Metropolis Film Review

Films have been a major inspiration to my work, mainly this lm Metropolis(1927). This silent lm is a german expressionist Science-Fiction directed by Fritz Lang. The lm uses elaborate set designs such as the huge futuristic city and the dystopian city underneath the grande Metropolis. In this there are a selection of Biblical references, such as the Tower of Babel, well in these scenes it clearly shows how advanced it was for its time in creating sets. While watching this lm I noticed how it acts as a iconic inuence for most sci- lms in the past two decades, such as how 3CPO has a resemblance to the Maria robot in this lm, then there is the city itself which aspects can be seen in such lms as Bladerunner and Total Recall. Overall I highly favored this lm even though some parts were slow, yet visually it was exciting and contrasting to lms of that period.
Lang hardly moves the camera; he knows all the angles, and keeps the focus on the overwhelming, colossal contrivances that arise from an ambient megalomania and the infinitesimally calibrated, razor-sharp machinations that they provoke. Richard Brody. New Yorker

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Fig 1: Google Images- http://en.wikipedia.com Fig 2: Google Images- http://www.freeinfosociety.com

King Kong (1933) Film

So the next lm was King Kong made in 1933, directed and produced by Merlan C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. For those who have heard of or seen this lm, it is about a lm crew who travel to an exotic island inhabited by a gigantic ape called Kong and prehistoric creatures. But Kong dies in an attempt to possess a beautiful woman.

The story, like Frankenstein and Dracula, has taken on the significance of a modern folk tale, layered with obvious moralizing and as familiar as personal history.

Los Angeles Times. Mark Chalon Smith http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ 1011615-king_kong/reviews/? type=top_critics

For me the selling point of the lm was its complex and imaginative sets, all created by paintings overlaying the footage, this was mainly used in the jungle scenes, similar to how layers are used in digital paintings. Then there is the use of stop motion to animate Kong created by Willis OBrien, although some parts in todays generation may appear humorous yet this was an advance in the creature lms, without King Kong I doubt there would be no Godzilla or any other Kaiju Films.

Fig 1: Google Images- http://www.monstershack.net Fig 2: Google Images- http://www.KingKong.wikia.com Fig 3: Google Images- http://www.retroweb.com