Metropolis (1927)

Release Date: 10 January, 1927


What's It About: Metropolis deals with citizens of varying social castes living in the futuristic city, looking to overcome the differences between the wealthy and the poor. A machine human is built in secret to mimic humans and undermine their efforts to close the social gaps.


The Good: Groundbreaking special effects of the time, and very rich and detailed worldbuilding and set design. Much of the city of Metropolis is based off of New York city, which at the time seemed like a whole other world to the citizens of Germany in the 1920s. Much of the architecture in the film is inspired by Art Deco and Bauhaus, as well as some elements of steampunk. Themes such as communism and the bourgeosie vs proletariat permeate the film at every level, offering us a look at them through the eyes of both wealthy Freder and poor Maria.


The Bad: This film is very long and slowly paced, which makes it for gruelling viewing. I admit that I even watched it at 1.5x speed because the plot progressed so slowly, and also because there was no dialogue, which made accelerating it easier to put up with. The film's plot is rather simplistic but at the time generated controversy for its scope and was actually not universally acclaimed.


Best Performance: Brigitte Helm as Maria and Hel, the robot built to impersonate her. She plays the labor worker's role of Maria, who leads a social revolution. This role required her to be a caring mother-type figure who represented the ideals of the workers, but conversely she had to perform the role of Hel, the antagonistic, somewhat sociopathic machine human, who would undermine the revolution by ruining Maria's reputation as a leader. Alot of the effect of the performance came through in her expressions and makeup, and it felt sufficiently inhuman enough to generate a feeling of uncanny valley.


Should I Watch It: Metropolis is a landmark film both in the genre of science fiction and in cinema overall. The technical achievement is extraordinary, as is the thematic and narrative scope. It is possibly the very best film of the silent era, one that carries powerful messages (this is during a time when most of cinema was purely entertainment). There is a marked orientation, complication and resolution and the character of Freder undergoes personal growth that we can see throughout the film.


Post-Credits Scene: No


Similar Films: Dark City (1998), THX 1138 (1971), Blade Runner (1982)


Trailer: