Why you need to watch Metropolis (1927)

It's one of the most famous science fiction movies ever made, yet it didn't come from the US nor the UK .. and on top of that it was produced in the silent era! So if you haven't seen the film before and want to know what all the fuss is about, then this five minute (spoiler free) summary will tell you why you really need to watch it.
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[@alanfoster6589]

Saw it at UCLA in 1969, together with "M". Guest speaker was...Fritz Lang.

[@thomasgeorggoenitzer]

That would literally be my dream

[@brettcoster4781]

Good review of one of my favourite movies. I first saw part of Metropolis when I was home from primary school, in a docco on film effects., and it showed Freder's first introduction to the Heart machine where he imagined it turned into the mouth of Moloch. Had no idea what the film was, but it stayed with me. By my teens, I found out it was Metropolis, and I first saw it in its then fullest version (well, one of them) at Melbourne University, which had the Australian version. Moroder's version came out a few years later, having used part of the Australian version I'd seen as one of its sources. I still have my 2003 "fully restored" DVD and of course the 2010 final restoration. Each keeps getting better.

[@OGMaverickGaming]

Metropolis is a creepy ass film especially the transformation scene. What makes it so creepy is the fact that we as a society are rapidly approaching the civilization portrayed in this film.

[@AC-hr4wg]

Already in it, most just can't "see" it

[@garymohler9490]

Especially since they weren't well versed in AI in 1927

[@yggdrasil9039]

Amazing film. Visually stunning and the ideas explored are just as if not more relevant today than in 1927

[@t-mar9275]

Many sci-fi fans are selling themselves short by not exploring silent films. The 1950s is generally considered the golden age of science-fiction but a case can be argued for the silent era with films like Metropolis, Woman in the Moon, The Lost World, Aelita, The Mysterious Island, 20,000 Leagues Below the Sea, A Trip to the Moon and The Impossible Voyage.

[@MoonjumperReviews]

I watched a shorter version on VHS around the time I was in high school, there abouts, and found it intriguing. However, it was only this past summer that I watched the most complete version on Kino Lorber Blu-ray for the first time-and was able to enjoy its beauty and complexity in its (almost) full glory.

[@jhonwask]

I love this movie and have seen all versions since the early 1970's. I have the 2010 restored version on DVD and it is fantastic.

[@jgrab1]

3:49 - He looks like Tarkin from Star Wars. ;-)

[@OldMusicFan83]

Seems that technology has progressed to where the grainy footage can be restored now

[@bretcantwell4921]

This was one of the first movies I watched back in the 90s (though I saw and wanted to watch the 80s version in video stores). Now in my 50s I've come to love silent films, especially those that pushed the bounds of special effects.

[@KrooTon]

Thanks for the succinct review!

[@dexterfurman9118]

Very good review.

[@ricktatum]

nice science fiction collage shirt where did you buy that shirt from

[@Ballin4Vengeance]

Even for a silent movie the overacting really isn’t that attrocious or cringy

[@caulkins69]

I've looked at bits and pieces of Metropolis but I've never had the patience to sit through the entire thing. It seems like a long way to go just to arrive at the same moral they told you at the very beginning of the film.

[@scifizone]

It's a fair point considering as 2.5 hours can be a bit of a stretch. Maybe one option to consider is the Moroder version which is much shorter, even if the story isn't 100% accurate compared to the Complete Version. . Somewhat ironically, when the film arrived in the US in the late 1920s, it was edited down significantly for that market. When you watch the Complete Version today, it's easy to understand why they removed portions of it just to make it flow better.

[@eddieboggs8306]

Socialism promoting.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

This is why America can’t have nice things.

[@elevenseven-yq4vu]

​@@lawrencedoliveiro9104No theocracy can. Especially not one that first and foremost believes in the invisible hand of dog-eat-dog capitalism as the hand of God, and that conceives of anything outside of its scope - especially of extending compassion, empathy and material help beyond the own clan that dances around the golden calf of strictly church and business relations - as literally the devil's work.