Sci-Fi Classic Review: METROPOLIS (1927)

[@grahamecampbell7002]

I watched Metropolis on vhs as a teen and remember being fascinated by the whole eerie production style

[@ZANGOJOE]

I love my country. Our people had to endure so much and still were able to rise up against all odds. And prior to the second world war we had very good actors and movies filled with emotions. Now we have Til Schweiger and very bad comedy movies... By the way, the Maschinenmensch is quite the unique robot design. It's funny though, that I have to inform myself about German stuff from people of other countries, because we don't learn anything about our culture in school or from the government, just that we were the bad guys. It would be funny, if it wasn't so sad.

[@wingitprod]

Heavens... That's tough. Never accept a comicbook view of an ancient and wonderful people.

[@paulcolbourne9112]

Your ministry of education needs to be completely overhauled.

[@kalaweira]

Good analysis, thanks. Also for mentioning the indeed criminally underappreciated Dark City. I must watch that again too.

[@wingitprod]

I can't imagine why anyone would call this pro-Nazi. It's a morality tale with a STRONG Christian motif.

[@JohnWilliamNowak]

It's ... debatable. The story is effectively "give the workers more than they have now" and that was a Nazi talking point.

[@ConfusedZebra-xz6ng]

@@JohnWilliamNowaksounds cool

[@MrDale53]

Have you ever reviewed Fritz Lang's other sci-fi film, WOMAN IN THE MOON (FRAU IM MOND -- silent, 1929)? It's easily available now, including in blu-ray. I haven't seen it yet, but look forward to trying it out.

[@TheUnapologeticGeek]

It's on my list, after I briefly mentioned it in my Destination Moon video. I'll have to get to it one of these days!

[@MrDale53]

@@TheUnapologeticGeek THINGS TO COME is another early sci-fi film, made in England in 1936 , which I have seen. Some arresting images and ideas to it.

[@brettcoster4781]

Errr... still waiting for a Frau im Mond review. It introduced the countdown for rocket launches if nothing else. And the rocket used looks so very much like the current SpaceX starship. It's quite a good film (although like H G Wells' First Men On The Moon it has a moon with an oxygen atmosphere). Did something extraordinary happen to the moon after 1929?

[@JohnWilliamNowak]

Probably one of the most historically important films ever made, because apparently a it was seen by aa young Wernher Von Braun who thought it would be neat to try it.

[@patriciadilday447]

@@brettcoster4781 I come from the future.......and I have good news for you 😉

[@thedon-e6514]

I recommend checking out the Metropolis Anime. Like the original movie, it is, in my opinion, most notable for it being a piece of art as much as a movie. The Anime is beautiful, the colours and movement are superb. I own it on blu ray just to look at it. I knew Metropolis as a movie before the Georgio Moroder version, but I love his music so appreciate that he at least brought it to a larger audience. I will have to find the 2010 version so I can get the full story. BTW, great info dump. Enjoyed the video lots 😃👍🏻

[@brettcoster4781]

I second the idea of covering the anime version; it's actually very good, not to mention gorgeous to look at and with a really great jazz soundtrack. I was introduced to Metropolis when I was about 10 years old when I saw a clip in a TV documentary on film special effects. It showed the sequence where Freder enters the factory level for the first time and sees the workers turn into slaves to Baal. I had no idea what the film was but that scene stuck in my head. Years later I saw it "complete" at Melbourne Uni (along with Vampyr), one of the various versions of the movie. That was nearly 15 years before the Moroder version, which I liked. And, following the Moroder version came a renewed effort to recompile Metropolis. I have 2 different versions on DVD, each being the longest versions available at the time, and the complete version on Blu-Ray. Parts of the version I saw at uni were included in one or other reconstructions, as the Australian version was also unique. It was a real multi-cultural/multi-country effort to get Metropolis together. I created a family tradition of introducing Metropolis to my children at about their tenth birthday, but they have nevertheless come to really like the film anyway.

[@dornravlin]

Lang wasnt young in 1924 he was 34 date of birth 1890 take it from some one born in the 90s 1990s that is

[@rsacchi100]

Thanks for the review. I think the H.G. Wells review made H.G. Wells look bad. I found the review when I was doing research for an article on Metropolis and Things To Come. If I hadn't read the review I wouldn't have titled the article "Things to Come versus Metropolis". His criticism may have been an early version of the popular Science vs Fiction complaint.

[@jsl151850b]

Thanks for the link to the HG Wells review. I had heard of it but not read it until now. Is there a corresponding review of *Things To Come* ? Only a 1/4 or so of that is in the future future..

[@TheUnapologeticGeek]

I haven’t reviewed Things to Come yet, but it’s on my list!

[@nigeldonaldson1647]

such is the influence of this film, you may have decided to leave out the most obvious one, that being - ROBOCOP both for the robot design, production design, and even the plot/story, a facistic corporate world above and below the working & under class. ROBOCOP IS also a science fiction masterpiece, which for its message never dates.

[@racookster]

I've seen the Japanese anime called "Metropolis," but all I remember about it is that it had little to do with Fritz Lang's film, and it just didn't grab me. I'll admit, however, that with the exception of the films of Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Oshii, and the late Satoshi Kon (that is to say, giants), very little anime does.

[@pacldawson]

You didn't mention the film in this video, but I was struck by the Metropolis-inspired themes in the movie "Snowpiercer".

[@warmachine4791]

Cool

[@iska788]

Great analysis

[@debbieerre7155]

very nice review, thank you! :)

[@jcoriha]

James Cameron admit to taking ideas from other sources?...ask Harlan Ellison (RIP) about that...

[@yingkouzen]

What an excellent and just analysis. 👍The view count doesn't justify the quality of your videos.

[@TheUnapologeticGeek]

Thank you!

[@oobrocks]

I own & prefer the rock version. It's print is perfect, truncated & good songs. It corrects it's biggest error: too long

[@mikesilva3868]

Great movie 😊

[@DrRotwang]

Hey, guess where my screen name comes from.

[@HieMan-g1n]

There's no letter "r" in "Goebbels" as far as I'm aware.

[@lightmarker3146]

This film becomes perennially relevant as society and science changes . The seven deadly sins never change as mankind battles or surrenders to them . Your choice , because God's word says Thou mayest not Thou must .

[@xxxrdc]

A good analysis....for a high school sophomore.

[@wingitprod]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqKWiGd8pNZ-jZY

[@wingitprod]

@@zogwort1522 Just the way I like'em😃

[@ConfusedZebra-xz6ng]

Sad boy

[@rektroppp1234]

Its funny as i ve learned about ww2 and the reality of it instead of myth. Listening to you talk out of the both sides when trying give some background on langs wife and her subsequent career made up of mostly nazi propaganda films as if somehow un rehensible leaves me shaking my head at the ludicrousness of the societal and self cencorship that most ppl do is eerily reminiscent of said mthyical era. This isnt a knock on your review by the way just a crtique of everyone when dealing with this subject matter. Ps I do have to to disagree tho greatly in your hindsight of the film as some kind grisley forshadowing of the nazi party and more of critique on communism which by this time had already commited unspeakable horrors and with constant reference of old testament tales really spells it out since bolshveism was near completely jewish movement