Space Oddities Film Reviews - Metropolis

Fig. 1. Metropolis poster. 

Metropolis, (1927) is an incredibly influential German silent film by director Fritz Lang. Both the original story and screen play was written by Lang's wife at the time Thea von Harbou. The film itself is about a young man Freder (Gustav Fröhlich), who discovers that the people living under the city are overworked and treated like slaves so that those above may live a privileged life. Freder falls in love with a teacher from below, Maria (Brigitte Helm) and the pair aim to help the workers, much to the dismay of his father. This results in a strange turn of events that ultimately leads to a happy ending for both sides. The film introduces many common tropes that we now expect to see in cinema, such as, a fight between good and evil, a damsel in distress, an evil scientist, and the climax of the film in which good triumphs over evil. Ideas like this influenced and changed the course of cinema as a result of Metropolis being so ahead of it's time. 

Fig. 2. Illustration of Director Fritz Lang. 

 Metropolis was created at the pinnacle of German Expressionism, a movement which saw the artist's emotions influencing the end product, focusing on the artists reality rather than what the artist really saw. This movement had an interesting affect on cinema, for example, long shadows, artificial sets and unusual angles which gave the audience a new perspective. These principals are clear in Metropolis. All the buildings are structured with lots of contrast to emphasise the feeling that the characters that live below are almost in a prison like space, where as Freder's home is open and light with lots of soft edges. There is use of unusual camera angles and long shadows. Alongside the fact that it was part of the German Expressionist movement, it was also widely considered as the first science fiction film, influencing films such as Blade Runner. Lang was working with and developing brand new concepts never seen before on film. The set design directly relates to the art style of the time. "They are controlled like hands on a clock. And when the machinery explodes, Freder has a vision in which the machinery turns into an obscene devouring monster." (Ebert, 1998). Roger Ebert explains the first moment in the film when reality becomes twisted. Freder sees a vision, the structured machinery before him morphs into a monster, linking back to the idea of German Expressionism and the break in reality. There is a focus on time, the every day monotony of the working class against the repetition of the bells chiming. The imagery produced in these scenes was futuristic looking at the time whilst still keeping different elements that the audience would recognise. The buildings are heavily influenced by the architecture in New York.

Fig. 3. Cityscape in Metropolis. 

Metropolis was made during the time of the Weimar Republic and the hyper inflation in Germany as a result of the First World War. The population was extremely poor, the government  essentially printed more money in a bid to resolve this, which then lead to the devalue of their currency. This had an impact on cinema in a number of ways, one being that when people were going to the cinema they wanted to escape their everyday lives, which film makers then responded to by making films with a heavily driven story with a happy ending. The film has key themes such as; Capitalism, role of religion in modern cities, utopia and dystopia, and motherhood. I this case the theme of motherhood stems from the character Maria, who acts as a mother like character to the working class children. She is also responsible for the element of religion, she is depicted like a saint standing in front of a cross preaching down to the workers. 
There are many subtle religious references throughout the picture. This includes the stories the Maria tells, and the reference to the seven deadly sins. As well as this symbols like the upside down pentagram can be scene through the scientists home and work space suggesting the things he has created are unholy. When the scientist Rotwang is transferring Maria's likeness to the robotic man, the star represents ideas of satanism. Once created, the robot like creation represents the duality in human nature. The scenes showing the people working a ten hour day would have been relatable to the audience of the time. During the time Lang was creating this film there was a rise in fascism as well as the country being between two world wars. The director, Lang also had Jewish heritage which made him a target for the Nazi regime, a group who had heavy control over propaganda and film being produced at the time. "Fredersen’s city is designed to malnourish its inhabitants. The workers’ city is strictly utilitarian, its streets completely deserted with no signs of life save for when the grunts trudge home from work." (Abrams, 2010). Simon Abrams explains the imagery in the film which is arguably not that far from the reality of the audience that would have watched it. All of these contextual elements had an affect on the creation of Metropolis. The picture shows class divide and a 'Mediator' otherwise known as 'Mittler' finding the middle ground between the two groups. The more you read into the film, the more you realise these elements of propaganda creeping in. 

Fig. 4. Maria's double. 

Fig. 5. Rotwang creating Maria's double. 

                       

Fig. 6. The Seven Deadly Sins (Death).

The scale of the production was unbelievable for it's time. All of the sets were built slightly bigger than the actors to create the realistic effect portrayed through the screens. The use of special effects in a time where technology was limited. Metropolis uses various different techniques to achieve these realistic effects, such as the layering of film to create a double exposure like effect. This film has created a captivating visual experience for audiences of it's time as well as the modern age. The processes and style of Metropolis has influenced modern science fiction cinema continuously, making directors think about the effects of science on society and the idea of robots living around us. It also introduced ideas of dystopian societies. Johnathan Romney goes in to detail about how revolutionary the pictures concepts were. "The film's futurism is still breathtaking, from its Art Deco titles to the neon spiral in Rotwang's lab: this is surely must the first film to imagine people communicating by video screen." (Romney, 2010). 







  
Illustration List:
- Lang, F. (1927). Figure 1. Metropolis poster. https://davinciemporium.com/metropolis-1927-3-sheet-
movie-poster-lithograph/
-Lang, F. (1927). Figure 3. Cityscape in Metropolis. https://www.the-philosophy.com/metropolis-fritz-lang-review
-Lang, F. (1927). Figure 4. Maria's double. https://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2017/12/unified-theory/
-Lang, F. (1927). Figure 5. Rotwang creating Maria's double. https://imgur.com/gallery/kkVP6/comment/1113470439
-Lang, F. (1927). Figure 6. The Seven Deadly Sins (Death). http://www.scifiwright.com/2011/01/metropolis/

-Marszalek, A. Figure 2. Illustration of Director Fritz Lang. https://thedissolve.com/features/career-view/222-the-sprawling-obsessive-career-of-fritz-lang/?page=all

Bibliography:
-Abrams, S. (2010). slantmagazine.com. https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/metropolis/
-Ebert, R. (1998). rogerebert.com. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-metropolis-1927
-Romney, J. (2010). independent.co.uk. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/metropolis-fritz-lang-145-mins-pg-2076981.html