Metropolis -- What Makes This Movie Great? (Episode 29)
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- Undeniably one of the great operatic epics yet made, "Metropolis" is Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction film, revered for its special effects and inventive montages.
Metropolis has influenced just about every major movie that has come after it. Among those who have quoted it: Tim Burton, Bong Joon-Ho, Stanley Kubrick, and Guillermo del Toro.
Metropolis is about a futuristic city that's divided by a glitzy, rich upper-class world and a brutal lower-class society of machine-workers. It's a parable of social and economic divides. Can these divides be resolved by politics, religious faith, science, or something else? The movie is going to ask and try to answer that question!
See joshmatthews.org for more great movie criticism. - Krátké a kreslené filmy
As Metropolis was set (supposedly!) in 2026, I am hoping that there will be a big-screen re-release of METROPOLIS in five-years time so cinephiles (like me!) will get the opportunity to see this groundbreaking piece of cinematic art in a movie theatre.
tremendous idea, and I hope that it happens.
I actually watched it today in the Babylon Theatre in Berlin where it originally aired back in 27. And it was with live orchestra! Great movie and a great experience altogether.
@@artschiloyan9101 I am sooooooooooooo envious that you have seen in a theatre with an orchestra. I still have hope that I'll get to experience that as well.
@@davidyoung5114 my comment was to kind of give you hope that it might happen 😁 👍
@@artschiloyan9101
kinda jealous... not really but I would love to had this experience too
“The plausibility for this world existing is zero.” I feel like the world we are in right now is exactly what this movie warned about. It’s one of the greatest movies with brilliant stylistic themes used repeatedly in fashion, architecture and tech. It’s timeless.
I believe it was obvious that I meant the literal plausibility, not the metaphorical.
Do you also mention the zero possibility of movies like Transformers too?
My exact thought when he said it lmao
@@JoseVasquez-eq1pb A transformer movie is totally unrealistic, it's a very fantastic fiction, Shia Lebouf can't act in real life.
@@LearningaboutMovies you say this movie is ridiculous and doesnt make sense, but see how some man now really love their xxx-doll and AI girl just like those scientist create the robot as replacement for the woman he cant have (deceased Jo wife/feder mom) and WEF guy said you will own nothing and be happy and EUSSR try to seize farmer land (maybe send them to modern kolkhoz later)....? Add how the worker almost never see their child (china 996 anybody?) and so on and so on...its not so metaphorical anymore
In regards to that religious/theological part of the story. The movie uses several religious tropes. The hero is very similar to the Budha as he is sheltered and overprotected by his father, but one day is exposed to the real world and the suffering humans go through. He is also similar to Moses as he is the "mediator" who will save the slaves whom are his brothers and sisters (as the preacher tells him in the begining of the movie when he is in that Eden garden). He rebels against his father, as Moses rebelled against Egypt to save his brothers. And I think he can also be seen as a messaic figure, as he is the mediator between what his above and what is bellow, as Jesus was a mediator between heaven (God) and earth (humans).
Sorry for my bad english I am not a native english.
Great video btw.
excellent, thank you.
And...where are you from...??
The lost film footage was rediscovered in Buenos Aires in 2008? hmmmmmm I wonder how this German-made film found its way all the way to Argentina
This article has a couple of paragraphs on that. www.theguardian.com/film/2008/jul/03/news.culture3
My guess is by U-Boat? 😁
Probably an escaped nazi took it there coz you know many of them fled to South America
Silent films played all over the world. No language barrier for them. Just translate the intertitles. Sound films kind of killed the world market for films.
@@SuperJ1109 Specifically Argentina at that.
I just watched the movie for the first time yesterday. It was my first time every watching a silent film too. After watching it I saw how a lot of other films took inspiration from it! Especially Star Wars and The Matrix!
