One of the very first long, Fritz Lang science fiction films Metropolis adopted a daring visual approach for its time, incorporating the Bauhaus and futuristic influences in sets and costumes in a strong way. Lang's visual language has strongly resonated during the following decades. The rather magnificent alchemical-electrical transfer of the film of the physical features of a woman on the body of a destructive Android-the so-called Maschinenmensch– started a very long trend of female robots in cinema and television, most as dangerous and imperative as Lang. And yet, for all its many imitators, Metropolis continues to make surprises. Here we bring you a new discovery: a 32 -page program distributed during the film's first in 1927 in London and recently rediscovered.
In addition to the subscription of almost a hundred years of cinema and science fiction television, Metropolis had a very long life in other ways: to inspire a Star band from stars produced by Giorgio Moroder in 1984with Freddie Mercury, Loverboy and Adam Ant, and a Kraftwerk album.
In 2001, a reconstructed version of Metropolis Received a projection in Berlin Film Festival, and the UNESCO memory on the World Register added it to their list. 2002 saw the release of an exceptional Metropolis– Anime inspired with the same title. And in 2010, an almost fully restored print of the long -term film – recovered from sequences found in Argentina in 2008 – was apparent, adding a little more sophistication and coherence to simplistic history.
Even during the initial reception of the film, without any missing sequence, the criticisms are not hot in its history. Despite all his intense visual futurism, he always seemed to be a very picturesque and naive story, struck with serious religiosity and inexplicable archaisms. Contemporary criticisms has found its account of generational and unconvincing class conflicts. HG Wells – “Something of an authority on science fiction” – pronounced it “the most silly film” full of “every possible madness, cliché, platitude and confusion on mechanical progress and progress in general has served with its own sentimentality sauce.” Few were nicer with regard to history, and despite its manifest religious themes, many saw it as communist propaganda.
Seen after subsequent events in 20th century Germany, many scenes from the film appear “disturbing premonitory”, writes the not affiliated criticLike the vision of an enormous industrial machine as Moloch, in which “bald and undernourished humans are led in chains to a furnace”. Lang and his wife Thea Von Harbou – who wrote the novel, then the script – of course commented on industrialization, working conditions and Weimar Germany. Metropolis“Clear message of classism”, as io9 Written, passes the most clearly in his images that stop, like this horrible and monstrous oven and the “imminent symbol of wealth in the tower of Babel”.
The visual effects and spectacular sets have worked their magic on almost everyone (wells excluded) who saw Metropolis. And they remain, for all its stupidity, the main reason for the cultural prevalence of the film. Cable calls him “Probably the most influential science fiction film in history”, noting that “a single film poster in the original version sold $ 690,000 seven years ago, and should go even more during an auction later this year.”
We now have another artifact of the film's premiere, This 32 -page program, called appropriately “Metropolis” magazineThis offers a rich party for the public, and the text sometimes more interesting than the film script. (You can see the program entirely here.) We imagine if they had backlit smartphones, these first filmmakers could have found themselves who have trouble not browser while the film projects. But, of course, MetropolisVisual excesses would attract their attention because they still make ours. His scenes from a futuristic city have always fascinated viewers, filmmakers and (most) criticism, such as Roger Ebert could write “vast futuristic cities” as a must of some of the best science fiction of its 21st century animation review Metropolis-“Visions … awkward and yet at the same time exhilarating.”
THE The program is really an amazing documentA treasure for film fans and for scholars. It is full of fixed production images, articles and photos behind the scenes, technical mins, short columns by the actors, a biography of Thea von Harbou, “the author”, extracts from her novel and his scenario placed side by side, and a short article from her. There is a page entitled “Figures that speak” which total the production costs and distribution and crew numbers (including very raw drawings and a number of “negroes” and “Chinese”). Lang himself weighs, laconically, with a windy introduction followed by a classic line of the silent era: “If I cannot succeed in finding the expression on the image, I certainly cannot find it in speech.” The history of cinema agrees, Lang has found its expression “on the photo”.
“Only three surviving copies of this program are known to exist,” writes CableAnd one of them, from which these pages come, is on sale at the rare bookstore of Peter Harrington for 2,750 pounds ($ 4,244) – which seems rather low, given what an original Metropolis The poster went. But the markets are inconsistent, and whatever its current or future price, “Metropolis” magazine is invaluable for filmmakers. See The 32 pages of the program on the Peter Harrington website.
Note: a previous version of this article appeared on our site in 2016.
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Josh Jones is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him to @jdmagness
At Learnopoly, Finn has championed a mission to deliver unbiased, in-depth reviews of online courses that empower learners to make well-informed decisions. With over a decade of experience in financial services, he has honed his expertise in strategic partnerships and business development, cultivating both a sharp analytical perspective and a collaborative spirit. A lifelong learner, Finn’s commitment to creating a trusted guide for online education was ignited by a frustrating encounter with biased course reviews.