Metropolis
Directed by	Fritz Lang
Produced by	Erich Pommer
Written by	Fritz Lang Thea von Harbou
Starring	Brigitte Helm Gustav Fröhlich
Distributed by	UFA
Released	January 10, 1927 (Germany) March 6, 1927 (USA)
Running time	210 min (Germany premiere) 123 min (2002 restored version)
Language	Silent
Budget	7 million Marks
IMDb profile

Metropolis is a very early science fiction film that was produced in Germany during the brief years of the Weimar Republic. It is set in a futuristic urban dystopia. Released in 1927, it is a black and white silent film created by the famed Austrian director Fritz Lang and was the most expensive silent film of that time, costing approximately 7 million Marks (equivalent to around $200 million today). ^[1] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (339x766, 55 KB) Summary Promotional poster for the film Metropolis. ... Fritz Lang Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 - August 2, 1976) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known emigrés from Germanys school of expressionism. ... Fritz Lang Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 - August 2, 1976) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known emigrés from Germanys school of expressionism. ... Thea von Harbou (December 27, 1888 â€“ July 1, 1954) was a German actress and author of some noble Prussian descent. ... Brigitte Helm in Metropolis Brigitte Helm (March 17, 1908 – June 11, 1996) was a German actress. ... UFA logo Universum Film AG, better known as Ufa or UFA, was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema during its brief existence from 1917 to 1945. ... January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... A 100 Reichsmark banknote from Germany of 1935 (http://www. ... Poster for The Day the Earth Stood Still, an archetypal science fiction film Science fiction has been a film genre since the earliest days of cinema. ... Flag of Weimar Republic, 1919–1933 This article outlines political events from 1918 until the collapse of the Republic in 1933. ... A dystopia (alternatively, cacotopia, kakotopia or anti-utopia) is usually seen as the antithesis of a utopian society. ... See also: 1926 in film 1927 1928 in film 1920s in film years in film film // Events January 10 - The film Metropolis by Fritz Lang premieres. ... This article is about the term as used in media and computing; for more specific uses, see Black and White. ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... Fritz Lang Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 - August 2, 1976) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known emigrés from Germanys school of expressionism. ... A 100 Reichsmark banknote from Germany of 1935 (http://www. ... This article is about general United States currency. ...

The screenplay was written in 1924 by Lang and his wife, Thea von Harbou, and novelized in 1926 by von Harbou. Thea von Harbou (December 27, 1888 â€“ July 1, 1954) was a German actress and author of some noble Prussian descent. ...

Plot

Note: There are multiple versions of Metropolis. The original German version remained unseen for many decades. Of this version, a quarter of the footage is believed to be permanently lost. The U.S. version, shortened and re-written by Channing Pollock, is the most commonly known and discussed.

The film is set in the year 2026, in the extraordinary Gothic skyscrapers of a corporate city-state, the Metropolis of the title. Society has been divided into two rigid groups: one of planners or thinkers, who live high above the earth in luxury, and another of workers who live underground toiling to sustain the lives of the privileged. The city is run by Johhan 'Joh' Fredersen (Alfred Abel). Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to present) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York, New York Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government • President  â€¢ Vice President Federal republic... American Magician 1927 - 2006 Influenced Lance Burtons act ... See also Gothic art. ... Taipei 101, considered the worlds tallest skyscraper. ... A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large city and its adjacent zone of influence, or of several neighboring cities or towns and adjoining areas, with one or more large cities serving as its hub or hubs. ...

The beautiful and evangelical figure Maria (Brigitte Helm) takes up the cause of the workers. She advises the desperate workers not to start a revolution, and instead wait for the arrival of "The Mediator", who, she says, will unite the two halves of society. The son of Fredersen, Freder (Gustav Fröhlich), becomes infatuated with Maria, and descends into the working underworld. In the underworld, he experiences first-hand the toiling lifestyle of the workers, and observes the casual attitude of their employers (he is disgusted after seeing an explosion at the "M-Machine", when the employers bring in new workers to keep the machine running before taking care of the men wounded or killed in the accident). Shocked at the working conditions, he joins her cause. Meanwhile his father Fredersen learns of the existence of the robotic gynoid built by the scientist Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) (Rotwang wanted to give the robot the appearance of Fredersen's dead wife, Hel) and orders Rotwang to give the Robot Maria's appearance. By doing so he wants to spread disorder among the workers that would give him the pretext to carry out a retaliatory strike against them. Brigitte Helm in Metropolis Brigitte Helm (March 17, 1908 – June 11, 1996) was a German actress. ... In practical usage, a robot is a mechanical device which performs automated tasks, either according to direct human supervision, a pre-defined program or, a set of general guidelines, using artificial intelligence techniques. ... Gynoid (from Greek gyneka - woman) is a term used to describe a robot designed to look like a human female, as compared to an android modeled after a male. ... Rotwang is a mad scientist guy. ...

Rotwang with his invention, which in the original script was called Futura

The real Maria is imprisoned in Rotwang's house in Metropolis, whilst the robot Maria becomes an exotic dancer in the city's nightclubs, fomenting discord amongst the rich young men of Metropolis. The workers are encouraged by the robot Maria into a full-scale rebellion, and destroy the "Heart Machine", the power station of the city. However, the destruction of the machine leads to the city's reservoirs overfilling, which floods the workers' underground city and seemingly drowns their children, who were left behind in the riot. When the workers realise this, they attack out into the gridlocked and confused upper city, foreshadowing the "destruction of the enemy in the citadel" ending still seen in films. The crowd breaks into the city's entertainment district and capture the robot Maria, whom they believe is responsible for drowning their children. They burn the robot at the stake, and when Freder sees this, he believes that it is the real Maria and despairs. However, Freder and the workers then realise that "Maria" is in fact a robot, and see the real Maria being chased by Rotwang along the battlements of the city's cathedral. Freder chases after Rotwang, resulting in a climactic scene in which Joh Fredersen watches in terror as his son struggles with Rotwang on the cathedral's roof. Rotwang falls to his death, and Maria and Freder return to the street, where Freder unites Joh and Grot, the workers' leader, fulfilling his role as the "Mediator". Metropolis - Fritz Lang. ... Metropolis - Fritz Lang. ... The terms exotic dancer and exotic dance can have different meanings in different parts of the world and depending on context. ... A nightclub (often shortened to club) is an entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. ... A reservoir is an artificial lake created by flooding land behind a dam. ... A cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Anglican, Roman Catholic and some Lutheran churches, which serves as the central church of a diocese, and thus as a bishops seat. ...

Themes

One of the most impressive scenes features the flooding of the underground worker's city

The film contains a scene where Maria retells the story of the Tower of Babel from the Biblical book of Genesis, but in a way that connects it to the situation she and her fellow workers face. The scene changes from Maria to creative men of antiquity deciding to build a monument to the greatness of humanity, high enough to reach the heavens. Since they cannot build their monument by themselves, they concentrate workers to build it for them. The camera focuses on armies of workers unwillingly led to the construction site of the monument. They work hard but cannot understand the dreams of the Tower's designers, and the designers don't concern themselves with the fate of their workers. As the film explains "The dreams of a few had turned to the curses of many". The workers revolt and in their fury destroy the monument. As the scene ends and the camera returns to Maria, only ruins remain of the Tower of Babel. This retelling is notable in keeping the theme of the lack of communication from the original story but placing it in the context of relations between social classes and omitting the presence of God. Metropolis 1927 This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... Metropolis 1927 This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... The Confusion of Tongues by Gustave Doré (1865) According to the narrative in Genesis Chapter 11 of the Bible, the Tower of Babel was a tower built by a united humanity to reach the heavens. ... The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word Scripture, Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the classical name for the Hebrew Bible of Judaism or the combination of the Old Testament and New Testament of Christianity. ... This article is about Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). ... Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. ... Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and derived henotheistic forms. ...

The entire film is dominated by technology, with Lang using a mixture of both 1920s and futuristic devices. Much of the technology portrayed in the film is unexplained and appears bizarre—such as the enormous "M-Machine" and the "Heart Machine". Whilst the Heart Machine is implied to be the electrical power station of the city and appears to be a kind of Wimshurst machine, the purpose of the M-Machine is never revealed, despite it playing a significant part in the film. While Freder is in the subterranean factories, he swaps places with an exhausted worker and takes over his seemingly pointless task—moving the dials of a gigantic clock-like device in accordance with flashing light bulbs. It is possible that the pointlessness of the task was purposeful. However, other machines featured in the film anticipate future inventions: Joh Fredersen's office has a television-like device which allows him to contact his overseers in the factories, and built into his desk is an electronic console which allows him to remotely open doors, etc. Also in his office is an automated electronic ticker-tape, with a weary and frustrated clerk constantly writing down the latest stock market prices. In the city itself, we see a mixture of futuristic monorails and airships combined with 1920s-style cars and aeroplanes. Wimshurst machine with two Leyden jars. ... The Walt Disney World Monorail A monorail is a metro or railroad with a track consisting of a single rail (actually a beam), as opposed to the traditional track with two parallel rails. ... Akron in flight, 2 November 1931 An airship is a buoyant (lighter_than_air) aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ... Cars may refer to: Cars (song), a single by Gary The man Jenkins Cars (film), Pixar/Disney movie, scheduled for release in 2006 The Cars, the New Wave band CARS, Coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy See also Car (disambiguation) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with... This article refers to the tool of travel. ...

The ultimate expression of technology in the entire film is the female robot built by Rotwang, referred to as the "Maschinenmensch" or "Machine Human" although it is often translated as "Machine Man" in the US version. In the original German version Rotwang's creation is a reconstruction of his dead lover, a woman called Hel (a reference to the Norse goddess Hel). Both Rotwang and Joh Fredersen were in love with her. She chose Fredersen and became Freder's mother, though she died in childbirth. Rotwang, insanely jealous and angry about her death, creates the Maschinenmensch Hel. In the US version, The Machine Man is merely a fully functioning automaton which can be programmed to perform a variety of human tasks, whilst its appearance can be synthesised to resemble any human being. A humanoid robot manufactured by Honda. ... Indy Norse mythology, Hel is the queen of Helheim, the Norse underworld. ... A drummer automaton An automaton (plural: automata) is a self-operating machine. ...

However, the Machine Man is sentient, and has its own agenda different to that of its creators. It performs the required task of fomenting revolution, but then becomes an exotic dancer, turning the young men of Metropolis against one another for its own entertainment. This echoes themes from Karel Čapek's 1921 play Rossum's Universal Robots and anticipates the themes of many late-twentieth century films, in which seemingly unsentient machines gain consciousness and turn against the intentions of their creators. Karel ÄŒapek (pronounced â–¶ (help· info); IPA: ) (January 9, 1890 - December 25, 1938) was one of the most important Czech writers of the 20th century. ... R.U.R. (Rosumovi Umělí Roboti) (Rossums Artificial Robots, but usually translated as R.U.R. (Rossums Universal Robots) to preserve the acronym) is a science fiction play by Karel Čapek. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ...

Part of Fritz Lang's inspiration for the movie came during a trip to Manhattan, New York. He is quoted on the DVD of the Murnau Foundation version as saying "I saw the buildings like a vertical curtain, opalescent, and very light. Filling the back of the stage, hanging from a sinister sky, in order to dazzle, to diffuse, to hypnotize." Fritz Lang Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 - August 2, 1976) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known emigrés from Germanys school of expressionism. ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... It has been suggested that Dual layer recording be merged into this article or section. ...

Architecture & visual effects

The film features special effects and set design that still impress modern audiences with their visual impact—the film contains cinematic and thematic links to German Expressionism, though the architecture as portrayed in the film appears based on contemporary Modernism and Art Deco. The latter a brand-new style in Europe at the time, had not reached mass production yet and was considered an emblem of the bourgeois class, and similarly associated with the ruling class in the film. Lasers were used in the 2005 Classical Spectacular concert Special effects (abbreviated SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved by normal means, such as depicting travel to other star systems. ... Expressionism in filmmaking developed in Germany (especially Berlin) during the 1920s. ... Modern architecture is a broad term given to a number of building styles with similar characteristics, primarily the simplification of form and the elimination of ornament, that first arose around 1900. ... Asheville City Hall. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ...

