Metropolis Revisited

Robot temptress.. Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

TODAY

Today is a crisp, chilly 44 degrees with a deceptively bright, blue sky. Kind of invigorating really as a crowded White Rock suggests. I’m now at Arboretum Starbucks, enjoying my Thanksgiving week off.

CLASSIC SCI-FI

I recently watched a classic sci-fi movie, and actually one considered to be the first feature length film of that genre. Directed by Fritz Lang, Metropolis was filmed in 1925 at Babelsberg Studio in Germany. Considering the year was 1925, some of the special effects are remarkable. The movie, which is silent with captions, even has a fusion of live action and animation that has characterized much later films.

Metropolis took so long to package and edit, it wasn’t released until 1927 at which point talkies had made their debut. The film had elaborate sets and was the most expensive production to that date. It was a commercial-critical dud partly because of its timing. Decades later, the movie was rediscovered for its huge contribution to the sci-fi concept.

The movie depicts a future society in a highly industrialized city (“Metropolis”). Peon factory workers are imprisoned in a subterranean factory setting while a rich elite lives in the ultramodern towers above. It appears (my interpretation) that the workers are cloned offspring of the elite, born to do their bidding. Freder, a scion of the elite falls in love with Maria, a factory wench. Maria also sidelines as an evangelist, urging the workers to seek independence.

Freder’s father has a mad scientist kidnap Maria and project her physical appearance onto a robot creation. Then, the robot is programmed to deceive Maria’s followers, leading them far astray into a life of mindless decadence. I won’t give away the rest of the plot, although it’s safe to say that good wins over evil in the end.

RECEPTION

Critics at the time panned the movie for being a simplistic morality tale (which let’s be honest – it was). Robot Maria’s plunge into decadence had her appearing as an erotic dancer in an adult cabaret. The dance numbers are stunning though some of the facial expressions are comically exaggerated probably owing to a lack of sound as a method of conveyance. The movie seemed to caution against madcap dancing and drinking – even while making it a prominent attraction in the film. The screenplay was written by Lang’s wife, Thea Von Harbou. Her gift of plot structure was not on a par with George Lucas by any means.

TECHIE COOL STUFF

The movie had ultra-modern cityscapes and cars streaming through tubular connected bridges. Freder’s father used video teleconference to reach underlings. The laboratory of the mad scientist had all manner of lightning bolts and energy streams zapping Maria’s visage over to a metallic robot. Some of this is pretty cool even now. I don’t think Star Wars or Total Recall have exceeded the total vision of Fritz Lang circa 1925.

I watched the movie wondering how it played to Weimar Germans of the day, who were still smarting from World War I and flirting with Nazism. The dystopian, monolithic themes must have registered in some way. The Nazi state buildings of the 1930’s almost seem to have the soaring majesty of a Fritz Lang set.

If you have time to kill, this movie is a good way to kill it. One note – the movie was highly censored, edited and even butchered by morality police of the era. Whole sections were cut, so the captions are sometimes paragraphs to explain weird transitions and gaps. Still, it sort of flows. And still, it's a fascinating piece of cinema.

© 2015 Snillor Productions