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Alfred Abel, Gustav Froehlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Theodor Loos, Heinrich George ... see more see more... , Brigitte Helm , Fritz Alberti , Grete Berger , Erwin Biswanger , Max Dietze , Erik Frey , Heinrich Gotho , Lisa M. Gray , Georg John , Margarete Lanner , Fritz Rasp , Hans Leo Reich , Arthur Reinhard , Olaf Storm , Erwin Vater , Rose Lichtenstein

The biggest-budgeted movie ever produced at Germany's UFA, Fritz Lang's gargantuan Metropolis consumed resources that would have yielded upwards of 20 conventional features, more than half the studio'... read more read more...s entire annual production budget. And if it didn't make a profit at the time -- indeed, it nearly bankrupted the studio -- the film added an indelible array of images and ideas to cinema, and has endured across the many decades since its release. Metropolis had many sources of inspiration, including a novel by the director's wife, Thea von Harbou -- who drew on numerous existing science fiction and speculative fiction sources -- and Lang's own reaction to seeing the Manhattan skyline at night for the very first time. There are some obvious debts to H.G. Wells (who felt it "the silliest of films"), but the array of ideas and images can truly be credited to Lang and von Harbou. In the somewhat distant future (some editions say the year 2000, others place it in 2026, and, still others -- including the original Paramount U.S. release -- in 3000 A.D.) the city of Metropolis, with its huge towers and vast wealth, is a playground to a ruling class living in luxury and decadence. They, and the city, are sustained by a much larger population of workers who labor as virtual slaves in the machine halls, moving from their miserable, tenement-like homes to their grim, back-breaking ten-hour shifts and back again. The hero, Freder (Gustav Froehlich) -- the son of Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel), the master of Metropolis -- is oblivious to the plight of the workers, or any aspect of their lives, until one day when a a beautiful subterranean dweller named Maria (Brigitte Helm) visits the Eternal Gardens, where he spends his time cavorting with various ladies, with a small group of children from the workers' city far below. They are sad, hungry, and wretched looking, and he is haunted by their needy eyes -- something Freder has never seen or known among the elite of the city -- and by this strange and beautiful woman who tells all who hear her, workers' children and ruler's offspring, that they are all brothers. He follows her back down to the depths of the city and witnesses a horrible accident and explosion in the machine halls where the men toil in misery. Haunted by what he has seen, he tries to confront his father, only to find that the man he loves and respects believes that it is right for the workers to live the way they do, while he and his elite frolic in luxury. Freder decides to do something about it, but he must first learn more, and also locate Maria. With help from Josaphat (Theodor Loos), Fredersen's recently dismissed office manager, he goes below again and takes over the job of one of the workers, in order to find Maria. Meanwhile, Fredersen is concerned about the rumblings of unrest among the workers, and his son's sudden interest in their plight; he assigns "Slim" (Fritz Rasp), his investigator, to follow Freder. Meanwhile, he goes for advice to an old acquaintance, the inventor C.A. Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge). Rotwang once was a rival to Fredersen for the love of the woman Hel, who married Fredersen and died bearing his son, Freder. Rotwang still feels the loss, but he is a cunning and practical man, and is willing to help his old "friend," but not before showing off his latest creation -- a robot that he has modeled in the image of his beloved Hel, that he may have her again. Rotwang answers Fredersen's question by taking him to the catacombs below the modern city, where they see Maria preaching the gospel and counseling patience, in the hope that a "Mediator" -- who will be able to reconcile the "head" and "hands" of society (i.e. the ruling and working classes) -- will come among them. Fredersen will hear none of it, and sees the need to break the workers' resistance and destroy Maria's influence among them. He arranges with Rotwang to make his robot creation into a duplicate Maria (which requires his kidnapping her), and to send her out among the workers to incite them to violence, so that Fredersen can use force against them. But he doesn't reckon with Rotwang, who despises Fredersen and his ruling class, and has commanded the robot to obey his orders and follow a plan that will destroy the city, both above and below ground. Fredersen also doesn't reckon with his own son Freder, who not only believes in what Maria is preaching but is beginning to see himself as the "Mediator," and is right in the midst of the conflagration when the workers' uprising starts. Soon, fires and floods spread, threatening to doom the children of the workers, abandoned in their parents' frenzied attack on the machines, and the city of Metropolis faces an impending disaster of biblical proportions. Meanwhile, the now-mad Rotwang tries to reclaim his lost Hel, and Maria and her evil robot twin are both stalked by crowds of workers driven to a murderous rage.When it was premiered in Germany in January 1927, Metropolis ran 153 minutes when projected at 24 frames per second. That complete version was heavily cut for release in America, removing a quarter of the movie -- this included the personal conflict between Fredersen and Rotwang; a subplot involving double-dealing, espionage, and the mysterious "Slim"; a section taking place in the "red-light" district of the city; a good deal of the symbolism in the movie's original dialogue; and a large chunk of the chase at the end. In Germany in the spring of 1927, an edited version modeled roughly on the American edition, though running slightly longer, was prepared and released, and that became the "standard" version of the movie, for both domestic (i.e. German) distribution and export. In subsequent years, other editions were circulated and still others were found deposited in various archives; in a surprising number of instances -- including that of a source stored at the Museum of Modern Art in New York -- there were tiny fragments to be found of the lost, longer version of Metropolis.The movie's reputation was further compromised with the lapsing of its American copyright in 1953, after which countless copies and duplicates, in every format from 8 mm to 35 mm (and, later, VHS tape and DVD) came to be distributed in the U.S. by anyone who could lay their hands on a print, of whatever quality and with whatever music track they chose (or didn't choose) to put on it. While several versions of the movie from these sources -- each with plot elements missing -- circulated, various restorations of the movie were attempted over the decades by responsible parties, as well. The BBC did a very effective one in the mid-'70s that was a hit on public television in America, utilizing an electronic music track that sometimes mimicked some of the industrial images on the screen. Also, there was the Giorgio Moroder version from 1984, heavily tinted and re-edited, with a rock score grafted onto it, which introduced the movie to a whole new generation of fans and turned it into a modern pop-culture fixture. The copyright was re-established in 1998 by the F.W. Murnau Foundation, and a restoration in 2002 brought the movie back to a 127 minute running time, in addition to utilizing a full orchestral score based on Gottfried Huppertz's original 1927 music. In 2008, it was reported that a significant part of the "lost" footage from the 1927 153-minute version of Metrpolis had been found in Argentina. The newest restoration of the complete Metropolis was on-going as of 2009, and a theatrical premiere was anticipated for 2010. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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PG-13, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Fritz Lang