The Tower of Babel

Rotwang's Art Deco laboratory, with its lights and industrial machinery is considered by some to be a forerunner of the Streamline Moderne style, highly influential on the look of Frankenstein style laboratories and 'mad science' in pop culture. When applied to science fiction, this style is sometimes called Raygun Gothic. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 89 KB)Fritz Langs Metropolis. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 89 KB)Fritz Langs Metropolis. ... The Confusion of Tongues by Gustave Doré According to the narrative in Genesis Chapter 11 of the Bible, the Tower of Babel was a tower built by a united humanity in order to reach the heavens. ... Bathers building, now a Maritime Museum at San Franciscos Aquatic Park, 1937 Marine Air Terminal, LaGuardia Airport, 1939 Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone, was a late branch of the Art Deco style. ... Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. ... Definition A catchall term for various facets of the googie, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architectural styles. ...

The effects expert, Eugen Schüfftan, created innovative visual displays widely acclaimed in following years. Among the effects used are miniatures of the city, a camera on a swing, and most notably, the so-called Schüfftan process, later also used by Alfred Hitchcock. In the field of special effects a miniature effect is a special effect generated by the use of scale models. ... The Schüfftan process, named after its inventor Eugen Schüfftan (1893–1977), is a movie special effect widely used in the first half of the 20th century. ... Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (13 August 1899–29 April 1980) was a British-born film director and producer, closely associated with the suspense thriller genre. ...

The Maschinenmensch, actually played by Brigitte Helm was created by Walter Schultze-Mittendorf. A chance discovery of a sample of "plastic wood" (a kneadable substance designed as wood-filler) allowed him to sculpt the costume like a suit of armour over a plaster cast of the actress. Spraypainted a mix of silver and bronze, it helped create some of the most memorable moments on film. Helm suffered greatly during the filming of these scenes, wearing this rigid and uncomfortable costume, cutting and bruising her. But Fritz Lang insisted on her playing the part, even if nobody would know it was her. Brigitte Helm in Metropolis Brigitte Helm (March 17, 1908 – June 11, 1996) was a German actress. ...

Restorations & re-releases

DVD cover for the 2002 restored version

On January 10, 1927 the film premiered in Berlin, with moderate success. In the United States, the movie was shown in a version edited by the American playwright Channing Pollock, who almost completely obscured the original plot, considered too controversial by the American distributors, and is considerably shortened. In Germany, a version similar to Pollock's was shown on August 5. Only copies of these versions—mostly considered as badly-edited—remain today. Download high resolution version (840x1107, 152 KB)DVD cover scan from the movie Metropolis, personal scan, claiming fair use (does not detract from original work, scanned from legal copy, image is of sufficiently low resolution). ... Download high resolution version (840x1107, 152 KB)DVD cover scan from the movie Metropolis, personal scan, claiming fair use (does not detract from original work, scanned from legal copy, image is of sufficiently low resolution). ... January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... (help· info), IPA: , is the capital city as well as a state of Germany, and also the countrys largest city. ... American Magician 1927 - 2006 Influenced Lance Burtons act ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ...

Several restored versions (all of them missing footage) were released in the 1980s and 1990s, running for around 90 minutes.

In 1984, a new restoration and edit of the film was compiled by Giorgio Moroder, a music producer who specialized in pop-rock soundtracks for motion pictures. Moroder’s version of the film introduced a new modern rock-and-roll soundtrack for the film, as well as playing at 24 frames per second and integrating the captions into the film itself as subtitles. His version of the film is only 80 minutes in length. The “Moroder version” of Metropolis sparked heated debate among film buffs and fans, with outspoken critics and supporters of the film falling into equal camps. Giorgio Moroder (born Giorgio Moroder on April 26, 1940 in Ortisei, Italy) is a German-speaking Italian record producer, songwriter and performer, whose groundbreaking work with synthesizers during the 1970s was a significant influence on techno and electronic music in general. ... Soundtrack refers to the recorded sound accompanying a visual medium such as a motion picture, television show, or video game. ... Production of teletext subtitles A subtitle can refer to one of two things: an explanatory or alternate title of a book, play or film, in addition to its main title, or textual versions of a film or television programs dialogue that appear onscreen. ...