In the 2000's when TCM aired the full version of this movie, I made sure to record it on DVD. In my opinion this is the best science fiction movie ever made...period.
thank you. whatever I have contains the restored version. I think it's the most recent release from .. Kino?
the storyline was VASTLY ahead of it's time, and with some adaption, and additional clarification and contextualization for a modernized version of the movie would 1000% work and it's symbolism and socio-political elements and it's sub-text is even MORE relevant now than it was when the movie was made.
This is one of my favorite silent movies of all time with an incredible director in Fritz Lang. The heroine Maria played by Brigitte Helm left movie making fairly early in her career and later granted no interviews or allowed her family to talk about her career as an actress. This film was the epitome of German Expressionism. If you get a chance watch her in Alraune (1928) and The Mistress of Atlantis (1932) directed by the great G.W. Pabst.
I was stunned to see nearly every script of a star trek (Original) episodes in the movie. It was just different backgrounds but the same plot and messages.
Trully amazing movie. Watching this was a magical experience. The visuals, the look of the city, the symbolism . Trully brilliant piece of art
It was a fantastic movie with innovative ideas and concepts. One of these that struck me was the concept of a view screen telephone. Fritz Lang and the set designers were quite creative and forward thinking with this as it hadn't been shown before. The fact that the movie was set in our time give a few years, 2026, it's fascinating to see how older movies depict their future.
yes indeed. another one to check out is "Things to Come," which HG Wells was closely involved in the production of.
"The fact that the movie was set in our time give a few years, 2026" It wasn't.
You consider Metropolis a must watch for self-described cinephiles, what are your other "must watch" films that every cinephile must see? (that'd be a good idea for a video)
Thanks. Thought about this and how to do it. Perhaps by genre, decade, or country of origin. Would people watch a 30-minute video on all of the essentials? (that's what it would take unless it is divided up somehow.)
Almost all of my students have not seen "The Godfather." We're even to the point where many of them have not even seen or heard of "Inception"! With all of the pop-culture movie channels, yours is an essential question and many people need the answer. Do they want the answer though? (that makes them click on videos.)
@@LearningaboutMovies I wish I were one of your students. Never seen The Godfather or heard of Inception, what kind of crap are they watching? lol.
Honestly, you could make several movies about it: by genre, decade, country of origin, etc. The all-time video would be the hardest.
Most do not want the answer though. Most movie watchers are content with trash like Fast & Furious or Transformers movies. However, there are true cinephiles out there who love and appreciate all cinema.
thank you. I think Netflix dominates viewing habits now. If you can believe it, a lot of 18-20 year-olds say that it's hard to sit through an entire movie. Too long.
@@LearningaboutMovies it's sad because so many people will only watch movies if they are currently streaming on Netflix. they will never get to experience so many great masterpieces because of this.
@@racewiththefalcons1 I saw Wizard Of Oz when I was nearly 10 and I wasn't bored.
I watched Metropolis for the first time several years ago, and I can agree with the level of melodrama and operatic theatrical style being a bit much from a modern perspective. This was my first, real exposure to German Expressionism, and has since motivated me to seek out expressionistic films from other parts of the world. I wouldn't imagine a lot of people today consider the 1920's in film as being an specially progressive period - or that Germany at that time hosted a wide venue of authors, poets, philosophers, and artists. Honestly, the amount of persuasion I would have to do to get a group of people to agree to watch a silent movie, no matter how grand the scale at which it was filmed. Though if I did, Metropolis would be among them, as well as Aelita Queen of Mars, Woman on the Moon, and the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
true, I think. I note that "Parasite", which won many awards and is the #1 rated movie ever on letterboxd, borrows a lot from Metropolis. Used in a film class, Metropolis is a great option -- if you dedicate enough time to it.
I was certain you were going to include Intolerance and Birth of a Nation.
