Metropolis (1927) Movie Review
When the word Metropolis comes to mind, we often think of muscular caped superheroes running from telephone booths or diabolical menaces developing super weapons to take over the world. But would you believe that there was in fact a film released in 1927 to first carry the Metropolis name, many years before the existence of Superman? Well, this old but good sci-fi adventure carries a lot of thrills, chills, and spills, especially for 1927, and to this day remains one of the very many films to shape the science fiction genre into what it is defined as nowadays. So, if you really ponder on the matter, we probably wouldn’t have our Star Trek films, our Star Wars films, or our Back to the Future films if this film didn’t come along to inspire the minds of the filmmakers who have brought those acclaimed movies to the table. Metropolis was ahead of its time, and I mean ahead of its time, for the film is set in the not so distant future in a very different Earth, an Earth split into two different groups of individuals. And even if the film is befuddling by today’s barriers, it’s still a pleasure to watch if you are a sci-fi purist like me, and I would even go as far to say that it is one of the greatest accomplishments ever to be recorded on film. The special effects, the tension and drama, even the facial expressions of the silent movie actors, they all add layers to this masterpiece and make it contemporary. It’s almost like you’re in another dimension, being swept off your feet by visual stunning entities and cheesy looking, high tech machinery and equipment. And when you’re done watching the adventure, and you leave the other dimension, you are overwhelmed by extreme illusion and artistry, illusion and artistry only Fritz Lang, the director of Metropolis could pull off. Lang efforts to make a powerful and effective epic for the silent movie era were nothing more than genius, and proved that imagination dwelling within one’s brain could be put to great use.
What I like most about the film is that the silent, quiet nature really compliments the film’s overall tone and expression. It’s a film with a lot to say even though it’s silent. It’s neither a fast paced film nor a film that will put you to sleep in a matter of minutes; it’s a film that is meant to make you wonder, a film that makes you think quite a bit. What if the world we were living in was an entirely different place? What if the rich got richer and the poor were forced to work to death? What if the characteristics of one human being could be transferred into the cybernetic workings of a robot? It makes you feel puzzled at times, but it’s good puzzling, and it really makes you wonder what will happen next in Metropolis’ futuristic world. The special effects, though primitive, also put the icing on the cake when it comes to making the film seem a whole lot bigger. It’s incredible seeing all the abstract looking skyscrapers and flying vehicles, and I just couldn’t do a review of Fritz Lang’s greatest work without acknowledging the grand jewel of the film, the iconic character that made robots a household name for the first time. Of course I’m talking about the film’s robotic character, Maria, one of the very first robots ever to be depicted in cinema. Before there was the Terminator or Rosie of The Jetsons, we had this gold plated female automaton to get our amazement juices flowing, and the incredible robotic movements and mannerisms of the character really make you think it’s an actual robot rather than a performer in a costume. Of course Maria would go on to become the inspiration for C-3P0 and many other classic robot characters seen throughout the flicks, and along with the mighty ape, King Kong, I would rank Maria high on my list of “Movie Magic” grand mamas.
Of course Metropolis has been remastered several times throughout the years, but I am aware that the film’s original version has been released on DVD somewhere along the road. Personally, I don’t mind what version of the epic story it is, because it’s the same beloved tale many sci-fi buffs have come to love these past 85 years. It’s got the same action and suspense, the same flow and embodiment, and overall, the same grand fantasy feeling only science fiction films could set down on the ground. If you want something entirely different from your average movie genre, or if you want to see the film where sci-fi flicks really took off, Metropolis is your pot of gold to behold, and I can’t tell you how much this film has inspired me in the art of storytelling and liberating my creative visions. It’s a film made in 1927, and it has as many thrills, chills, and spills as any Star Wars or Lord of the Rings installment. Just goes to show how many minutes, hours, weeks, months, even years went into creating this impressive piece of the sci-fi pie, a film that obviously took risks, but ultimately proved victorious in the end. It also has a real devious looking mad scientist character named Rotwang, and who doesn’t love to snicker at devious mad scientist characters, huh?
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