawless performance as both, unique to each other. Karl Freund’s devastatingly impactful cinematography further plunges the film into a murky and unattractive but beautiful and vibrant dystopia, remaining one of the best Black and White photography jobs I have witnessed in cinema, just behind the stark photographic achievement of Kurosawa’s Rashomon.

Metropolis is more than merely an achievement. It is a monument to cinema as we know it and a film that should never be forgotten. Political themes, symbolism of the contrasts between good and evil, beauty and repulsion, technical achievement and a deeply complex and memorable plot all come together to make an unforgettable classic.

''There can be no understanding between the hand and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.''

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.

Gustav Fröhlich: Freder
Brigitte Helm: Maria / The Robot

A handful of stories and films will always be known for proving themselves against the proverbial test of time; making their mark in the pantheon of the most influential, memorable and near flawless crafted films in existence. Upon viewing in a contemporary context; even over 80 years after its initial release in 1927, the recognition of Metropolis; director Fritz Lang's masterpiece; among such timeless examples Metropolis is without a doubt included. The catalyst for all ensuing science fiction films and tremendously influential; even outside of the genre it essentially pioneered, the sheer imagination and vision behind Metropolis prove its indisputable quality decades after its time.



A tremendously ambitious and controversial feat when first released, the political and thematic content riddling the film's impressively complex storyline are astounding; proving an early testament for the potential of big budget projects to resonate with strong thematic content as opposed to being simply entertaining. Taking notes and inspirations from Karl Marx (creator of Communist ideology; for those whom don't know), among other prominent schools of thought, politics, ideologies and philosophies. The revolutionary dystopian vision of a colony of workers rebelling against the alienated upper classes proves a daring and fiercely compelling vision relevant even to this day, without even pausing to realize this is a film made in Germany in the 1920s. Similarly, the film makes a particularly effective, futuristic science-fiction piece by proving frighteningly prophetic from grander themes of commodity culture to smaller touches; with ideas which would have seemed outlandish at the time such as video phones and machine men starting to become disconcerting realities. While parts of the original film are sadly lost or missing, as they are summed up by title cards in the same way dialogue was conveyed, the occasional lapse in pacing hardly distracts from the gripping and astonishingly powerful narrative.

Similarly, the film's dynamic visual style is equally comendable, and the entire film captivates with a hypnotic, entrancing beauty. The expressionist art influenced futuristic sets and buildings and surprisingly advanced visual effects never fail to captivate, and the frequent moody lighting is an aesthetic delight. Sequences such as the opening scene of columns of repressed workers trudging desolately to work to Freder's cinematically innovative hallucination of death striking the city, the mad inventor Rotwang's construction of the iconic Machine Man to the allegorical tale of the tower of Babel prove utterly unforgettable, with Lang conjuring up a dramatic intensity essentially unparalleled in its time. Such seamless quality both technically and thematically has scarcely been glimpsed to such a degree since, and the film's incredible influence becomes increasingly clear in other works after viewing it.

While the film is seldom praised for its acting, considering the expressionist conventions of over-exaggerated facial expressions and movement to express inner sentiments, the film comes as across as far less melodramatic than one might expect, though the distinctly different performance styles may prove unsettling or unintentionally comical to a contemporary audience. Gustav Fröhlich is a suitably engaging and charismatic lead as the young son of the city's founder who becomes increasingly disgusted with the harsh mistreatment of the working class denizens. As his distant father, Alfred Abel turns in a poignant performance as Frederson, founder of Metropolis, consumed by his own ambition to the point of losing touch with the world around him. Rudolf Klein-Rogge is unforgettable and enormously entertaining as twisted inventor Rotwang, setting the standard for countless mad scientist icons to follow. Similarly, Brigitte Helm is both luminous and horrifying in turn; portraying both the earnest figurehead for a working class resistance movement who attracts the attention of the impressionable Freder, and a demonic incarnation of herself portrayed by Rotwang's devious Machine Man.

Visionary, innovative and desperately socially relevant, Lang's disturbing and captivating labour of love holds its own against the ages, proving nearly as staggeringly impressive an achievement in a current day context as its initial release over 80 years ago. Lavish and blindingly spectacular, dazzling set pieces and high production values, Metropolis rises above and stands testament to Fritz Lang's ambitious artistic visionary perceptions of how cinema could be used. Among classics such as 2001: A Space Oddysey, Blade Runner which came many years later; Fritz Lang's Metropolis is the true science fiction classic original. It also is another great insight into workings of our systems, society and why some work and some do not; in a classing system of extreme rich and poor. Fritz Lang's M; which followed in 1932, also dealt with some of the same issues concerning Metropolis. Stabs at the structure of society and the evils of the mob prove Unity is always above chaotic Hysteria.

Questo film è incredibile e non ha perso la sua originalità nel tempo.


This movie is incredibile and has not lost its originality in time.

If you're into film not just for the entertainment value but for the art of it then you might like watching this. Although if you want to watch it and sit through the whole thing might be best to watch it if you're in the mood for it and like black and white silent films. I must admit, even though I don't mind this type of film I was yawning a fair bit by the end of it but I was pretty tired so I blame it on that. I'm glad I've watched it and I did enjoy it to an extent especially the part with Hel the Machine Man and some of the imagery.