Metropolis 1927 – Film Review

Louis Belden

Before Metropolis, Sci-Fi was a far more whimsical and less

serious genre of movies, with films like ‘A Trip to the
Moon’ featuring a light-hearted look at space travel,
however the release of Metropolis changed the world of
cinema forever. Considered by many to be the first true
science-fiction epic, Metropolis is a 1927 German
Expressionist film directed by Fritz Lang.
The picture is set in a dystopian future were the classes of
rich and poor live in separate districts, with the rich living
up in the city and the poor working underground with the
machines. The story shows the struggle between man and
machine and revolves around Freder, son of Jon Fredersen
the wealthy master of Metropolis, and Maria, whose seen
as a saintly pacifist to the workers and aiming to bring
them together.
The Movie has a truly unique visual style combining the
styles of Art Deco, Cubism & Futurism all to create a
towering yet bleak vison of the future, which has ties to a
more ‘primitive’ religious side with its cathedral. From the
forever moving upper city of Metropolis, featuring bustling Figure 1. Metropolis poster (1927)
crowds, cars and planes to the steamy hell like
underground, populated by the weary lifeless workers and the machines. The Art Deco style
creates this gothic and dark vison of a city with a capitalistic type state were only the rich
thrive. “The movie was born from my first sight of the skyscrapers in New York in October
1924”, this statement gives us the knowledge that the gothic and Art Deco style of New York
and the landscape of the city played a big part in the creation of ‘Metropolis”
There is no doubt that the visual style of the movie was incredibly influential, the journalist
JF Alfaya said, “There is no doubt that Metropolis’ imagery was strongly influenced by Art
Déco and Lang’s use of this movement’s ideas was highly influential, contributing decisively
to the style’s subsequent popularity in Europe and America.” This provides the point how
not only was the films visual style was influenced by the Art Deco movement but also
managed to create further interest in the style.
Just as I mentioned earlier, like the influence the
visual style had on the world of design the movie
in general has had a huge impact on cinema and
popular culture. Not surprisingly Metropolis had
a huge impact on one of if not the most famous
science fiction series of all time, Star Wars. One
of the most obvious similarities is the relationship
Figure 2. Original Ralph McQuarrie C3-PO concept art
between the design of the robot In Metropolis
and as seen in Figure 2 the original concept art of
See-Threepio, however this is not where the similarities between the film and the saga end.
One of the other big things in common is this idea of rebellion and revolution over a
tyrannical reign. Other relationships that could be drawn is the design of Coruscants
towering architecture and flying cars, the singular glove worn by Rotwang in ‘Metropolis’
mirrors the theme of singular gloves covering artificial hands in
the Skywalker family and finally the style of absurd dancing that
Maria as the robot does is reminiscent of the dancers that
entertain Jabba the Hutt in ‘Return of the Jedi’. Filmmaker Bryan
Young stated, “One of the things George Lucas is best at is making
you believe the machines being manipulated on screen are real
and work when operated by characters and since Metropolis
seems to be the first example of this in cinema, it seems like an
easy thing to connect the dots.” This further demonstrates that
Lucas was not only inspired by the picture on a narrative and
design standpoint but also through the cinematography the film
used also demonstrating how ‘Metropolis’ influenced the world of
cinema and by doing this allowed for one of the most iconic series
to be what it is today.
There is no doubt that Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ biggest
accomplishment, even more so than its ahead of its time use of
practical sets and effects, is its influence and impact it has had on Figure 3. Metropolis Poster
the landscape of cinema and design in general, of which can still
be appreciated and continues to influence and inspire to this day.
Illustration list
• Figure1:
https://www.antikbar.co.uk/original_vintage_posters/cinema_posters/metropolis_f
ritz_lang/PC0931/
• Figure2:
https://www.starwars.com/news/the-cinema-behind-star-wars-metropolis
• Figure3:
https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/metropolis-most-expensive-movie-poster

Bibliography

• Bryan Young. (2016). THE CINEMA BEHIND STAR WARS: METROPOLI.Available:

https://www.starwars.com/news/the-cinema-behind-star-wars-metropolis. Last
accessed 27/09/2018.

• JF Alfaya. (2014). The influence of the Art Deco movement in Fritz Lang’s
Metropolis. Available: http://www.decimononic.com/blog/the-influence-of-the-art-
deco-movement-in-fritz-langs-metropolis Last accessed 27/09/2018.

• N/A. (2016). Industrial meets art deco – How Metropolis helped design the
future. Available: https://www.pooky.com/inspiration/light-and-shade/industrial-
meets-art-deco-how-metropolis-helped-design-the-future. Last accessed
27/09/2018.