Enno Patalas made an exhaustive attempt to restore the movie in 1986. This restoration was by that time the most accurate, thanks to the script and the musical score that had been discovered. The basis of Patalas' work was a copy in the Museum of Modern Art's collection. German film historian, collector, and restorer. ... View across garden, in new MoMA building by Yoshio Taniguchi (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. ...

The F.W. Murnau Foundation released a 123-minute, digitally restored version in 2002. It included title cards describing the action in the missing sequences and, again, the original music score. (It is believed that the original film was over 210 minutes.) F W Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (December 28, 1888 – March 11, 1931) was one of the most influential directors of the silent film era. ...

Most silent films were shot at speeds of between 16 and 20 frames per second, but the digitally restored version with soundtrack plays at the standard sound speed of 24 frames per second (25 on PAL and SECAM videos and DVDs), which often makes the action look unnaturally fast. The reason for showing the film at this speed is unclear; a documentary on the Kino DVD edition states that it may have been filmed at 25 frames per second, but this is disputed. There have been reports stating that the world premiere of Metropolis was shown at 24 frame/s, but these, too, are unconfirmed. In the 1970s the BBC prepared a version with electronic sound that ran at 18 frames per second and consequently had much more realistic-looking movement. Since there is no concrete evidence of Fritz Lang's wishes on this subject, it continues to be hotly debated within the silent film community. For other meanings of PAL see PAL (disambiguation). ... SÉCAM (Séquentiel couleur à mémoire, French for sequential colour with memory) is an analog color television system first used in France. ... Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ...

Soundtracks & scores

There have been many soundtracks created for Metropolis, by many different artists. A list of releases includes, but is not limited to:

• 1927 - Gottfried Huppertz. Berndt Heller arrangement for recent Eureka special edition DVD.
• 1984 - Giorgio Moroder. Restored and produced the 80-minute 1984 rerelease. This soundtrack includes pop tracks from the likes of Pat Benatar, Bonnie Tyler and Freddie Mercury, resulting in controversy from film purists. Not available on DVD.
• 1991 - Club Foot Orchestra. Performed live to accompany the 80-minute Moroder version. Soundtrack available on CD.
• 1991 - The Alloy Orchestra formed to create a new original score to Moroder's version of Metropolis.
• 1994 - Galeshka Moravioff. Score used in one of the variants of Filmmuseum Munich restoration.
• 1995 - Martin Matalon. Score used in another variant of Filmmuseum Munich restoration.
• 1995 - Joxan Goikoetxea. Basque composer. Availability unknown.
• 1998 - Peter Osborne. Synth orchestral / electronic. For JEF/Eureka 139-minute B&W DVD version, released only in UK. Not available on CD.
• 1999 - Wetfish. Two-man Montreal band. Availability unknown.
• 2000 - After Quartet. Jazz / swing group. Accompanies the 80-minute Moroder cut. Soundtrack available on CD.
• 2000 - Dan Schaaf. Performed live for festivals in 2000/2001. Available on CD.
• 2001 - Mute Life Dept. Portuguese group. Accompanied Filmmuseum Munich version, for live performance at Porto 2001. Available on CD.
• 2001 - Jeff Mills. Electronic artist. Available on CD.
• 2001 - Bernd Schultheis and Sofia's Radio Orchestra. Accompaniment for film festivals in 2001. Availability unknown.
• 2002 - The original Gottfried Huppertz score was rerecorded in this entirety for the DVD release by Kino International.
• 2004 - Abel Korzeniowski. Availability unknown.

Giorgio Moroder (born Giorgio Moroder on April 26, 1940 in Ortisei, Italy) is a German-speaking Italian record producer, songwriter and performer, whose groundbreaking work with synthesizers during the 1970s was a significant influence on techno and electronic music in general. ... Pat Benatar on the cover of her 1997 album Innamorata Pat Benatar (born January 10, 1953) is a American rock singer who had numerous hits during the 1980s such as Hit Me With Your Best Shot and Love is a Battlefield. Benatars music video for the song You Better... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Freddie Mercury - Live at Wembley 1986. ...

