Metropolis
Director: Fritz Lang
Year Released: 1926
Rating: 3.5
Remarkable vision of the future - and revolt - by director Lang: young Freder (Gustav Fröhlich), son of capitalist Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel), becomes enchanted by the Mistress of the Overworked and Underpaid, Maria (Brigitte Helm), a kind of Communist Rabble-Rouser. Continuity has always been a problem with this, and even the restoration skips around a bit - it's a shame this and many other classics appear in butchered form (woe is you, The Magnificent Ambersons) - though story is basically secondary to the marvelous effects, sets and props: like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, it's amazing what was done without computers (the Robot, feminine and dangerously icy, is one of cinema's iconic images) and with a lot of imagination and a touch of political discontent. I've never been much of a supporter of Lang's crime movies, though his mannered approach is perfect for this project.
