For its time, this movie has stunning visuals, kind of Kubrick-esqe in appearance, especially the opening scenes of workers going and coming from work. It's very strange, with the group leaving walking with their heads down like zombies.
The set designs in here are also something that might draw your attention. This really has a futuristic look. I thought the visuals were fascinating. This was "German expressionist" filmwork at its height, I would think. Director Fritz Lang went on to become a very famous man in his profession. This wasn't his first effort but, I think this might have been the film that put him "on the map," so to speak. Several years later, he gained a lot more fame with "M." At any rate, with the photography, sets and overall Flash Gordon-type sci-fi look, this must have been a real eye-opener to movies viewers 80 years ago. I still think they look very cool today. The music was also very dramatic, at least in this restored 5.1 surround sound restoration DVD, put out by Klino.
Obviously, the eye makeup on men and the exaggerated motions by actors in silent films look a little hokey but I was mesmerized by Brigitte Helm, who plays "Maria" and her evil clone. She is something else! I also appreciated Klino's explanation of lost footage and how they did the best they could do to still make the story flow together. They did an outstanding job. I wouldn't attempt to watch this on anything less than this DVD, which looks pretty darn good.
This is a "worker" story about a man wanting to trade his comfortable life to join the oppressed workers, who do their thing beneath the earth in "Metropolis." Workers are seen as nothing but replaceable robots. If someone gets hurt, they get carted away and replaced immediately but some other zombie-like human. Of course, people being mistreated can only take it for so long before rebellion. That's history, from the days of the Jewish slaves in Egypt to today, so that's part of this story, too. I won't say more to ruin it.
I don't want to mislead people on one major point: today's audiences watching this. Few people in 2008 watch silent movies. To ask them to sit through two hours of a silent film is, obviously, asking a lot. I had to break this up into several viewings, myself, but that's okay. I still enjoyed it.....but it a silent movie this long is not easy to sit through. You have to be a student of film, or a big film buff, to watch this....but those people will be rewarded. Over 250 reviews in here show you this film has enough to offer, or at least take a look. Now that this restored version is available, check it out!
The set designs in here are also something that might draw your attention. This really has a futuristic look. I thought the visuals were fascinating. This was "German expressionist" filmwork at its height, I would think. Director Fritz Lang went on to become a very famous man in his profession. This wasn't his first effort but, I think this might have been the film that put him "on the map," so to speak. Several years later, he gained a lot more fame with "M." At any rate, with the photography, sets and overall Flash Gordon-type sci-fi look, this must have been a real eye-opener to movies viewers 80 years ago. I still think they look very cool today. The music was also very dramatic, at least in this restored 5.1 surround sound restoration DVD, put out by Klino.
Obviously, the eye makeup on men and the exaggerated motions by actors in silent films look a little hokey but I was mesmerized by Brigitte Helm, who plays "Maria" and her evil clone. She is something else! I also appreciated Klino's explanation of lost footage and how they did the best they could do to still make the story flow together. They did an outstanding job. I wouldn't attempt to watch this on anything less than this DVD, which looks pretty darn good.
This is a "worker" story about a man wanting to trade his comfortable life to join the oppressed workers, who do their thing beneath the earth in "Metropolis." Workers are seen as nothing but replaceable robots. If someone gets hurt, they get carted away and replaced immediately but some other zombie-like human. Of course, people being mistreated can only take it for so long before rebellion. That's history, from the days of the Jewish slaves in Egypt to today, so that's part of this story, too. I won't say more to ruin it.
I don't want to mislead people on one major point: today's audiences watching this. Few people in 2008 watch silent movies. To ask them to sit through two hours of a silent film is, obviously, asking a lot. I had to break this up into several viewings, myself, but that's okay. I still enjoyed it.....but it a silent movie this long is not easy to sit through. You have to be a student of film, or a big film buff, to watch this....but those people will be rewarded. Over 250 reviews in here show you this film has enough to offer, or at least take a look. Now that this restored version is available, check it out!