Release Date: March 13, 1927

Keywords: sci-fi, old, silent

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DVD Release Date: February 18, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (3,995)

  • jamers2011
    March 13, 2012
    jamers2011
    I didn't like it all. Interesting, classic, but odd, cheesy, and annoying!
  • tolkienfan101
    January 27, 2012
    tolkienfan101
    One of the first major science fiction films, and one of the most expensive films made at the time, Fritz Lang's dystopian future hits all the right notes about social class, the importance of conformity, monetary extortion, and the future fate of political tumult. The scope for ... read morethis film is just gigantic and unbelievable inventive, using architecture to explore social concepts, and the idea of revolution through means of non-violent cooperation, challenging the idea of class struggle and subsequent unrest. One of the great classic silent films, and always a testament to our past, present and future.
  • fb100000257973100
    December 17, 2011
    fb100000257973100
    I love film myths. I love German cinema (if it is subtitled). I love classic silent films. So, in that sense, I love Fritz Lang's epic masterpiece Metropolis. From the stand point of a person that watches countless films in order to review them, I would say that this has to be, a... read morell around, one of the most well made and enjoyable films I have ever sat through. But, when asked why, it has to do with the history of this legendary film, the impact it has left, and the sheer scope that was created.
    Made back during the golden age of Silent cinema, Germany had proven that they are the masters of cinema with their silent films by creating two of the greatest: Nosferatu and Metropolis. But it was with Metropolis that the most attention and love was shown towards. But, sadly, when this film was distributed, it was butchered and edited in a shameless manner with a good chunk of footage missing. Until 2010 when a completed version was found, but more on that in a different review. This review is for the edited, generic version.
    Even with a good percentage of film missing, this is still a complete beautiful piece of artwork to watch. From the expressions on the actors's faces to the sets built for the film, there is not one scene that does not ponder your mind. Even more the story and scenes that have been tribute and parodied in years to come. If one was to think about it, this film demands the love and respect it has gotten over the years due to so many films in the science fiction genre taking liberites to try and master.
    Now, there are two main reasons why I consider this film a great film. The first will have to be the visual direction. As a lot of my readers know, one of the greatest (that I consider great) directors of all time is Stanley Kubrick. Watching this film, I am left wondering if he ever saw this film when he was trying to film his films, Just, the attention to the detail of every shot (mainly the beautiful models) are, rather impressive and just breath taking. Even if the film was damaged and destroyed over time. The attempt and the passion is still there, and you still feel it no matter what.
    Then you have the breath taking score. Another thing about me that is well known is my love for film scores, and this is still the only film I have found that has perfected films scores (even beating my all time favorite score: Trent Reznor's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo). From the begining notes to the ending, this film never hits a sour note. With silent films, the score has to be great in order to help keep people's attention to the film. This film does that plus creating a piece of music that can stand on it's own. A rare feat.
    At the end of the day, I still see films that take so much from this films. Films ranging from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Blade Runner to the entire Star Wars saga. This film is still a testament to the power of cinema, and to the impact it has on people and their love for art.
  • hobster1
    October 31, 2011
    hobster1
    Giorgio Moroder Presents Metropolis is a marvelous reinterpretation of an incredible film. Fritz Lang's Metropolis is an important work and synth wizard Giorgio Moroder complements Fritz Lang's artistic vision. Metropolis was a silent first released in 1927. It had an orchestral ... read moremusical arrangement by Gottfried Huppertz which included elements from the music of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. In 1984 Giorgio Moroder took the Metropolis print, composed a new more modern score, added sound effects, and color tinted certain scenes. The Giorgio Moroder entry was actually shorter than existing prints at the time. This was due mainly to the addition of subtitles to replace intertitles displaying dialogue and running at a quicker 24 frames/second. This version was a restoration of sorts for the time, but it's also HIS vision. Highly controversial when it was released back in 1984, this strongly divided audiences. I can imagine that to purists, taking a respected work of art and applying such changes is something akin to blasphemy. I, however, am not one those people. Obviously the concept isn't meant to replace the original Metropolis, which still exists in all its glory, but it is a revitalization of a silent classic. In fact, Moroder's undertaking was key in stoking renewed interest in the seminal work. In 2010 the most compete version of Metropolis was discovered totaling 147 minutes. I recommend seeking that as well as it approximates Fritz Lang's work as it was originally presented.

    Metropolis is a fundamental work in science fiction. True, the melodramatic acting of silent films can come across as unintentionally comedic. And the parable of class warfare is about as timeworn an idea as they come. At one point, Maria implores "There can be no understanding between the hand and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator." That sounds like the wisdom from a fortune cookie, but along with those overworked ideas, beats Fritz Lang's vision of a ultramodern city that continues to influence filmmakers of today. Star Wars, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element all gather inspiration from Metropolis. Even the video for Madonna's "Express Yourself" relies heavily on the masterpiece. Giorgio Moroder's reinterpretation only accentuates Fritz Lang's imaginative talent. At times it's ridiculously over the top, but that's what makes the story so endlessly watchable. It stands up to repeated viewings. Giorgio Moroder's presents Metropolis is a revitalized adaptation of a classic film and deserves a hallowed place along side the original.
  • fb619846742
    August 5, 2011
    fb619846742
    An over-rated though impressive sci-fi spectacle whose influence on the film industry can not be questioned, concerning a rich son who abandons his life of luxury with the chance to be with a girl who resides in the underbelly of a futuristic society. There are times when this fi... read morelm is incredibly dull, where certain plot points keep getting more and more detailed to the point where you want to yell "I get it!". However, the movie is still a James Cameron-esque "experience", with appropriate melodramatic acting to compensate for the lack of audio (this is a silent film). As said, there are times when the film bogs down, and the ending is corny to the highest degree, but there are certain aspects of it that are admirable, such as the ability to implement a successful love story amongst no audible dialogue and ambitious plotting in the story. Still worth a view just to see the influence this movie had alone, legend has it this was one of Adolf Hitler's favorite films (ironic considering the plot of the story - the weak overpowering a dominant upper-class and dictator-type character).
  • FrizzDrop
    June 22, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Note: The version watched was a spliced together feature including the half hour missing from the original Lang production. My rating is based on all material included.

