Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel

Director: Fritz Lang

Screenplay: Thea von Harbou

Running time: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: German Expressionism/Sci-Fi



CRITIQUE:


There’s a vision that is common to the contemporary sci-fi genre, and that is the idea of a future. Fritz Lang’s incendiary Metropolis may well deserve the term “progenitor” of the futuristic cinema. It is a benchmark even today that this visionary innovation have been replicated for the nth time throughout history, and inspired the mind of Stanley Kubrick (man vs machine in 2001: A Space Odyssey), Steven Spielberg (architecture of Minority Report) and Ridley Scott (concept of replicants in Blade Runner). Heck, even Madonna made a music video about it.


Sure, Metropolis is filled with flaws. In fact, it is littered with them: there are quick cuts, contradictory scenes, images that are juxtaposed with each other, lost footage replaced by summarised templates – but to condemn it for its imperfection is just like watching The Lord of the Rings’ special effects being done by clunky HAL computers. There’s no point arguing its intermittent pace and dodgy editing for it is done in a period where cinema was just an early innovation. What’s surprising in here is that despite of the technology, there’s no mistaking for its spectacular imagery. Lang’s images are the sort that would continue slapping cinema books along the generations to come, and his technical designs are groundbreaking. See the creation on the underground city and the titular metropolis above the ground, it’s a fascinating work. It is drudgery, but one that remains historic and influential. And to note that Lang opted for a silent film epic, making full use of his German expressionistic movement and the actors’ performances, he manages to make an impact without dialogues, accompanying his stark interplay of lights and shades with social and political undercurrents. A totalitarian government overruling a toiling society, an uprising from the masses, humanity’s self-gratifying reliance on technology and mad scientists equalled with mad ambitions – certainly it is a vision not so totally removed from our own world.



VERDICT:

The earliest dystopian futuristic film showcased in retro effects during the silent-film era. Oddly enough, it works and now considered a pioneer of sci-fi flicks. Imperfect, but gloriously so.



RATING: A