The film was..and is STILL..Fritz Lang's Masterpiece! If the Academy Awards were in existence in it's day, there is no doubt in my film savvy mind that it would've captured the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.. and, I might add, a much deserved Oscar for Best Actress to Brigette Helm, for her phenomenal performance as Maria! In passing, it's chilling to realize that the Germany where this film was made would, just six short years later, come under the dictatorial terror of Hitler, his Nazis, and a satanic ideology that would eventually leave Germany in absolute devastation by the Allies, and tens of millions dead in Europe as a result. Knowing the History of that hellish regime of the Nazis, the almost prophetic opening scenes in Metropolis cannot but give you chills! Coming events often cast their shadows before them.. 😢😥😪
That's interesting. Who was running the banks that kept imploding the german monetary system through fiat currencies which led to it?
I think about this when I see this film, as well. Most, if not all of the people involved were heavily affected by the Nazis and the war, with many of the stars being put in a position of having to go along with it or not be able to work. I think about many of those kids potentially being made to fight in the Nazi army, as well. This movie was mostly filmed in 1925, so any of them that were 8+ could easily have been sent to war. Disgusting.
Great breakdown of this amazing movie, friend.
I first watched it-- by recommendation-- shortly after leaving the military (around 2011 or 2012).
It realllllllllllly brings the dynamic between "the elites versus the working class" to light;
and could either: anger, disappoint, or comfort many people.
thank you very much.
Love it, Love , Love it. It is amazing how much they accomplished 100 years ago in film!!!
I have seen several versions of this thorough the years. The first time was in Italy in the 1980"s with a Rock soundtrack, the second was in Film class in college. I saw a shortened re-release in the village in NYC in the early 90'S. I have since watched the full 2/12 hr version Colorized.
Metropolis is timeless, iconic, and riveting. Amazing visuals and cinematography, great editing. Excellent acting, especially by the astounding Brigitte Helm. This was her first film and she played 5 roles. Metropolis is must viewing. An entertaining, groundbreaking masterpiece.
i stil cant get over how great the quality is in this movie despite it being around a hundred years old
Thank for your video. In pandemia of covid in spring of 2020 I watched this movie and had impressed. Actors, design, music and robot so awesome. Also I love silent movie, especially german films of 1920s. Cabinet of Doctor Kaligary (1919) also great movie. This film is sort of films that you never forget
you're welcome. thanks!
Cabinet of dr caligari was relesed in February 21 1920 not 1919 so you just now that.:)
I am 16 and getting into german expressionism, I can't find nobody to talk abouth films to especially my age, so your videos are very important to me
hi giovanni. This is part of the reason I made the channel. I live in a place with very few people, and there's no cinema culture around. I have almost nobody to talk to or share movies with. Thankfully you and other viewers are here. Thank you for watching!
some of the visual creativeness surpass many movies since and to get your head around that it was made for release in 1927. Wow!
I never considered myself a film buff but I do enjoy videos on trivia and stuff. I saw a restored and colorized scene from Metropolis though and found the full, restored version on yt.
I planned on skipping around to find some goofy scenes. But I got sucked in. It was gripping. And it was like when you stop seeing the words while reading but instead see the scenes happening in your head. I could hear the dialog and see it in color in my head. I really want to watch some old movies now!
Great video. Oddly the movie Cabaret led me to this movie when I read about the creative explosion during the Weimar Republic era in Germany. Fascinating time -- until the Nazi's stormed in! That is when Lang had to flee Germany. Thanks for all the insight. I will watch the film again with fresh eyes and knowledge!
thank you
The music really is integral to that film. Some of the dialogue is handled through the leitmotifs in the music. Also, the music was mostly written before the movie was shot and Gottfried Huppertz, the composer, played a piano reduction of the music for each scene as they were shooting. At least that is my understanding, I was near obsessed with this film at one point.
There is a restored version on the Criterion Channel. It was interesting to see the original story but the length made it an enjoyable experience.
Great review! This movie always makes me sad. To me, it represents the optimism and hope and dynamism of the early 20th Century - and the sadness is in seeing how far removed from reality that really was, especially with the tragic course German history took merely six years after this film was made.