    I've always pondered how 1939 yielded so many legendary films, when the era of silent film had only passed by ... read moreten years prior. Metropolis proved all of my hang-ups concerning silent films to be unjust. Yes, the acting is as over the top and hammy as the usual silent fair, but because of the German Expressionist nature the acting almost created an aura of believability. Just as lavish and expensive as you expected, Metropolis includes backdrops that fade in and out of paintings, a metal woman made for companionship instead of actual work, scenes that shift from modernistic to include a flashback of ancient Babylon. Before watching I was told not to look for realism in this film, but instead surrealism of a dystopian metropolis, vengeful against everyone except the people who actually live on a surface world. Below is the worker's city, full of smoke, sludge, and decay. The workers keep hunched, their ears pointed out of caps, a Nosferatu caricature of despair. Without sound the film used light, interesting camera work, backdrops, and atmospheric music, in order to imply things such as Maria's purity, dictatorship, and poignancy. The film is Biblical, lifting passages and scenes from the Good Book frequently, even using the main character as a template for Christ-like beings. An innocent figure is thrust into a land he's never seen before, and used to become a mediator between the workers and his father, the proprietor of the entire city. A jealous scientist, obsessed with the dead wife of a friend, betrays everyone by trying to kill the workers' children. Many things bothered me: the character of Maria resembling Olive Oyl, the machine functions being similar to an arcade game, and the strange acting of the Thin Man character, who resembles Count on Sesame Street. Though actress Brigitte Helm (Maria, Fake Maria, and Robot) does a great job of being vulnerable and saint like, she became hammy when portraying a winking, saucy version of herself as the Fake Maria. Even director Fritz Lang admits the message and ending are boring and contrived, but because of that you may choose for yourself what the film's message is. A masterpiece of all ages: Metropolis.
  • ceWEBrity
    November 5, 2010
    ceWEBrity
    Warm, textured and endlessly imaginative, Metropolis bankrupted its production studio and went over like a lead balloon with the public at large. Watching it now, its reception seems almost incomprehensible. It is imperatively a film ahead of its time, misunderstood but no less v... read morealuable, and only over the course of 85 years have we had the privilege of canonizing it. Metropolis is the sort of movie that really puts the evolution of an art form into perspective. Who's to say that the critically and publicly reviled works of today won't be viewed with unwavering respect in another century? Maybe someone like Bruce LaBruce or Gregg Araki or Gaspar Noe, provocateurs who are generally mocked and pooh-poohed, but whose styles and signatures are unmistakable. I'm not calling Metropolis perfect, threatened unduly by the clash between its grandiose yet restrained images and the overdone acting, and a rather unsavory critical view of the proletariat. As a union of pure spectacle and cultural extrospection, Metropolis is virtually unmatched, by its contemporaries or really anything else. Not my favorite silent film, but an undeniably important one.
  • phubbs1
    October 3, 2010
    phubbs1
    First time seeing this epic and I will be honest as I usually am, I found most of this very boring haha! I knew it was a silent pic and black n white of course, even better!, but the plot in this is totally not what I expected. I always thought this was a kind of 'Frankenstein' s... read moretory, creation of a robot, but it turns out its actually partly that but more so based around a religious theme of a woman (almost akin to Moses and worshipped as a saviour) leading the lowly workers to revolt against the high and mighty city planners which then proceeds to turn to a disaster movie and then ends with a Gothic horror type finale in the realms of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'.

