1001 Club - Metropolis (1927)

#33. Metropolis (1927)

Why It's In The Book: "Originally clocking in at over two hours, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis is the first science-fiction epic with huge sets, thousands of extras, then-state-of-the-art special effects, lots of sex and violence, a heavy-handed moral, big acting, a streak of Germanic Gothicism, and groundbreaking fantasy sequences. Bankrolled by UFA, Germany’s giant film studio, it was controversial in its day and proved a box-office disaster that nearly ruined the studio…
Shortly after its premiere, the expensive film was pulled from distribution and reedited against Lang's wishes: this truncated, simplified form remained best-known, even in the colorized Giorgio Moroder remix of the 1980s, until the 21st century, when a partial restoration - with tactful linking titles to fill in the scenes that remain irretrievably missing - made it much closer to Lang's original version. This version not only adds many scenes that went unseen for decades, but also restores their order in the original version and puts in the proper intertitles. Up to that point rated as a spectacular but simplistic science-fiction film, this new-old version reveals that futuristic setting isn't intended as prophetic but mythical, with elements of 1920s architecture, industry, design, and politics mingled with the medieval and the Biblical to produce images of striking strangeness… Frölich's performance as the hero who represents the heart is still wildly overdone, but Klein-Rogge's engineer Rotwang, Abel's Master of Metropolis, and, especially, Helm in the dual role of saintly savior and metal femme fatale are astonishing. By restoring a great deal of story delving into the mixed motivations of the characters, the wild plot now makes more sense, and we can see it is as much a twisted family drama as an epic of repression, revolution, and reconciliation."  -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

Chris Edwards - 10/10
"The above-grounders squander their time with aristocratic pursuits like gaming and whoring; the workers, meanwhile, are broken on labour’s wheel; overloaded and exhausted; they trudge silently to and from their brutal shifts, heads down, clothes drab, hours spent."
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Adolytsi - 9/10
"I can only imagine what audiences must have thought upon their initial viewing of this film. That imagination would surely be less than that of the film itself."
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Chip Lary - 9/10
"This movie was hugely influential.  You can see its impact on Blade Runner, The Matrix, Brazil, and yes, even Star Wars. It is said that the look of C-3PO was based on the robot from this film."
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Jay Cluitt - 9/10
"I was pretty floored by this film, and that is a great and all-too-rare feeling to have these days."
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Lindsey - 9/10
"one of the best science fiction films I have ever seen"
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Movie Guy Steve - 9/10
"Metropolis may have lost most of its power to cause awe and shock, but it still works, the effects are still good, and the Machine Man is still impressive as a piece of costuming."
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nicolas krizan - 8.5/10
"the sheer visual power is overwhelming"
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Sunny D - 8.5/10
"I was so taken with it that if I ever hear of a local showing, particularly if it’s on a big screen with a live orchestra doing the soundtrack, I’d probably go to great lengths to arrange another viewing of all two hours and twenty-eight minutes of it."
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Thomas Ostrowski - 8/10
"It’s a strong film with visual effects that stand the test of time and still continue to impress."
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Kim Wilson - 7.5/10
"The story itself is a bit preachy for my taste, but I have to admit I enjoyed the film. I especially enjoyed the scenes in Rotwang’s laboratory and who can forget how Hel looked and moved when she first came to life. This is an important piece of sci-fi film history and a visual dynamo."
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Squish - 7.5/10
"Without a doubt, one of the most amazing settings and concepts in any film ever made. The expanses of blackness... are so vast that everyone seems like a cog in this sinister machine."
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TSorensen - 6/10
"I do recognize the significance of Metropolis, but I really do not consider it a good movie"
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Overall Rating: 9.2/10