@krakenzmama - This movie is among the very few silent films that even the average joe might have heard of. If someone can name 5-10 silents, you can be quite certain that Metropolis is one of them. It's also among the most respected and regarded films of all time. It's frequently referenced to as the best film of the 20s, and most all time lists as well as text books will reference to it. For a movie from 1927 it would be hard to be more known.
Hadn't seen the movie in over 20 years, and it was the colored, pop soundtrack version (which is still great - in fact, I find silent cinema soundtracks such a snooze, I took a cue from that and put my playlist on shuffle to accompany the results, with some fun, surprising results), and there it sat on my shelf. I decided it fit the criteria after all. Well, with those 25 extra minutes, the film is much more interesting and coherent. The scientist has a motivation for creating the robot, and a crazy Nosferatu type thugs up the joint, showing Lang's vision was even more steeped in the Christian concept of Heaven and Hell. Though a touch deeper in this version, Metropolis is still mostly spectacle, and gorgeous spectacle at that. I remembered it as a sort of proletarian fable, but it's also a great big action movie, especially in the last act.
Metropolis was made during the days of the Wiemar Republic - the years following WWI before the Nazi party & Hitler came to power. The specter of Hitler has overshadowed the rich German culture boom following the first world war -including Cinema- so the movie is not as well known as it should be. The movie's plot feels familiar in so many ways with religious iconography, political messages, and romantic rivalry. Metropolis takes you on a ride that won't stop until the end. The acting was definitely silent movie style acting so do not be surpised by some of the expressions the actors use and the make-up commonly worn. The story is a rich and rewarding one and the visual effects and the movie styling make a movie worth watching.
Amazing Movie! A fairytale story that could be at any of Disney´s tales. A fight between working class and its rulers, man vs machine, very suitable if you see that the movie was made 10 years after the soviet revolution and in the climax of the industrial era
Takes the experiments of earlier trials and develops it in the context of a futuristic film.
The theme here is: speculation on where science can lead humanity (main theme in almost all sci-fi films)
Metropolis direct addressing of the workers and the fascists is a very clear representation of Germany at the time, which was basically Communism and Socialism vs. Fascism and Nazis. And the claim in that the solution is in meeting halfway.
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Xondar
@nes1983: Maria is clutching her hands to her chest to show piety. People exaggerated their actions in these old silent films.Forzelius
"The mediator between head and hands must be the heart!" I don't know why, but I love this line. And the movie. Light-years ahead of its time.St. Gloede
@krakenzmama - This movie is among the very few silent films that even the average joe might have heard of. If someone can name 5-10 silents, you can be quite certain that Metropolis is one of them. It's also among the most respected and regarded films of all time. It's frequently referenced to as the best film of the 20s, and most all time lists as well as text books will reference to it. For a movie from 1927 it would be hard to be more known.Siskoid
Hadn't seen the movie in over 20 years, and it was the colored, pop soundtrack version (which is still great - in fact, I find silent cinema soundtracks such a snooze, I took a cue from that and put my playlist on shuffle to accompany the results, with some fun, surprising results), and there it sat on my shelf. I decided it fit the criteria after all. Well, with those 25 extra minutes, the film is much more interesting and coherent. The scientist has a motivation for creating the robot, and a crazy Nosferatu type thugs up the joint, showing Lang's vision was even more steeped in the Christian concept of Heaven and Hell. Though a touch deeper in this version, Metropolis is still mostly spectacle, and gorgeous spectacle at that. I remembered it as a sort of proletarian fable, but it's also a great big action movie, especially in the last act.krakenzmama
Metropolis was made during the days of the Wiemar Republic - the years following WWI before the Nazi party & Hitler came to power. The specter of Hitler has overshadowed the rich German culture boom following the first world war -including Cinema- so the movie is not as well known as it should be. The movie's plot feels familiar in so many ways with religious iconography, political messages, and romantic rivalry. Metropolis takes you on a ride that won't stop until the end. The acting was definitely silent movie style acting so do not be surpised by some of the expressions the actors use and the make-up commonly worn. The story is a rich and rewarding one and the visual effects and the movie styling make a movie worth watching.Dieguito
Amazing Movie! A fairytale story that could be at any of Disney´s tales. A fight between working class and its rulers, man vs machine, very suitable if you see that the movie was made 10 years after the soviet revolution and in the climax of the industrial eraArkantos
Kino Lorber's new streaming service has the 148 minute 2010 restoration available for free.NourNasreldin
Takes the experiments of earlier trials and develops it in the context of a futuristic film.The theme here is: speculation on where science can lead humanity (main theme in almost all sci-fi films)
Metropolis direct addressing of the workers and the fascists is a very clear representation of Germany at the time, which was basically Communism and Socialism vs. Fascism and Nazis. And the claim in that the solution is in meeting halfway.
Flops
The best part is when the skeleton is playing the bone like a flute. Army of Darkness has a strikingly similar skeleflutist.nes1983
What is it with Maria grabbing her boobs constantly?contrafugal
Wish I could convince the girls I date to dance like that.plainoldIsak
Watched the 2010 version in a movie theatre with a live orchestra playing the score. Absolutely unforgettable!Jumping Elephant
The Moroder version is pretty tight.akuma587
Arguably the best silent film ever made.Trumscheit
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