    Its hard to take the whole film in as its very complicated with all its messages, themes and metaphors which are both obvious and hidden, the characters are all very well portrayed and much deeper than you expect as the film progresses although the lack of wording (missing or taken out?) makes it hard to follow and pick up all the information you need, a read on IMDb may be required.

    The real reason to watch this film is of course the visuals, stunts and musical score, where to begin!?
    The score is an opera, its first rate, top class, its as good as any known Hollywood musical and practically tells the story on its own...which its suppose to do I might add. Every person and every event is recorded with the perfect tune/note/theme tune which guides you along the way as if you were listening to a classical orchestral piece.
    The visuals and design of the film are the real stand out spectacles with absolutely incredible special effects ranging from model work to matte painting to create a blend of crafts that truly puts some modern films to shame and this was in 1927 remember! The stark harsh black and white contrast adds to the German expressionism to give it that Gothic, gloomy yet quite realistic feel which I really believe would be lost in colour, the camera angles and forced perspective used to create the towering skyscrapers and sprawling jungle of buildings is simply perfect, you just can't fault it and its so very easy to see where many top directors of the biggest sci-fi and Gothic films in history have gotten their inspiration, but I don't blame them for one minute.
    Not only the city impresses, the costumes worn by the city planners and their leader 'Fredersen' don't appear dated too much...just smart basic and believeable whilst the set designs and future work on show are pretty accurate of our age and do look really nice (video phone), the offices and building layouts just look right, liveable, clean and well thought out, much like first impressions of 'Blade Runner'.

    All this without even mentioning the near perfect body suit used to create the robot 'Maria'! the sculpture work is iconic and begs to be worshipped! not only does it look like a real working robot but the actress inside gives a beautiful silent, slow performance with hardly any effort used, merely standing and walking but giving everything to the suit to make it work on every level, the scientists lab around her is gorgeous looking too and those now memorable assending/descending glowing halo's that surround Maria as she sits are the icing on the sci-fi cake :) ( now of course the stuff of the classic B-movie)

    Not only are the effects amazing but the stunt work during the second half of the film is quite risky and daring to say the least, as the machines crumble after the workers revolt the sets come crashing down in eye widening sequences, the huge props fall apart and chuff out smoke whilst the flooding scenes mix neat model shots with quite large sets and huge amounts of extras used (there are some quite stunning scenes with masses of extras used during the film all without the use of cgi making them very special indeed). Some of the sets must have been vast or at least give that impression, many sequences look like stage sets in a theatre with some props taking up almost all the space with their realistic scale, it really does stun you to see it.

    A historic film that defies belief, everything is so well done, such precision work and so old you just wonder how film makers can make such trash these days. The story is boring and alittle hard to follow I have to say, lots of odd images, ideas and character arch's going on which isn't surprising seeing as its getting close to a hundred years old (83 so far) but you watch for the craftsmanship on display, the effects, lighting, camera angles, set designs, models, costumes...all these deserve to be viewed and shown or taught...this is the art of proper film making.
  • mumby1988
    September 14, 2010
    mumby1988
    Whenever critics or film institutions publish lists of the greatest films ever made, the same old names keep coming up with an air of increasing tedium. It?s very easy to be blasé or dismissive about Citizen Kane or Casablanca on the grounds that nothing original can be said abou... read moret them; all possible plaudits have been dished out and the matter is settled.

    Metropolis is one of those films whose reputation is so richly deserved, it is almost annoying. You sit there in the darkness poised ready to pick the film apart, to laugh at all its flaws and scoff at how badly it has aged. But despite its length and the inherent extremities of silent cinema, all you can do is sit there in unrelenting awe of what remains an extraordinary piece of work.

