2
(nothing direct)
7
(mild sexuality, obscured nudity)
5
(definitely see this at least once)
"Metropolis" is an innovative and influential movie. And for good reason. In a time before there was much by which to be influenced in cinema, nothing but practical tricks in the way of special effects, and stories that had to be told without the use of dialogue "Metropolis" creates a gripping and dark tale.
I don’t know if you can call this “horror” despite it usually being found grouped with that genre. I suppose you can call it whatever you like, but it’s far different from horror movies like "Nosferatu." It definitely falls into the realm of sci-fi, though. What’s more, compared even to a lot of modern sci-fi this would still be considered by many to be innovative.
One of the most interesting things about the story is its creation of foreign societies. There is perhaps some H.G. Wells influence here. The ruling class lives above ground. These are wealthy, powerful people. The working class lives in the dark underground. They live as oppressed slaves not having the vision to rise above their station in life. The upper class, while powerful in the way of control, don’t have any idea how the machines operate and are therefore dependent on the workers.
The lower class conditions are awful. An industrial accident injures and kills a number of people yet the priority is not the injured but keeping the machines running properly. Maria is a sympathetic girl and has visions of a better life for these people. She is trying to start a revolution.
Freder is the son of the most powerful man in the thinking class. Maria wants to win him over to her way of thinking and convinces him to visit the underground. When he sees the conditions there he begins questioning the humanity of this oppression.
Freder’s father is nervous about losing control, fearing the uprising that Maria could bring he has a brilliant scientist create a humanoid robot in the likeness of Maria. They replace the real woman with the robotic one who incites a riot in the working class that will cause more damage to themselves than the oppressive thinkers. When they realize they have killed their children they blame Maria and chase her down to execute her.
Freder has problems as well, for the scientist intends his robotic woman to be the death of the young man. Freder must save himself and Maria, plus an entire society.
It’s a fairly complex plot. That summary is longer than those of a lot of modern movies and still does not cover all the nuances of the story. And when you consider that the story has to be conveyed with visuals and a few dialogue cards the fact that it gets everything across deserves a measure of respect. There are a lot of movies that can’t tell a story like this with talking characters and greater visual capabilities.
An item of note is that a full quarter of the movie has been considered lost (most if not all of it has been found and reintegrated, but I haven't had the opportunity to see this version yet) so I can’t help but wonder what other story elements might have originally been there.
As far as visual effects this movie is astounding. Go read about some of the tricks they used to create some of the effects: amazingly innovative. The robot looks so good it’s no wonder that she remains such an icon more than 80 years later.
Not everything about the movie is perfect, though. It is quite long and does drag in multiple places. Some extra time is necessary I suppose to fully convey all the information needed to get the plot across, but still some of the segments get to feeling drawn out needlessly.
A certain appreciation of silent movies is vital to enjoying a movie like this. Without voices to convey emotion the acting can feel weird. Motions look different and can feel unnatural. On top of that the viewer has to be willing to pay attention and work out the plot elements, they can’t be handed out on a silver platter like a modern movie. That being the case, though, these movies can be a lot of fun to discuss with other viewers.
Morality
A few violent concepts pop up with explosions killing people and someone being burned alive, but even by TV standards this would be very mild in its portrayal. There is no blood or gore.
There is no strong language (no kidding!).
There is an erotic dance scene in which I thought the actress might be topless although the video quality made it hard to tell. (I don't know how much it even matters if it is that hard to make out the details.) Evidently she is wearing only tassels over her nipples. I've also read a mention of breasts being visible through sheer shirts, but either those are in the scenes not included in my version or the video quality is just so bad that it acted as an effective censor because I never noticed any such thing. Other than the dance there is nothing sexual.
Spirituality
I would say that the story deals more with the physical realm than anything spiritual. Just the same it has something to say about oppression. Standing on the backs of the working class allows the upper echelon to live luxuriously, but is it OK to reach such heights by stepping on others?
It is rather extreme in its portrayal. There are some in our society that see virtually any successful business owner as getting where they are by the oppression of others. Is success an automatic signpost of evil greed and oppression of others? I don't think the movie "Metropolis" is necessarily saying that, this is more of a caricature: extremes of society brought into conflict.
In this case the societal setup is damaging to the upper class as well as the lower. The members of the upper class have reached a point at which they can't function on their own. The Bible warns against being lazy which seems to be what has happened to these people. They have pushed off any and all responsibility to the point that they, themselves, have become virtually useless. I'd hate to think I'd put myself into a position of being useless.
Final Thoughts
Every fan of cinema should sit through at least one silent film. This one might be a bit long for your first try, but version matters. The music is the biggest detractor in the version I saw, although poor video quality and some dull scenes don’t help, either. Even so, this movie is worth seeing just on the merit of its historical influence, although it does have more to offer than just that.
Buying Guide
"Metropolis" is perhaps a bit different than many of the old public domain movies in that there are a number of notable releases rather than a bunch that all look like the exact same product with different cover art.
