Metropolis [1927 film]

Bought this illustrated edition to replace my text-only ed. Highly enjoyable story for which the stills from the film and posters and other artwork enhanced. B&W throughout. The introduction by Forrest Ackerman was excellent, a partial fiction in itself. Mentions of comparisons between Metropolis with RUR, Erewhon, The Time Machine, When the Sleeper Wakes, Land Under England, Looking Backward, Summer in 3000; and he ranks the book alongside The World Below, The House on the Borderland, The Demolished Man, The Forever War, Childhood's End, Last Men in London, Stranger in a Strange Land, and 1984

A robot leads a socialist revolution.

For once Netflix has the good version of a silent film. We'd seen a different version (about a decade ago), and it was boring and kind of hard to follow. This version (the Murnau Foundation restoration released by Kino) is entertaining throughout. The footage is played significantly faster, it uses the original score, it has all the footage that was known to exist at the time it was released (early 2000s), and, absolutely essential if the movie's going to make any sense, it tells you what happens in the missing scenes.

Concept: A
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: D
Music: B

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.6/4

2024 movie #21. 1927. Fritz Lang's masterpiece 1927 silent film about a futuristic city where the rich live in luxury while the workers live underground and run the dangereous machinery that keeps the city going. Quite a striking vision and clearly an influential SF film.

German Expressionist utopia and its discontents.

Metropolis is undeniably a landmark in cinematic history, watching it, I couldn't help but appreciate the craftsmanship that went into creating such a visually stunning piece of cinema. It's clear that Metropolis laid the groundwork for the science fiction genre, with its dystopian themes and its exploration of class struggles resonating even today. However, despite its visual brilliance, I found myself struggling with the film's narrative. The story, while ambitious, often feels convoluted and heavy-handed. The plot meanders through a series of melodramatic twists that, at times, feel more like a vehicle for the film's visual spectacle than a coherent story. Characters, particularly the leads, come across as archetypal rather than show more fully fleshed out, which made it difficult for me to fully engage with their journeys. The pacing is another challenge, with scenes that linger longer than necessary, making the film feel overly drawn out. show less

Il film si svolge nel XXI secolo a Metropolis, una città futuristica e futuristicamente dominata da un ricco industriale, che vive insieme a tutta la classe superiore fuori terra. I lavori neri e il funzionamento delle macchine sono responsabili per i lavoratori e gli schiavi che lavorano e vivono sottoterra. Metropolis è un classico che è uno dei punti salienti dell'espressionismo tedesco nel cinema. Lang disegna nella sua geniale caratteristica di incredibili immagini visive che sono state citate e influenzate da innumerevoli film.