Political significance

Metropolis's theme is connected with both fascism and communism - the most powerful political ideologies of that time in Europe. The idea of the film is that the workers are oppressed, and their leader is Maria. In order to destroy the workers, Freder sends a robot who, disguised as Maria, leads the workers to destroy the dam and flood their homes. Many people see the film as being anti-capitalist, showing how the rich exploit the efforts of workers. This is supported by the fact that the rich live high above in a shining city while the working class lives in misery underground. Indeed, we're led to believe that there is little to no chance for the workers to move up in society due to their wealthy oppressors. Others interpret this as an anti-communist message, claiming that the communists, by calling the workers to revolt are leading them to destruction. Some see the film as a critique on both capitalism and communism, calling for a third option. Maria repeatedly claims that what the workers need is a Mediator. Some interpret this as a reference to the fascist concept of Corporate Statism, in which the ruling party acts as a mediator between the workers and the capitalists. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... An anti-capitalist poster printed by the Industrial Workers of the World in 1911. ... Anti-communism is the opposition to communist ideology, organization, or government, on either an ideological or pragmatic basis. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Capitalism Capitalism has been defined in various ways. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Corporate Statism is a fascist concept in which the ruling party acts as a mediator between the workers and the capitalists. ...

There is a rumour that Metropolis was one of the favorite films of Adolf Hitler and he tried to get Fritz Lang to make propaganda films for him. Allegedly Hitler's interpretation of the film saw the oppressors, specifically Fredersen, as being Jewish. This rumour has its roots in a passage in Siegfried Kracauer's book From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film: (help· info) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. ... Fritz Lang Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 - August 2, 1976) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known emigrés from Germanys school of expressionism. ... The Why We Fight Series depicts the Nazi propaganda machine. ... Siegfried Kracauer (February 8, 1889, Frankfurt am Main, Germany - November 26, 1966, New York) was a journalist, sociologist, and film critic. ...

Joseph Goebbels, the head of the Nazi party's Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda organization became interested in Metropolis, too. According to Lang, "… he told me that, many years before, he and the Führer had seen my picture Metropolis in a small town, and Hitler had said at that time that he wanted me to make Nazi pictures" (Kracauer 164).

Most of Metropolis was filmed at UFA studios at Babelsberg and was enormously expensive. Some sources put the total cost at four times the original budget. The official costs accumulated to 7 million mark (about 200 million dollars now). These cost overruns were a contributing factor in UFA's financial instability through the late 1920s and its subsequent appropriation by Nazi interests. UFA logo Universum Film AG, better known as Ufa or UFA, was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema during its brief existence from 1917 to 1945. ...

Influence

This film has influenced many science fiction movies to the present day, including Blade Runner, Dark City, Brazil, the Star Wars series, and The Matrix. The "Tower of Babel" structure is a key element in several films; in turn, Metropolis's tower appears to derive from Hans Poelzig's stocky, polygonal, modernistic water tower built in Posen in 1911. But the earliest films to be influenced were Just Imagine of 1930, which also featured a city with much air transport among and between skyscrapers connected by bridges, and Vultan's city in the first Flash Gordon serial of 1936, which had a sweatshop controlled by an operator who moved the needle of a huge dial while standing up. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Blade Runner is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, which depicts a dystopian Los Angeles in November 2019. ... Dark City is a 1998 movie written and directed by Alex Proyas. ... The cover of the 2004 DVD widescreen release of the modified original Star Wars Trilogy. ... The Matrix is a science-fiction/action film first released in the USA on March 31, 1999, written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski. ... Hans Poelzig (April 30, 1869 Berlin - June 14, 1936 Berlin) was a German architect active in the Weimar years. ... Motto: none Voivodship Greater Poland Municipal government Rada miasta Poznania Mayor Ryszard Grobelny Area 261,3 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 578 900 (2002) 850 000 2215/km² Founded City rights 8th century 1253 Latitude Longitude 52°1734 N - 52°3027 N 16°4408 E - 17°04... Just Imagine was a humorous movie musical presented by Fox Films in 1930 directed by David Butler, to console the audience distressed by the Great Depression. ... Flash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published on January 7, 1934. ...

