For years now, I was very excited to see this movie, but somehow never got around to it . When I heard of the Munich museum of cinema restoration efforts of Enno Patalas and that the film was to play at the Montreal World Film Festival of 2001, I could not prolong anymore the viewing of this sci-fi classic.
That night, there were technical problems and the projection was delayed past eleven o'clock. Being very tired, and knowing that it was going to be an old, silent and slow-paced movie, I greatly feared that all my waiting would have been in vain. I feared, that in the dark theater, I was going to sleep like a baby...
Well, I didn't.
Firstly, the music played live by three musicians that came especially from Germany was extraordinary. It was fresh, captivating and entertaining. It kept me riveted to the seat and fitted perfectly- no actually it enhanced greatly- the film. The musicians received a standing ovation with cause.
Secondly, the silent acting was necessarily over the top, but very powerful and engaging. I never thought the wink of a robot could have that effect on me.
Thirdly, the visual aspects of the movie were not only ahead of its time, it was in some instance better than what we see 74 years later. Not because of the special effect, although they were very good, but because of the creative spark behind them. Lang makes us see dreams like never before. The dance of the "skeleton with a sickle" (I will say no name)is a prime example. His visual collage of moving eyes and sexually tense robot dance are hypnotically riveting. Hitchcock's later attempt at free visual expression (as in Vertigo) greatly lacked this ability to grasp the spectator and swirl him into the movie. Even the remarkable breakthroughs of Stanley Kubric in `2001: a space odyssey ` are not up to part with Lang's visual wizardry. As for current director's, they can also watch and learn. Lang's portrayal of crowds, either as ordinate drones or anarchist hoards is also singular in its mastery. This is what impressed me the most with this spectacular work, straight out of the archives of history.
The story, although containing some good scientific elements and trying to examine social and philosophical structures, is not as remarkable. The pace is slow (which is not always bad, but which does not help much here) and the dramatization typical of older productions reminds us of why this type of languorous "Greece tragedy" scenes were replaced by the sharper, subtler, fined-tuned storytelling of today. Characters are a bit on the one to two-dimensional side. Moral and religious implications are a bit heavy and unrevealing to my liking.
All in all, this is an incredible film. Pioneer, daring and exceptional for its period, it passed the test of time, to stand as a very very good production that lead the way for films to come. Certain aspects became dated, but at the core, you can appreciate an artistic jewel of a rare kind.
Although, apprehensive in the first 20 minutes, once I got accustomed to the silent acting/intertitle thing, I was in for a treat. I didn't sleep and I didn't regret anything.
Be open-minded and be ready to be thrown into this dark world of Metropolis. Enjoy.
That night, there were technical problems and the projection was delayed past eleven o'clock. Being very tired, and knowing that it was going to be an old, silent and slow-paced movie, I greatly feared that all my waiting would have been in vain. I feared, that in the dark theater, I was going to sleep like a baby...
Well, I didn't.
Firstly, the music played live by three musicians that came especially from Germany was extraordinary. It was fresh, captivating and entertaining. It kept me riveted to the seat and fitted perfectly- no actually it enhanced greatly- the film. The musicians received a standing ovation with cause.
Secondly, the silent acting was necessarily over the top, but very powerful and engaging. I never thought the wink of a robot could have that effect on me.
Thirdly, the visual aspects of the movie were not only ahead of its time, it was in some instance better than what we see 74 years later. Not because of the special effect, although they were very good, but because of the creative spark behind them. Lang makes us see dreams like never before. The dance of the "skeleton with a sickle" (I will say no name)is a prime example. His visual collage of moving eyes and sexually tense robot dance are hypnotically riveting. Hitchcock's later attempt at free visual expression (as in Vertigo) greatly lacked this ability to grasp the spectator and swirl him into the movie. Even the remarkable breakthroughs of Stanley Kubric in `2001: a space odyssey ` are not up to part with Lang's visual wizardry. As for current director's, they can also watch and learn. Lang's portrayal of crowds, either as ordinate drones or anarchist hoards is also singular in its mastery. This is what impressed me the most with this spectacular work, straight out of the archives of history.
The story, although containing some good scientific elements and trying to examine social and philosophical structures, is not as remarkable. The pace is slow (which is not always bad, but which does not help much here) and the dramatization typical of older productions reminds us of why this type of languorous "Greece tragedy" scenes were replaced by the sharper, subtler, fined-tuned storytelling of today. Characters are a bit on the one to two-dimensional side. Moral and religious implications are a bit heavy and unrevealing to my liking.
All in all, this is an incredible film. Pioneer, daring and exceptional for its period, it passed the test of time, to stand as a very very good production that lead the way for films to come. Certain aspects became dated, but at the core, you can appreciate an artistic jewel of a rare kind.
Although, apprehensive in the first 20 minutes, once I got accustomed to the silent acting/intertitle thing, I was in for a treat. I didn't sleep and I didn't regret anything.
Be open-minded and be ready to be thrown into this dark world of Metropolis. Enjoy.