    Like so many of the films we now revere, Metropolis was severely misunderstood when first released. The New York Times film critic Mourdant Hall described it as ?a technical marvel with feet of clay?, and socialist author H. G. Wells dismissed it as ?foolishness, cliché, platitude and muddlement about mechanical progress and progress in general.? At a time of high cinema attendance, American distributors refused to distribute any film which ran longer than 90 minutes. The film was therefore cut and edited severely, and some theatres actually ran it through projectors at one-and-a-half times the intended speed to get the running time down even more.

    The discovery of a longer, 16mm print in Argentina in 2008 means that today?s version of Metropolis is the most complete and logical available. There are still small sections missing from the original version, which are replaced with extended intertitles; we still don?t have the scene of Rotwang and Freder fighting each other in the lab. And in some of the reinstated scenes, the print is grainy and murky. But ultimately none of this matters, because the visual splendour and substance of Metropolis is enough to take one?s breath away.

    The first startling point about Metropolis is its sheer scale; it was and is the most expensive silent film ever made. The city which Lang puts on screen is absolutely vast, with roads snaking around buildings and aeroplanes dodging the highest floors of the New Tower of Babel. The film popularised the Schufftan process, in which the actors are super-imposed in camera onto a scale model or drawing reflected in a partial mirror. Through this technique, the actors appear small and insignificant against the architecture of the city. The shots of the athletics track or the workers? underground city look expansive and realistic, and unlike a lot of epics the scenery expresses and communicates the themes, allowing you to lose yourself in this world without losing sight of the characters.

    In addition to its mechanical scale, the film employs over 37,000 extras and around 750 child extras, in scenes which make Ben-Hur look thin on the ground. Even in this age of advanced motion capture, in which Peter Jackson can create astonishing battles with an artificial cast of thousands, it is fascinating that so many genuine human actors can be captured on camera in such a personal and kinetic manner. The scenes of the workers rampaging through the streets, or the children rushing through the drowning city, are every bit as breathtaking and exciting as the Odessa steps sequence in Battleship Potemkin.

    Beyond its technical brilliance, Lang?s movie is also hugely influential in its impact on the character conventions of Western cinema. Although doctors and scientists had already been portrayed in a sinister light (in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, for instance), Rotwang is the archetypal mad scientist. Both his character and the lab in which he works were a huge influence on the James Swale adaptations of Frankenstein, and reflections of his long hair and gloved hands can be seen in everything from Back to the Future to Dr. Strangelove.

    The politics of Metropolis are more nuanced and complicated than one would first assume. It is a deeply Marxist film, depicting a rich capitalistic class who live in happiness in the Eternal Gardens while the workers struggle in a subterranean city (which prophetically 1960s architecture, one might add). The workers are both the bottom of the pile and the foundations of this affluent society, depending on where you stand. The early footage of the workers drudging through the gates conveys the misery of proletarian life, with individuals being driven to exhaustion working the same machines, performing the same tasks, day-in, day-out.

    But although it contains scenes of revolution, Metropolis differs from conventional Marxism both in its treatment of religion and in the role it accords to women. The meetings which Maria holds down in the catacombs are held in a chamber with huge crosses and an altar. She uses the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel to demonstrate the inherent and fruitless conflict embedded in the capitalist system ? namely one in which the head (bourgeoisie) and hands (proletariat) are permanently unable to communicate, thereby hampering progress and eliminating any possibility of widespread happiness. The very fact that she invokes a ?mediator?, who will come and join these forces through the heart, is ample evidence that Lang does not see religion (or at least faith) as purely the opium of the people.

    The character of Maria is cleverly employed to both subvert traditional expectations of female roles and to expose the excess and hypocrisy of the upper classes. Although she ends up with our male hero, and is frightened to death by Rotwang (who wouldn?t be?), Maria is still an independent, intelligent, forceful figure, who stands up for herself rather than just hanging around waiting to be rescued. When the robotic Maria (or maschinenmensch) is created, Rotwang demonstrates how indistinguishable she is from the real thing by having her perform an erotic dance for the gentlemen of Yoshiwara. These seemingly respectable men drool over her like sex-mad adolescents, and all veneer of dignity is gone.

