Space Oddities : Metropolis

Fritz Lang`s Metropolis (1927) explores the developing movement of German Expressionism along with taking film making to a next level, featuring extreme camera angles and creative use of scaling through the set. Over the decade the sci fi genre had developed far from the use of straight on camera angles to extreme point of view shots. Although despite the exponential potential, Metropolis stayed true to the nature of German Expressionism with the slanted buildings with monumental scale and blacked out buildings. However, unlike Das Cabinet Des Dr Caligari (1920) the extreme abstract shapes were more subtle and looked more like buildings rather than a chaotic fantasy world. This may be because of how Das Cabinet Des Dr Caligari was filmed directly after by children, her hands extended over them in saintly grace. From this first meeting, she is responsible -- indirectly, at first -- for bringing Freder down to the level of the people, away from his home in paradise. It is notable that this first appearance to Freder occurs directly on the heels of Freder's dalliance with the nameless maiden in the garden. If the scantily clad woman is Freder's Mary Magdalene, then Maria is clearly Freder's Mary. Assuming the roles of both prophet and mother, Maria first foretells of Freder/Christ's coming, and then is herself the agent of that arrival when Freder descends to the lower city in pursuit of her.World War two where artists expressed their despair through their artwork. Since this film was made much later, the expressionism content was less extreme.

With the unfortunate event of scenes disappearing, Metropolis took the same direction as previous silent film Das Cabinet Des Dr Caligari where they used text to replace the scenes and dialogue which were lost. Although the font used was much clearer and the translation made communication clear, the storytelling did not make the film clear and there were a lot of questions and plot holes being asked at the end of the film. Although the main plot was answered and there was a linear style, there was hardly any dialogue in crucial scenes, for example when Maria was being chased by the inventor. The gaps and logical puzzles of the story (some caused by clumsy re-editing after the film left Lang's hands) are swept away by this torrent of images. “To enjoy the film, the viewer must observe but never think,” the critic Arthur Lennig said, and Pauline Kael contrasted its “moments of almost incredible beauty and power” with “absurd ineptitudes.” Even when the plot seems adrift, the movie itself never lacks confidence: The city and system are so overpowering they dwarf any merely logical problems.” Roger Ebert, Great Movie: Metropolis (1998).

The build-up towards the slight insanity of Freder was portrayed interestingly by the swirling images of his beloved in the embrace of his father, where the obvious betrayal and confusion takes over the screen. There is also the scene where it is shown him falling through the darkness into Hell. Since religion becomes a huge theme in the film where the two female leads are represented by a symbol of purity and a figurehead for the seven deadly sins. “From her first appearance, Maria also evokes the Virgin Mary, entering Freder's garden surrounded by children, her hands extended over them in saintly grace. From this first meeting, she is responsible -- indirectly, at first -- for bringing Freder down to the level of the people, away from his home in paradise. It is notable that this first appearance to Freder occurs directly on the heels of Freder's dalliance with the nameless maiden in the garden. If the scantily clad woman is Freder's Mary Magdalene, then Maria is clearly Freder's Mary. Assuming the roles of both prophet and mother, Maria first foretells of Freder/Christ's coming, and then is herself the agent of that arrival when Freder descends to the lower city in pursuit of her.

It is no coincidence that the robot built by Rotwang takes the form of Maria, an evil doppelganger that spreads anger and fear, the antithesis of Maria's vision of peace. Our first glimpse of the robot finds it beneath an inverted, five-pointed star, a pentacle -- a sigil long associated with ceremonial magic, especially that involved in summoning outside forces. Indeed, Rotwang's android does seem to carry within its husk something more sinister than simple ones and zeroes. It springs into being from the mind of man, rather than divine guidance, formed not of Adam's rib; its unnatural birth instead costs Rotwang his hand. . . a sacrifice he does not regret.”David Michael Wharton , Crucified To The Machine : Religious Imagery In Fritz Lang`s Metropolis (2003)

 Although the acting of the pair was theatrical the tense side of it made the pair, especially fake Maria, much more believable. Where the odd twitch in her close-ups and the constant devious seductive smirk gave a clue to the audience that she was the fake. What also helped distinguish the two was how robotic the fake’s movements were. Even when dancing the unnatural swerve of her hips was cringing to look at since she simply looked ridiculous yet the men in the scene were biting at the bit to have her. That being said, the idea of objectifying women wasn`t new in the film industry in the 1920s, especially around the period of flapper girls where sexualisation was a keen aspect of the trend.

Symbolisation of the slaves in this film was believable and fitted well with the silent film genre. The acting made the slaves seem like mindless zombies working like parts of a machine with no will of their own. When the workers are seen for the first time their arms work in continuous actions on repeat where they don`t stop and have to be dragged away from their work to see the real world and the position of the bosses that put them in such terrible conditions. It was only until the end where we see how hopeless these slaves are where their only sanity is being held by a holy figure which they trust in enough to sacrifice their children unknowingly. Although the slaves have no huge part apart from tools used by Jon Frederson used for power gain. The audience can relate to the system of lower class and upper class as such political roles are happening in today’s world too. 

The chase scene was incredibly done, where light and shadows and the concept of purity being clad in white and the surrounding darkness gave immense atmosphere to the scene. Where the torchlight gave a look of a cage surrounding the female lead and wherever she moved to escape she could not escape the cage without being followed and trapped like a deer in headlights. Seeing this it was foreshadowed that the audience knew she could not escape and this was her demise. To add to the horror the inventors face within the skeletons was a shock in itself, where there is no respect for the dead and he blends in with the haunting surroundings.

The scientist’s house looked more like from Dr Caligari, with extreme shadows and no light within the dark. : What first struck about the set compared to Dr Caligari, was how the buildings differed tremendously throughout the decade of German Expressionism, apart from one house. The house of the inventor. There was several similarities between the crazed scientists in both where their lairs are blacked out with no form of lighting from within. When the main character enters there is only darkness and a cavern of mystery. That being said, Metropolis did take the horror a step further when it came to atmosphere as this was one of the earliest forms of doors opening and closing. A classic feature in modern horror films.

Although this film is seen as a classic and the start of its genre the ridiculous storyline may be its downfall and it`s perks as some qualities are deemed just to ridiculous from today’s perspective. Where today we see WW2 planes in 2026 as laughable, back in 1927, seeing motor cars which were seen as dated then were also laughable. “The motor cars are 1926 models or earlier. I do not think there is a single new idea, a single instance of artistic creation or even intelligent anticipation, from first to last in the whole pretentious stew; I may have missed some point of novelty, but I doubt it; and this, though it must bore the intelligent man in the audience, makes the film all the more convenient as a gauge of the circle of ideas, the mentality, from which it has proceeded”. : H.G Wells, H.G Wells on Metropolis (1927).

Bibliography :

Wharton , D (2003) Crucified to the Machine : Religious Imagery in Fritz Lang`s Metropolis :

http://www.strangehorizons.com/2003/20030106/metropolis.shtml

Ebert , R (1998) Great Movie : Metropolis : http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-metropolis-1927 

Wells , H (1927) H.G Wells on Metropolis :                                                                              http://erkelzaar.tsudao.com/reviews/H.G.Wells_on_Metropolis%201927.htm