Metropolis

Fig 1: Metropolis Directed by Fritz Lang Produced by Erich Pommer Written by Thea von Harbou & Fritz Lang (uncredited) 1927 Weimar Republic Sciencefiction, German expressionist, Silent.

Metropolis, set in an urban dystopia, is very much considered the first Sci-Fi movie of its time. This silent film follows Freder, the son of the Leader of the city, as he discovers the world of the working, and first sets eyes on Maria, where they share the same goal to balance the life styles between the

rich and poor. The movie, compared to Catagari in 1920, has improved such a great deal, and was greatly praised at its time for such great technical achievements. Not all scenes of the film still remain today, as many were lost due to censoring at the time, among other things. 1927 was a time that was still fresh from the battlefield, with World War 1 only ending 9 years ago, it is clear to see where a lot of the storys influence has come from. The world has always seen wars where the poor over take the rich. The most recent revolution at this time was the Soviet Russian Republic, which first came to power in 1917. Also, Germany would have experienced their country manipulate their allies, the Austrian-Hungarian empire, leaving many questioning, creating the German Expressionist movement. Metropolis would have been the first movie to introduce the illusion of huge non-existing landscapes to cinema. The audience of the time would have been used to fairly small sets, where the landscapes are typically enclosed. Metropolis was the first movie to using image manipulation and film editing to create the image of actors emerging and living in a created scene. The result was astonishing for its time. Without all of the digital tricks of today, ``Metropolis'' fills the imagination. (R.Ebert:1998)

Fig 2: The city, alive They used toy models over the back drop paintings, and reflections of video footage, to create a very real, living, moving, huge scene. This brings more depth into imagery of cinema, the techniques produced for Metropolis no longer limited moving scenes to just what can be seen and created on set. This would have been very convincing to the audience of its time, and still leaves an impact of the modern audience, though we are used to seeing higher detail, more realistic scenes, the imagery created in Metropolis is still vivid and moving.

Fig 3: 1927 Magazine explaining the new effects. Metropolis also had the audience amazed by being the first movie to create a smooth transition of footage, and use of special effects, to create the timeless scene of the transformation of Robot Maria. The scene was so well made for its time, as the majority of the movie, is still aesthetically pleasing today, though of course, the modern audience would not feel the full effect of the scenes, but because of the craftsmanship, is still appreciated.

Fig 4: Evil in the Making

There are is so much contextual context in Metropolis, with references to both religion and politics, uniquely portrayed into their scenes. The design of the city is self is questioning social classes, and giving a raw image of the lower class, which leaves a real impact on the viewer, with its towering, overly organized setting , deep underground with no feeling in nature, only order, a feeling of unjust. They used many affects like the steam and how unnaturally and illogically the workers moved in these scenes, to really unsettle the viewer, as it was uncanny, in a way, how unnatural the scene was, yet how familiar. With its immense sets and stark lighting, the workers' city is a credible image of hell, while the overground landscapes were a seminal influence on all subsequent science fiction. (N.Pierce:2003)

Fig 5: The life of the Workers But the visual impact of Metropolis remains by far its most powerful aspect. Mixing European avantgarde techniques with Hollywood mass-cult extravagance, Metropolis's staggering architectural scale and syncopated near-musical choreography still seem surprisingly contemporary in an age that has far from tired of seeing the future in harshly dystopic terms. (E.Halter:2007) Metropolis changed the course of Cinematic History with the rich images created, and creating a world every being fears to live in, but can all relate to at some point, especially in the time the movie was created. Building on earlier science fiction and endlessly influential on later works, Langs film is a mammoth marvel, fusing modernism and expressionism, art deco and Biblical spectacle, Wagnerian bombast, sentimental Marxism and religiose millenarianism. (B.Walters:2010)Metropolis will always be admired for its rich contextual content and powerful convincing imagery, regardless of time or audience.

Bibliography E.Halter (2007) Metropolis (1927) In: http://www.villagevoice.com [online] at: http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-07-10/film/back-to-the-future/ (accessed 07/10/2012) B.Walters (2010) Metropolis (1927) In: http://www.timeout.com [online] at: http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/73119/metropolis.html (accessed 07/10/2012) R.Ebrt (1997) Metropolis (1927) in: www.suntimes.com [online] at: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19980328/REVIEWS08/401010341/102 3 (accessed online at 07/10/2012) N.Peirce (2003) Metropolis (1927) in: http://www.bbc.co.uk [online] at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/01/06/metropolis_1927_review.shtml (accessed 07/10/2012)

Illustrations: Figure 1: [Film Poster] http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/06/Metropolisposter.jpg/220pxMetropolisposter.jpg Figure 2: [Movie Still] http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/metropolis-therestored-version-1927-fritz-lang/ Figure 3: [Magazine Illustration] http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/2012/07/1927magazine-looks-at-metropolis-a-movie-based-on-science/ Figure 4: [Movie Still] http://playeraffinity.com/movies/movies-featured/movie-diablog-the-best-ofthe-silent-film-era.html Figure 5: [Movie Still] http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsoundpolls/2012/film/4ce2b6b0544c6