    One of the key themes of Metropolis is that of machines being able to replicate and impersonate humans, and in doing so influence the way we live. Like Blade Runner and The Terminator after it, the film entertains the possibility of humans and machines unknowingly coexisting, and the latter being able to manipulate us, either through violence or a more subtle form of suggestion. Lang demonstrates this both through the Frankenstein-like transformation of Maria and by Freder?s emotional responses to the plight of the lower orders. In one terrifying scene, he imagines a malfunctioning machine as a ghoulish face with a mouth full of fire, and man walking into its jaws as human sacrifices to slake its wrath. The perception of machines being human is a two-way process; we have to form an emotional bond to fully believe what we are told.

    Metropolis remains one of the best films of the silent era. Its impeccable level of craft and beautiful imagery is matched by a storyline so dripping with substance that we forgive any elements which seem confusing or overly familiar. It has dated extraordinarily well on both a technical and a political level; certainly it holds up a lot better than something like The Birth of a Nation. Most of all, Metropolis is one of the foundation stones of modern filmmaking, in science fiction and beyond. It is expressionist cinema at its absolute best, and a real must-see for all film fans.
  • sanjurosamurai
    September 12, 2010
    sanjurosamurai
    often considered cinema's first great masterpiece. after having seen the film a couple of years ago i finally got a chance to watch the rerelease with the lost scenes last night. the film was already great, but lang's fuller vision definitely brings this film from excellent to ... read morefull scale epic. a marvelous film for its time, this is still a film more than 80 years after its release that belongs on the big screen. the scale of the story is daunting when thought through, containing elements of religion, philosophy, sociology, and economics. there are more biblical parallels than people realize and the symbolism of the film leaves one thinking for days. great film.

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Critic Reviews

Sam Adams
July 22, 2010
Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times

Kino's The Complete Metropolis contains nearly a hundred instances of restored footage, ranging from brief reaction shots to entire sequences. Full Review

Michael Phillips
June 21, 2010
Michael Phillips, At the Movies

This movie is certifiably nuts and naive in many ways, but it is so exciting. Full Review

Tom Long
June 11, 2010
Tom Long, Detroit News

There's no denying either the influence of Lang's vision -- so much of what he did in this film lives on that we take it as cultural assumption -- or the still valid energy of his storytelling. Full Review

Ty Burr
June 3, 2010
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Here's a coincidence: The first must-see movie of 2010 is also the must-see movie of 1927. The difference is that you can actually see it now. Or most of it. Full Review

Kenneth Turan
May 13, 2010
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

To see the film as the director intended, on the big screen with an original score recorded by a 60-piece orchestra, greatly enhances the reputation of a film already considered one of the icons of th... Full Review

Lou Lumenick
May 7, 2010
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

The extended version -- the additional footage is easy to spot because it's rather worn and a slightly different size -- provides more of the extraordinary performance by the teenage Helm. Full Review

Ed Halter
July 17, 2007
Ed Halter, Village Voice

Lang's impossibly vast skyscraper-ziggurats (inspired, it's said, by his first view of the Manhattan skyline) are the blueprint for nearly every science-fiction movie city of the past 30 years. Full Review

Don Druker
May 30, 2007
Don Druker, Chicago Reader

The great Fritz Lang created this chilling 1926 evocation of a mechanized utopia run by underground slave labor. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
May 30, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

The film looks fabulous, and Gottfried Huppertz's original score is another worthy addition. Full Review

Peter Rainer
April 19, 2007
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

You've seen the rest; now see the best. Full Review

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    • Maria/Robot: The mediator of the head and the hands must be the heart.
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Metropolis Trivia

  • Which classic silent film stars Brigitte Helm in the roles of Maria, The Machine Man, Death, and The Seven Deadly Sins?  Answer »
  • Superman has always been based in Metropolis. Which city has always served as a model for Metropolis in every incarnation of the comics and movies?  Answer »
  • Who directed 'M', 'The Big Heat' and 'Metropolis'?  Answer »
  • I played a superhero in Metropolis, a dead beat ex-boyfriend in a movie with six teams competing for two million dollars, and a murderous husband who killed his pregnant wife in 2003.  Answer »
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