First time I watched Metropolis was when I was in high school. That was about 12 years ago. I'm going to rewatch it ❤
I do have to say if you get a chance to see it screened live with the Anvil Orchestra's orchestration (formerly the Alloy Orchestra) it brings a new kind of depth and vibrancy and mechanical grittiness to it that I think is fantastic. Definitely ALSO watch the original score too, though.
thank you. where would someone watch them in person?
@@LearningaboutMovies they do performances where they're booked, so I'd say keep an eye on their website? I saw them when my town booked them for a b/w film festival.
Can we have a series on fritz lang no one talks about him
yeah, I'm going to get to M eventually. Next week I've got a video on "Scarlet Street." Will definitely do a Great Director video on him at some point.
Not even today's CGIis this fabulous
I saw the full version on Amazon. Whilst I did enjoy it, I do understand why it was often trimmed down. It is a bit long and drags at the ending.
yes, the proper way to see this, really, is live with a live orchestra.
Nicely done👏👏👏
Hand held? Crane tracking? POV shot - was it the first of its kind? The reaching hand ....really stood out. I guess that's the best an artist can hope for .... to reach out to the coming generations.
I'm a Silent Movie fan. Metropolis is one of the best silent movies ever made. Pandoras box with Louise Brooks is great and so is Buster Keatons "The General". Charlie Chaplin was over-rated and Buster Keaton wins hands down for his stunt skills as he did every stunt himself.
I LOVE Buster Keaton.
Chaplin and Keaton were both geniuses in their own ways
Nice video, I had a question and i hope you still answer them. What precisely makes this movie an expressionist picture. Thank you and once again Nice Vid
A good question!!
Well, I found the movie, but it doesn't have the original score. Anyone know where I can find the original score?
If I close my eyes and listen to the video I hear Patton Oswalt in my mind. Great review and great movie!
yes, Oswalt as the voice, David Cross as the face. Bonus is I could voice Remy in a sequel to Ratatouille, in case Mr. Oswalt passes.
I adore this movie! Freder is one of my fav characters ever!!❤️
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the “disco-fied” color enhanced Giorgio Moroder revision of this film in 1984! (Unless ya did and I was distracted from playing with my pet rabbit lol)
I love Metropolis way ahead of its time
Metropolis is also an important and historical film.
- First full length Sci-Fi/Science Fiction film
- Spectacular special effects of the time
- Themes of Class war with the working class fighting Aristocratic Economic oppression.
IF a live action remake were to be made, it MUST stay completely true to Fritz Lang's vision and meaning.
I believe it still has haunting relevance today as it did a hundred years ago.
thank you.
"Jo Fredersen" isn't a "science-fiction-name". it's standard german. "jo" is short for "joseph" (fits the religious theme perfectly) and fredersen is a nothern german surname.
thanks.
His name was Joh not Jo and it's short for Johann (i.e. John)
Dear Dr. Josh,
this movie was and still is lightyears ahead of all futuristic film ideas ever!
Untopable!
SFX, CGI, Storyline and- telling.
Lack and loss of humanity, questioning religion and so much more!
It wasn't shot in a year or two. 1927 was just the release year!
Try to imagine how many rolls, takes, repeats, cuts and months of editing
it took without nowadays knowledge to produce a 3 hour movie!
Just saying!
thank you.
Love this movie!! Have Both copies! One of a kind!!!
Großartiger Film! Ein Meisterwerk!
So, what if they just stop working? Im not sure i understood how everything is enforced.
I have only seen the 1984 version, so I will check out latest version.
What I understand from this film is that even in 1920's we have insiders who know what the elite plan to do with mankind. There is a group of bloodlines, the 1%, that existed then and still exist now that have the majority of the resources on the planet, while the rest of the people have whatever is left. Man was promised that his wealth or bread will be from the sweat of his brow from hard work, however he didn't know that the fruit of his work would be stolen from him by certain bloodlines.
