It's interesting to analyze what the legendary reputation of Metropolis is based on. Just look at it. What we have here, is a stiff, unintentionally comic and naive picture. The ridiculous gestures of the actors and the stupid texts written by Thea von Harbou would make Metropolis -released in 1927- the camp classic of the century if it weren't visually so damn magnificent. Director Fritz Lang definitely knew the secret of creating unforgettable images. The events of the film take place in the future, somewhere around the year we are living now. Lang tells a story of huge town called Metropolis. The designers of the town live in beautiful skyscrapers, have money and amusements. The "hands" of the town live in the heat underground, each man working ten hours a day. Metropolis is as must see, "because its has inspired directors like Ridley Scott and James Cameron, and films like Blade Runner, The Terminator..." Just don't expect this silent Lang picture to be something overwhelming -like Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (1925).
Review of Metropolis
