Monday 5 October 2015

Metropolis Review.

Metropolis, 1927, Drama Sci-Fi film Directed by Fritz Lang Is a Story based in a Future Metropolitan City sharply divided between the working class and the city planners along with a Romeo and Juliet style of story telling involving the Son of the City's Mastermind and a working Class Prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate the differences between the two city factions.

Fig 1
The Story starts sometime in the Future, the city Metropolis is home to wealthy citizens who live a carefree life. One of which happens to be a young man by the name of Freder Fredersen (Gustav Frohlich) One day he spots a Beautiful woman accompanied by a group of children who quickly Disappear which leads to the protagonist to inevitably follow her, this leads him to the underworld of Metropolis which is populated by the working Faction of the city and filled with Machines that power the city above. Which is weird that he does not know that this was here considering he is the son of The city's Mastermind Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel).
After an explosion in the Workers city, which causes Freder to hallucinate about the machine and an intense argument in the offices above. Freder finds out that the name of the mysterious child lady is Maria (Brigitte Helm), a woman who espouses the need to join the 'hands' (The Workers) to the Head (Those in Power above) By a Mediator or the 'Heart'.

Fig 2
Once Joh finds out that Maria is plotting this coup along with his son and the rest of the Workers he enlists the help of an old colleague or nemesis, the relationship between the two was not made clear, the mans name is C.A. Rotwang, The Inventor (Rudolf Klein-Roggie). Joh along with Rotwang create a robotic Doppelganger of Maria and imprison the Real Maria while Robo Maria takes her place and causes mayhem in both Metropolis and the Working city, this lead to an uprising among the workers who, lead by Maria, destroy the Heart of the machine which cause a flood within the workers city.
Freder along with the real Maria and Josaphat (Theodor Loos) Fight to save the children of the working city and stop the inevitable Riot that has broken out and defeat Rotwang and his Robotic Maria Doppelganger.

Fig 3

Fig 4
The film that was watched was a cut version with some scenes missing and replaced with the word cards that have been seen throughout the movie explaining what the scene contained. This made the movie very confusing from the beginning onto the middle of the film cause there was no clear explanation as to what had happened.
The majority of the cut scenes contained a man who goes by, what the movie entitled him with, as the The Thin Man (Frits Rasp). There were too many scenes with him in that was cut, it made it unclear what his overall character was, His objective, and his overall role in the movie.

The cinematography in the movie for its time was not that far off from what today is now. It was pretty amazing how they came up with the exact way that the future to them would look like.

Fig 5

Fig 6
Actors:
Erin Biswanger - 11811 - Georgy,

Heinrich George - Grot - the Guardian of the Heart of the Machine,

Writing Credits:
Thea Von Harbou - ScreenPlay, Novel.

Fritz Lang - ScreenPlay (Uncredited), Director.

Fig 7



Quotes:

Maria: There can be no understanding between the hand and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.

Freder: It was their hands that built this city of ours, Father. But where do the hands belong in your scheme?
Joh Frederson: In their proper place, the depths.

Maria: "We shall build a tower that will reach to the stars!" Having conceived Babel, yet unable to build it themselves, they had thousands to build it for them. But those who toiled knew nothing of the dreams of those who planned. And the minds that planned the Tower of Babel cared nothing for the workers who built it. The hymns of praise of the few became the curses of the many - BABEL! BABEL! BABEL! - Between the mind that plans and the hands that build there must be a Mediator, and this must be the heart.

Man at Nightclub: For her, all seven deadly sins!


Overall view on the movie:
Good, would like to see the uncut version for more answers.

1 comment:

  1. BEN!!
    Please read my comments on your 'Caligari' review.... as everything I said there, goes for this review too!

    You have made some valid observations here, but they are somewhat lost in the tangle of capital letters and chatty language, for example, 'Through a bunch of misadventures' and shortening Freder's name to Fred.

    As previously mentioned in the last review's comment, your quotes should not be from the film itself, but from other film critics, and these need to be referenced according to the Harvard method.... see the earlier comment for more!

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