The robot is an example of technology and how it is meant to either merge with mankind or make mankind obsolete, and such machines will be treated better than men and women. The elite bloodlines, aka the blue bloods, as such bloodlines come from something different, not part of mankind, but part of something they consider royal, yet it just isn't so, it is parasitic. Without mankind, they would not do well upon the earth, just as a flea would not do well without a dog or a mosquito would not survive without the blood of animals. A flea thinks it is master of the dog, and thinks very little of the dog's suffering.
Some of the elite realize the wheel of suffering for mankind, as Budda did when he saw that most everyone was in a wheel of suffering. He pointed up to God to end the karmic cycle of suffering, but people worshiped the finger of Budda pointing upward, not where the finger was pointing. Jesus showed us the way, but Constantine suppressed the truth, by suppressing the message. Religion controlled the people thwarting the message. Unless man looks within and finds God himself without the help of rabbis, preachers, popes, imams, wanting to steal the energy, we will still not learn who we are or our purpose.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Well said
Favorite silent films: Metropolis and The Sea Beast.
Those who create FIAT Currency vs those who work for it... just convince the workers they aren't workers
I'm here because Beyonce is doing the Maria robot on her Reneissance tour and I can't wrap my head around why she'd be opening a music show this way. Is this Maria robot any good? Or does she simply represent evil?
This film clearly has inspired many current YA novels and series. Hunger Games, Divergent, Mortal Engines, and of course not necessarily YA Snowpiercer.
And why not! I mean it's a formula that works. Us, them. Have, have not's. Elites benefiting from the labor of the lower class. If done even moderately well, it can't really fail.
Parasite copied a lot from it.
"Snowpiercer" was the FIRST movie I thought of as he was describing the plot.
Specjal effects in 1926 amazing
anything fritz lang did is serious cinema
Drive (2011) is my fave silent movie
The man who laughs is a silent movie . Book by Victor Hugo. 7th heaven is a silent movie. Though it is a verbal movie the original an angel on my shoulder is brilliant you can also find a verbal version of the other movies mentioned I'm going to read the book.first peace
It's great movie ahead for it's time
Reminds me of Netflix's animated mini-series Arcane (2021).
In high school I watched this movie on LSD while my friend and her boyfriend were asleep. Good times.
thank you!
Dr. Mabuse
Nosferatu
Metropolis
only 3 of my favorite silent films
and after the silent films is "M" a great movie.
yes to German Expressionism!
are you aware of the dream theater connection to this movie? as a long term fan i see so many parallels. A: their first big album was Metropolis Pt. 1
yes, I listen to them. I haven't thought at all about the movie's use in their lyrics though. Any insight?
hmm. i wish i had an immediate answer. their lyrics are famously not so great, but who knows. maybe gold lies beneath.@@LearningaboutMovies
give me like a whole day and i might find something cool, its a saturday@@LearningaboutMovies
ok so not gold but there's some definite corollaries "The city's cold blood teaches us to survive
Just keep my heart in your eyes and we'll stay alive" so DT is from NY and the big apple is the heart of the proverbial eye, just like the film. NO?! @@LearningaboutMovies
Don't like "M" that much but this is really good movie.
I think "M" is a good snapshot of Weimar Germany. Not a pleasant moment in time, so it's hard to watch.
I love both M and Metropolis, although I have to say, I prefer M. It probably is my favourite movie of all time (currently).
thanks. one day I'll get to a video on it.
@@leno__jeno Since you liked M, I would recommend you to check out the movie "Fritz Lang(2016)" It's based on the events the inspired the movie "M." Really interesting movie.
@@mimicrybypravesh Oh thank you. I'll have a look at the film.
Footnotes to platos republic
It is great. IMO his Dr. Mabuse the Gambler is even greater.
siapa suruh tengok!
4:45 first baddie robots 🤨
My favourite silent movies are the buster keaton films
excellent! thank you.
