Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)

Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)
Fritz Lang's Metropolis belongs to legend as much as to cinema. It's a milestone of sci-fi and German expressionism. Yet the story makes minimal sense, and the "theme" belongs in a fortune cookie; to experience the film's pagan power, you have to see the movie. But for decades we couldn't, not really--not with so many versions, all incomplete, often in public-domain prints like smudged photocopies. This Murnau Foundation restoration changes all that. Some shots, scenes, and subplots may be lost forever, but intertitles indicate how they fit into the original continuity and the characters' individual trajectories. Most crucially, the images are crisp, vibrant, and three-dimensional instead of murky and flattened. The composite sequences (the Tower of Babel, a sea of lusting eyes) have been restored to their hallucinatory ferocity. And there's one moment when you can see a bead of sweat roll down a man's cheek--in medium long-shot. --Richard T. Jameson
Customer Review: I'm surprised it hasn't been remade
In the future a small elite group of people live in a Utopian world seemingly unaware that their city is being run by huge numbers of slaves who live underground. When a mad scientist develops a way of building robots who could replace the workers, one of the world's controllers kidnaps the workers' leader, Maria, a kindly woman who preaches peace, and replaces her with a robot Maria, who incites the workers to violent acts which will justify their murder. For a silent movie made in 1927, "Metropolis" is incredible. The plot is highly detailed (as detailed as a novel), and in the same vein as dystopian classics such as "Brave New World" and "1984". Anyone who liked either of these novels will certainly like "Metropolis". Although at times a bit slow moving, the film is nonetheless fascinating enough to hold your interest even through these scenes. For the time, the special effects are very impressive, and the film is not as severely plagued by over-acting as many other silent movies (such as "Nosferatu") are. The best thing about this film is the aspects of the plot involving the robot Maria. Brigitte Helm who plays Maria is incredibly convincing in this dual role. She makes it believe that there exist two different people who look exactly the same - the robot and the human, although, Helm particularly excels when playing the robot. The character of robot Maria is so entertaining to watch and so different from anything I have ever seen that I am surprised that "Metropolis" has not been remade. If "Metropolis" were made today, I am certain that it would be a runaway success among science-fiction fans. As it is, there has been no remake, but don't let the fact that this is a silent movie put you off. There are good reasons why "Metropolis" is considered a classic and it should still be enjoyable for modern audiences.
Customer Review: 1st Time Seen and I Love It
I have never seen Metropolis before but this genre of old classic films really intrigue me especially the silent films. I saw all the reviews of Metropolis and figured it might be worth a see. This company Kino always deliveries quality in their movies and as I watched this one I was happy to see a nice picture without a bunch of distortion or fuzz. The audio is 5.1 surround sound and it sounds great. The music is very good and it really captures the mood of whats going on. I don't know what the original was like but I am very happy with what I saw and heard. Like I said this is my 1st time seeing this so I don't know whats missing or what versions are available or whatever. Most movies from the silent era never really grab me as much as this film did. What is going on onscreen really captivated me and I was amazed at the time it came out and what it had accomplished. For being such an old movie it was still enjoyable for me to watch today so I know it will be a classic favorite in my collection. The subtitles when active give a somewhat glimpse of whats trying to be conveyed and some stuff I would never of thought of like seeing doors shut behind people as a relevance to something. The subtitles are very helpful if you have no idea of what you are watching or even if you do the insights are still a very nice extra. Though the special features are a little light it does give a little insight into the restoring process. There is also a documentary that goes into the German film industry at that time and scenes that were left out. These extra features though kind of short but still were interesting to watch. Odds are if you don't like silent films or films that require a open mind to whats going on or even a respect for the time period you probably won't like it at all. There is a lot of weird imagery going on so you kind of have to think sometimes about what is happening and if it has some other meaning. I found the subtitles to help in this regard. Overall I know some people would not have patience for a silent movie nor care for them but I have a great respect for older films and when I find one that I enjoy I know its worth my five star rating. Everyone should see it at least once either for love or hate.