For starters, "Metropolis" actually has 2 different Blu releases (there's also a steelbook limited edition that includes a book, but I couldn't find a region 1 listing for it). These are the Giorgio Moroder Presents (Special Edition) and “The Complete Metropolis” both released by Kino and both having DVD versions available.
Also on DVD is a “Restored Authorized Edition” by Paramount and Kino, a “Hollywood Classics” edition, a Synergy Archive Series, and a Triad Productions release. These are just to name the most distinctive ones I saw, and each one appears to offer something noteworthy. Incidentally, if you see a reviewer on the net going by the name “keviny01,” he seems to know more about the various releases than anyone else I saw reviewing them so pay attention to him.
“The Complete Metropolis” appears to be the most definitive edition mainly because it is the only one that includes the previously lost half hour of film making this version a good bit longer than even the previously impressive restoration effort. The video quality is said to be the best it has ever looked but varies a lot from beautifully restored to horribly mangled (it sounds like the lost footage was not cared for very well). The audio is a 5.1 track of the original orchestral score which is great to have (being the original and all) but seems to be less sought-after than the newer Alloy Orchestra score which was blocked from being included (the sample clips I've heard of this score are very impressive though the original score is solid as well). It is noted that the dialogue cards are in English only and do not include the original German. According to the notes the extras on this set are different than the ones previously offered and include a documentary that is nearly an hour long, an interview, and a trailer for the restoration effort.
The Moroder Blu release utilizes a rock score that a lot of reviewers criticize. Actually, calling it a “score” is a misnomer, these are rock songs, and whether or not I like Pat Benatar, hearing her sing kills the feel of the movie (I've seen sample clips). The dialogue cards are replaced by subtitles. The image is unrestored though the 1080p picture is still an improvement over many of the DVD copies according to what I've read. Included are a documentary of silent films in Germany, the history of "Metropolis," some info about this particular restoration, some publicity photos, and some trailers.
The DVD versions of both of those releases are the same except for the lack of the high-def video and audio (though I have my doubts as to how much that really matters).
The “Restored Authorized Edition” is only available on DVD but is the one that originally cleaned up the existing footage. It is said to look really good although it is missing the footage that would later be found and added to create the “complete” edition. It includes the orchestration in 5.1 surround sound although one listing I saw mentioned a newly recorded score while another listed the original score, so I'm not positive which one you'll actually get (maybe both). There is a good bit of information about the restoration in essay and documentary forms, a commentary (which is said to be unimpressive), a lengthy documentary, a feature dealing with the censors, interviews, photo galleries covering everything from designs to missing scenes, and some bios. One other item of note is that the film is presented according to the frame rate notes of the director; that means it is shown at 24 frames per second and may look odd to audiences used to the 30 FPS.
A “DVD Tee” release offers a shirt along with an unimpressive looking version of the movie.
The Hollywood Classics DVD lists the same extras as the “complete” edition but does not mention being the “complete” version nor does it list the run time for comparison. So it could actually be nothing more than an incorrect listing but I mention it anyway just in case.
The Synergy Archive Series DVD lists pretty much the same specs and extras as the “Restored Authorized Edition” and may be a repackaging of that release.
Final Recommendation:
I supposed the 50 Horror Classics version (detailed below) is an option to consider if you want an opportunity to be exposed to this film through an inexpensive budget pack. Just keep in mind that the quality stinks, and it is incomplete. The “complete” edition is the way to go for the most complete version of the movie currently available. It's unfortunate that it couldn't include the previous extra features and Alloy score to make this the fully definitive edition. To get the full range of extras you'll need to get the “Restored Authorized Edition” as well. Personally I would advise avoiding the Moroder release unless you would just really prefer the rock music to an orchestral score.
I got an unimpressive copy in a pack of 50 “Horror Classics.”
Video
1.33:
This is the TV standard ratio. The video quality is so poor that it can be hard to make out some of the image. It's washed out, jumpy, fuzzy, and generally just stinks.
Audio
2.0 mono:
This is my biggest bone of contention with the version I have and probably a large factor in why I think some of the scenes drag. Classical music scores the video with unimpressive audio quality. It’s nice music, some of it is stuff that I might consider listening to outside of watching the movie, but it does not work well in the context of the movie. It’s like playing a generic classical CD while watching the movie. The music has nothing whatsoever to do with the mood of any given scene (although occasionally they do tend to mesh, that seems coincidental). What’s worse is that the songs change with no regard for synchronization. We may be in the middle of a climactic scene and suddenly there’s no music as a song fades out to begin the next song. I imagine a better soundtrack would greatly enhance the movie experience.
Packaging
This particular disc is housed in a cardboard sleeve contained in a Velcro-fastened box (repacked in plastic for later editions). You can read about the set as a whole in great detail in the Horror Classics (50 pack) guide.
This cut is a couple of minutes shy of 2 hours long. It's clearly unrestored and excludes the footage that would later be found and reintegrated.
Extras
There are none.