• Rotwang, the film's mad scientist, has lost his right hand and has replaced it with a black prosthesis. In the film Dr. Strangelove, directed by Stanley Kubrick and first released on January 29, 1964, the German mad scientist Dr. Strangelove wears a black glove on his right hand, which he cannot consciously control. This is considered to be a tribute to the earlier film.

• A similar theme shows up in George Lucas' famous Star Wars films, in which the heroes, Anakin Skywalker and later his son Luke Skywalker, lose their right hands in combat and each has it replaced with a prosthesis, wearing a black glove over the robotic hand. The city-planet Coruscant looks like a more complex Metropolis. According to the Star Wars documentary Empire of Dreams, C-3PO was modeled after the Maria robot.

• Yet another example of the missing right hand archetype is Philip K. Dick's masterpiece, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. An important element of the story is that Palmer Eldritch, the antagonist, possesses a robotic right arm, as well as artificial eyes, and a deformed jaw.

• A poster of the original movie shows up in the movie Hackers.

• Many of the scenes involving Rotwang seem to echo (or prophesy; it is not entirely clear) the many film adaptations of Mary Shelley's science-ficton novel Frankenstein, particularly the part where the Machine-Man is created.

• The ending of the film likewise is a piece of much imitated classic cinema. The climactic struggle between Rotwang and Freder over the life of Maria is strikingly similar to the many early film adaptations of Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as the climatic scene in Tim Burton's Batman.

• A musical theater adaption was staged in London in 1989. See Metropolis (musical). Another musical adaptation was created in Italy in 2004 called "Metropolis Il Musical".

• An anime adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's manga Metropolis was released in the U.S. in 2002. See Metropolis (2001 movie). The anime series Big O seems to draw inspiration from Metropolis as well.

• Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow contains several references to Fritz Lang's film, mostly voiced through the German rocket scientists and engineers who comprise a large part of its cast.

• The film has inspired or been included in several music videos, including Madonna's "Express Yourself", Spanish band Mecano's "7 de septiembre" and Queen's "Radio Ga Ga".

• Jeff Mills released an album named Metropolis inspired by the film in 2001.

• Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster decided to name Superman's base of operations after the Metropolis of the film.^[2]

• In 1997, Jean-Marc Lofficier and Roy Thomas and edgy expressionist artist Ted McKeever present an "Elseworlds" story in which Clark Kent and Superman inhabit the world of Lang's Metropolis in DC Comic's book Superman's Metropolis.

• Kraftwerk recorded a song named "Metropolis" for their 1978 album, Die Mensch Maschine. They were later offered the opportunity of scoring the 1984 restoration of the film, which eventually deferred to Giorgio Moroder.

• The 1994 full speech computer game Beneath a Steel Sky is set in a similar dystopian Metropolis. Its soundtrack is similar to Metropolis.

• Images from the film were used for the cover of the Be Bop Deluxe album Live in the Air Age

