REMEMBER WHEN...
A look at science fiction movies from the Golden Age
Metropolis
From the earliest part of the 1900s film makers were constantly experimenting with filming techniques and ideas. "Film" was still a very new medium to many people with rules and guidelines being constantly written and rewritten about how to use it effectively. Yet despite its infancy, film makers did what they could to make their films more realistic by using costumes and sets to enhance the images they were trying to convey. It was quickly realised that this was easy with contemporary pictures, but films set in the past were far more of a challenge, as were films set in the future. As such, "futuristic" films were not very common, the first of which must have been Trip to the Moon in 1902. This was a picture that was no doubt considered to be "total fantasy", by the people of that time (who would have guessed how real the "fantasy" would become 67 years later). However the early science fiction movies were not limited to the space trip variety, as was discovered in 1926 when German film maker Fritz Lang, together with his wife Thea Von Harbou, made a picture about the Earth 100 years hence - Metropolis.
Metropolis is a true classic science fiction picture because of the visionary and imagination used in depicting a world where people are separated into the upper classes and the workers living within a giant metropoli. Watching it propels the viewer into a wondrous world where giant buildings of massive dimensions fill the skyline, whilst millions of people go about their daily lives. This movie was saying quite defiantly, "this is what the future could be like if we don't learn to live together". Yet for all its grandeur, Metropolis is a depressing film (reflecting the social darkness of post-World War I Germany of that time), as we get to see how expendable life can be in a large thriving utopia. For those unfortunate enough to live in the lower classes, life is cheap, with no thought given to anyone killed in industrial accidents, nor for the hapless workers whose shifts allow no breaks as they slave for the greater glory of the city as a whole - the one image the film hammers into you more than any other is that the machines must never stop. On the other hand there is light in this dark city, in the form of the main character, Freder, who learns about how the separation of the upper classes and workers is wrong, and his quest to ultimately join their hands. The film is silent, and is black and white, yet remains a magnificent example of a futuristic conception.
Metropolis has survived a very chequered history. Originally over two and half hours in length, the picture was heavily cut for the American market, making it disjointed and difficult to follow. To add to the misery, many copies of the movie were poorly treated, and over the years have faded into oblivion. It was not until the mid 1980s when Giorgio Moroder set out to find as much material as he could on Metropolis to restore the film to its former glory. The search was long and tedious, but eventually over an hour’s footage was salvaged from various places around the world (including a vast portion from the film archives in Canberra) and put back together to resemble the original story as best possible. To cater for a more modern audience, Moroder added colour tones and hues to the picture, subtle sound effects, and accompanied the visions with a specially written musical soundtrack, featuring songs from many famous rock artists of the time (including: Bonnie Tyler, Freddie Mercury, Loverboy, Adam Ant and Pat Benetar). Movie puritans said that this kind of tampering was sacrilegious, however it did make the film more watchable and easier to enjoy, especially for younger people who wanted to experience the magic of vintage film and still remain interested in it.
However for classic film connoisseurs, Moroder’s Metropolis is not the latest version available. Filmmuseum Munich put together their "long version" in 1995 which runs for 150 minutes and is based directly on the original script. Many lost scenes were replaced with either stills or titles, so it’s likely that this version can possibly be considered as the definative Metropolis (existing).
As so often happens with science fiction films, Metropolis featured some innovative ideas that many years later were to become a reality. A television is featured as a communication device, there is an electronic panel that controls doors, windows and other areas as required. We get to see an articulate artificial limb on the character of Rotwang; an early version of a monorail is pictured and of course Metropolis features what must be science fiction cinema's first ever robot/android. The film also featured some stunning visual effects. People today often say that these effects are amazing for the era when the movie was made, however they rarely say that they are still very impressive alongside modern standards. The model work of the city is exceptional with a lot of fine detail added to the buildings and movement of the inhabitants. The rings of power that scale up and down the Robot in the transformation scene also leave one in awe. Even the large scale scenes, such as the flood, the destruction of the machines and the final climactic chase are most impressive.
As to be expected for a film of this age, the cast is full of "unknowns", including Gustov FrXXoXXhlich as Freder, the son of the most powerful man in the city, Brigitte Helm as Maria, the young lady who tries to give the workers hope and confidence that their despair will not last forever (she shocked the 1926 American movie world by appearing almost nude in the film, and also plays a dual role of her character [the robot Maria] with total conviction [Brigette passed away on June 11 - age 90]), Alfred Abel as Joh Frederson the Master of Metropolis whose only desire is the success and growth of his city, and Rudolf Klein-Rogge as Rotwang the scientist who is able to transform his Robot into the image of Maria thus enabling Joh Frederson to influence his will over the workers.
Metropolis is a damn fine film to watch, both for its entertainment value and as an insight into how a film can be made with technology that is laughable by today's standards, especially considering that, though it’s 70 years old, it can still hold its own against many of the films made long after it. There are two important things worth noting when preparing to watch the film: One - because the film is silent, a lot of the acting is exaggerated to express the characters feelings, so they do look a little unnatural at times. Second - in case you have any preconceived judgements about the quality of the film, remember that this movie was made in Germany where the touch of Hollywood was a long way away.