The best movie ever made
Metropolis was made by true theatrical artists. Like the pyramids of Egypt, no one alive today could match their accomplishment. Ok maybe Terry Gilliam or… can’t think of anyone else.
The WEF is trying to bring this about as we speak
I didn't particularly like the movie in general, i loved the photography and the mass scenes, as well as some of the fast image montages, but i think what ruined the movie for me was watching the version released in the '80s with Moroder, Mercury exc. scores as well as not full length/ with cut scenes, a lot of the movie meaning got lost, maybe i should watch it again in the original version, if i can manage to find it somewhere.
Youtubr has Metropolis,free.
CZcams
This movie makes perfect sense it’s the black diaspora story.
NOT RIDICULOUS AT ALL I FIND ITS SAME TODAY. SAME CABOL
thank you.
For me, Metropolis isn't good because of its message. We have countless real life examples of slave labor fueling the elite's excesses, and better stories that broach this subject. Metropolis is simply great as a piece of cinema. Some of the scenes are just incredible to look at and wonder over. The 1920s conception of a robot is very cool, given that they didn't even have computers then, or much basis for such things. The dance scene is a magnificent piece of visual art by itself. The edting and special effects are so far ahead of their time.
thea von harbou did a hella good job creating the political agenda in the movie fairly ambiguous and open to interpretation and as the original writer i think we should give her some credit.
edit: nvm she supported nazis
what does "nvm she supported Nazis" mean?
it's a warning / foreshadowing/ told truth about cannibalism and reconciliation
You may not have to watch a re-release in 2026, just look out of your window ! 🤔
and here we are, richer than anybody in human history, on the Internet, using machines impossible to dream of, on a site that is the video library of human history. The elites are subjected to the same forces as the rest of us. After all, they are mere tiny organisms whose lives are as evanescent as grass, so saith the Preacher.
@@LearningaboutMovies Sounds like the view out of YOUR window is quite pleasant .
This is the story of Christ… do you know see this ?
Christ was born a rich scion?
@@LearningaboutMovies “nobody comes to the father except though me.” Also reference Jesus’ active (burning) heart
I see alot of feminism in the film but lots of people don't see it 😔
Art work at it's best. German way ahead for it's time. History is representing it's self again. Today nothing new
Really an horrible movie. Seams to me it's just to look hype and trendy people pretend to like it.
I don't like it because anybody else likes it. I like it because I was captivated by its wondersweep, and fascinated by its philosophical, historical, sociological, religious, etc. dimensions. Its influence on science fiction is special as well.
It's a 95 years old movie with groundbreaking effects and a great deep message, it's great and it definitely ain't for you so go watch mcu..
@@whysoserious652 LOL .... thx for the laugh man. Boy you get riled up fast LOL
Can't wait to see you face a real challenge :D
@@Flitalidapouet just cuz you didn't like it that ain't meant it's bad. Myb cuz your taste sucks🤷
@@andresordonez6288 go watch mcu kido
Fritz Lang was born in Vienna and worked ìn Germany and then moved to the US when he refused to join the Nazi party. He refused not only because he didn't want to become a propaganda filmmaker, but also because his mom was Jewish. She converted just 4 years before Fritz was born. So, Fritz Lang was not German. He was Austrian-American.
thank you.
There is an avalanche of realism looking into the symbology beyond and beneath the veneer of Metropolis.. If you are evaluating it through the eyes of a veneer consciousness, you have no reason to post something like this other than advertising some kind of ego trip to yourself as this movie is of epic importance and holds the key of insight into the entire mechanics - mentally, morally and spiritually to the human condition if your eyes are open. You belong to that group of people to give a least capable meaningful insight into what this movie is about. An insult to Fritz Lang and a sorry postscript as to what humanity has intellectually and spiritually de-voved into....
Right. You possess the full truth, and the 99.9% of us who articulate anything else are a disgrace to your precious knowledge and insight. Got it. Enlighten us, oh god.