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Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American science fiction writer and novelist who changed the genre profoundly. ... The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is a typically complex novel by the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. ... Hackers is a 1995 film that follows the misfortunes of young hacker Dade Murphy (Crash Override/Zero Cool, played by Jonny Lee Miller), Kate Libby (Acid Burn, played by Angelina Jolie) and their friends. ... Mary Shelley Mary Shelley (30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist, the author of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ... Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. ... Victor-Marie Hugo. ... The Hunchback of Notre Dame (in French, Notre-Dame de Paris) is a novel first published in 1831 by the French literary giant Victor Hugo. ... Timothy William Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American film director, poet and designer known for his off-beat and quirky style. ... Batman DVD cover, 1997 release version Batman was released in U.S. theaters on June 23, 1989 by Warner Bros. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London (see Wiktionary:London for the name in other languages) is the capital of the United Kingdom and England. ... Metropolis was a musical based on the 1927 movie of the same name that was staged at the Piccadilly Theatre in London in 1989. ... // A scene from Cowboy Bebop (1998) Anime (アニメ) is a style of cartoon animation originating in Japan, with distinctive character and background stylings that visually set it apart from other forms of animation. ... Osamu Tezuka and his creations commemorated on two stamps Dr. Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫 Tezuka Osamu, November 3, 1928 - February 9, 1989) was a Japanese manga artist and animator born in Ōsaka. ... For other uses, see Manga (disambiguation). ... Metropolis, also known as Osamu Tezukas Metropolis is a manga by Osamu Tezuka and an anime movie based off of the manga. ... The Big O (THE ビッグオー) is the title of an anime television series, which also has a manga adaptation. ... Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. ... Gravitys Rainbow book cover. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Express Yourself is also a 1989 single by the hip hop group N.W.A., in turn based on a sample from the 1970 funk song of the same name by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. ... (For the toy construction material, see Meccano) Mecano began as a Spanish language synth-pop (in Spanish música tecno) band from Madrid, Spain. ... Queen is a British rock band that came to popularity during the mid-1970s, amassing an enormous worldwide fanbase that continues to exist to this day. ... Radio Ga Ga is a song performed and recorded by the band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. ... Jeff Mills (born 18 June 1963 in Detroit, USA) is an influential Techno DJ and producer from Detroit. ... Jerome (Jerry) Siegel (October 17, 1914 - January 28, 1996) was the co-creator of Superman, the first of the great comic book heroes and one of the most recognizable fictional characters from the 20th century. ... Joe Shuster (July 10, 1914 - July 30, 1992) was a Canadian-born artist best known for co-creating Superman with Jerry Siegel. ... Superman, aka the Man of Steel, is a fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938. ... Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. ... Jean-Marc Lofficier (born June 22, 1954, Toulon, France) with his wife, Randy Lofficier, has authored half a dozen books about film and television programs as well as numerous comic books and translations as well as a number of animation screenplays. ... Roy Thomas (born November 22, 1940, Missouri, United States) is a comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lees first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. ... Cover of the collected edition of Eddy Current Ted McKeever is an award-winning Comics artist. ... Superman and his secret identity Clark Kent being portrayed as distinct individuals. ... Superman, aka the Man of Steel, is a fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Album cover of Trans-Europe Express (1977). ... The Man Machine is a 1978 album by Kraftwerk. ... Giorgio Moroder (born Giorgio Moroder on April 26, 1940 in Ortisei, Italy) is a German-speaking Italian record producer, songwriter and performer, whose groundbreaking work with synthesizers during the 1970s was a significant influence on techno and electronic music in general. ... For the list, see list of computer and video games. ... Beneath a Steel Sky is a science fiction, more specifically cyberpunk, point and click adventure game with comedy elements, created by Revolution Software published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment, and initially released in 1994 for DOS and Amiga. ... Soundtrack refers to the recorded sound accompanying a visual medium such as a motion picture, television show, or video game. ... Be Bop Deluxe were an English progressive rock band who achieved critical acclaim and moderate commercial success during the mid to late 1970s. ...

Trivia

• The film fell into public domain in the United States, but was restored to copyright in 1998. ^[3] The lawsuit Golan v. Gonzalez unsuccessfully attempted to block its copyright restoration.

• On November 15, 2005, an original poster from 1927 (one of only four known in existence) was sold for a world record price of $690,000 by the Reel Poster Gallery in London. ^[4]

The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Copyright symbol. ... Golan v. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about general United States currency. ... The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London (see Wiktionary:London for the name in other languages) is the capital of the United Kingdom and England. ...

References

1. ^  Richard Scheib (2003), Metropolis review. Retrieved November 24, 2005.
2. ^  Jim Steranko. Forward. Superman: Archive Editions. Volume 1
3. ^  Copyright Restoration of Works in Accordance With the Uruguay Round, Federal Register, January 30, 1998.
4. ^  Lang film poster fetches record, BBC news, November 15, 2005.

November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Federal Register contains most routine publications and public notices of United States government agencies. ... January 31 goooz booz Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Metropolis at The Internet Movie Database
• The official site of the new restoration
• About restoring 'Metropolis'
• Metropolis web site
• Metropolis page at the UNESCO Memory of the World Register
• Giorgio Moroder Discography
• Giorgio Moroder and Metropolis tribute Website
• Metropolis at the Open Directory Project