Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist epic science fiction drama film directed by Fritz Lang. The film was written by Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou, and starred Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel and Rudolf Klein-Rogge. A silent film, it was produced by Erich Pommer in the Babelsberg Studios by Universum Film A.G.. It is regarded as a pioneering work of science fiction genre in movies, being among the first feature length movies of the genre.
Made in Germany during the Weimar Period, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia,
and follows the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city's
ruler, and Maria, a poor worker, to overcome the vast gulf separating
the classes of their city. Metropolis was filmed in 1925, at a cost of approximately five million Reichsmarks,
making it the most expensive film ever released up to that point. The
motion picture's futuristic style is influenced by the work of Futurist
Italian architect, Antonio Sant'Elia.Plot summary
Sometime in the future, the city of Metropolis is home to a Utopian society where its wealthy residents live a carefree life. One of those is Freder Fredersen. One day, he spots a beautiful woman with a group of children, she and the children who quickly disappear. Trying to follow her, he, oblivious to such, is horrified to find an underground world of workers, apparently who run the machinery which keeps the above ground Utopian world functioning. One of the few people above ground who knows about the world below is Freder's father, Joh Fredersen, who is the founder and master of Metropolis. Freder learns that the woman is Maria, who espouses the need to join the "hands" - the workers - to the "head" - those in power above - by a mediator or the "heart". Freder wants to help the plight of the workers in the want for a better life. But when Joh learns of what Maria is espousing and that Freder is joining their cause, Joh, with the assistance of an old colleague and now nemesis named Rotwang, an inventor, works toward quashing a supposed uprising, with Maria as the center of their plan. However, Joh is unaware that Rotwang has his own agenda. But if any of these plans includes the shut down of the machines, total anarchy could break loose both above ground and below.
The New Tower of Babel, Fredersen's headquarters in Metropolis. |
The Tower of Babel in Maria's recounting of the fable was modeled after this 1563 painting by Pieter Brueghel |
The Maschinenmensch — the robot built by Rotwang to resurrect his lost love Hel — was created by sculptor Walter Schulze-Mittendorff. A whole-body plaster cast was taken of actress Brigitte Helm, and the costume was then constructed around it. A chance discovery of a sample of "plastic wood" (a pliable substance designed as wood-filler) allowed Schulze-Mittendorff to build a costume that would both appear metallic and allow a small amount of free movement. Helm sustained cuts and bruises while in character as the robot, as the costume was rigid and uncomfortable.
Metropolis (2001 film)
(Fun fact I actually watched this film around a year or two ago)
Metropolis (Metoroporisu) is a 2001 anime film loosely based on the 1949 Metropolis manga created by Osamu Tezuka, itself inspired by the 1927 German silent film of the same name, though the two do not share plot elements. The anime, however, does draw aspects of its storyline directly from the 1972 film. The anime has an all-star production team, including renowned anime director Rintaro, Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo as script writer, and animation by Madhouse with conceptual support from Tezuka Productions.
Plot summary
The movie follows a young boy and his uncle (a private investigator).
The story is set in the far future where humans and robots live
together, unfortunately not in harmony. Many robots are forced
underground and are terminated for entering unauthorized areas. They are
more or less servants to humankind. The plot starts to unfold when the
boy meets a robot named Tima and they get in all kinds of trouble. Never
a dull moment when you've got a robot by your side.
What made me look a Metropolis was that the robot Maria's face reminded me a lot of Oskar schlemmer's masks, the picture below proves it even more, although this might just be a coincidence.
But as I said before his costumes interest me, so if I could connect the two I think I could come up with something good.
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