Overlooked Movie Marathon 2: Metropolis (1927)

Science fiction is a big genre in film and literature.  There are hundreds of new stories told within the genre every year, from the small scale to huge new worlds or even galaxies.  Whether or not you like the genre, it is impossible to deny the influence that it has had upon the culture.  The way that science fiction looks at civilization can help to shape the direction in which we, as a species, go.  Science fiction is one of the most influential genres because it leads to advances in technology.  It leads to advances in medicine.  It leads to advances in many different facets of society.  It may not always be a direct inspiration upon these aspects of society, but it can indirectly change the future in ways that could never have been expected.

In terms of film, one of the first and most influential of all science fiction films is the second movie in my second annual Overlooked Movie Marathon.  This movie is a German classic from 1927 called Metropolis.  Directed by Fritz Lang, and starring Brigitte Helm and Gustav Frohlich among others, the movie tells the story of a highly advanced society who gained their financial and technological success through the exploitation of the lower class, who live underground.  Eventually, the lower class decides to rebel.  There are other things that happen in the movie as well, but what kind of person would I be to spoil these great moments in the film’s story?  I’ll talk about other great things involved in the movie but I’m not going to spell out the entire story to you.  That would be disrespectful on my part.

First and foremost, the best part of Metropolis is definitely the performance by Brigitte Helm.  This was her first movie and a lot was asked of her.  Helm brought what she could, which was more than a lot of experienced actors could bring to the table.  She plays two parts, and is able to sell both roles magnificently.  Dual roles can be tough for an actor to believably portray, yet Helm creates two entirely individual characters and you completely accept that they are different people.  You do not think of them both as Brigitte Helm, but as two individuals that just happen to be portrayed by the same actor.  It is astonishing that a first time actress has the talent to achieve this difficult task, but Metropolis proves that Brigitte Helm can do it.  If I have an awards post at the end of the marathon, I’m already going to say that Brigitte Helm will probably get the best female actor for the marathon.  There are not enough words to describe how great her performance was.

There are almost not enough words to describe the scope of the film.  Whether you look at Metropolis from a plot perspective, an effects perspective, or a set perspective, this movie manages to hold its own in each of those aspects.  The plot might seem a little strange due to the missing portions of the footage, but in the end it’s still a complete story, and a moving one at that.  The effects look rather great for the 1920s.  I haven’t seen too many movies from that early on in film history, but to have effects as good looking as the ones in Metropolis seems like a big feat to me.  And then the sets.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Sets get my blood rushing.  I love seeing a good set that I can still tell is a set.  When the production of a film calls for a set to be built to give a certain stylistic feel to the locations, I get giddy.  I love looking at the style of buildings, streets, and other locations in movies that needed built sets for filming.  Metropolis is one of these movies.  Both the above-ground city and the below-ground city involved set work, and the sets look magnificent.  I’ve already used the word magnificent when talking about Brigitte Helm’s performance, but the set design is just as good and essential to the film as her performance.  Without either of them, the movie would not hold up as well today as it does.  This is still a solid science fiction film and one that should be seen.

Metropolis was a milestone in science fiction as a genre.  It was the first feature length science fiction film and helped to show that the genre had a place in the landscape of cinema.  It has stood the test of time and its influence can still be seen throughout the films being released now.  Metropolis is a movie that I am glad to have finally watched and would recommend to anyone who doesn’t mind silent films.  It’s a wonder that it took me so long to watch it.

I don’t have much more to write about Metropolis.  It was a great film that I would happily rewatch.  Between Metropolis and The General, the second annual Overlooked Movie Marathon has gotten off to a good start.  There are ten more movies to go, and I’m sure that there’s a lot more good things to be seen before I finish the marathon.  I’m glad that some of you might be along for the ride.  I’ll see you next time for the next movie, Fantasia.