Metropolis focuses on the divide between the rich, upper class which live in the above ground city,

and the workers who run the city from below ground where they live. The story evolves when Freder
(Gustav Froehlich) finds the shocking world under the city, where he meets Maria (Brigitte Helm) a
school teacher who is the peaceful leader of the workers, and believes they need a heart as a
mediator between the head and the hands of the city. But when Freders Father - Joh Fredersen
(Alfred Abel), who runs the city, finds out about what is going on, with the help of the mad scientist
Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), who has his own agenda, they create a robotic version of Maria which
rallies the workers to destroy the machines and the whole city.

Figure 1: Movie Poster Figure 2: Movie Poster

Metropolis is regarded as one of the most influential sci-fi films of all time, as Ebert writes Rotwang
devises a robot, captures the real Maria, and transfers her face to the robotso that the workers,
still following Maria, can be fooled and controlled. (The electrical arcs, bubbling beakers, glowing
rings of light, and mad scientist props in the transformation sequence have influenced a thousand
films.) (Ebert 1998) When he talks about the electrical arcs, bubbling beakers, glowing rings of light
and mad scientist props (see figures 3 and 4) you can very easily imagine what that setting would
look like because we have seen it in so much tv and cinema since Metropolis. Mad scientist props
(see figure 4) are now seen as quite stereotypical when it comes to sci-fi films, as Fritz Lang (the
director of Metropolis) created something which would be used repeatedly to signify mad scientists
and crazy science experiments in film and television.

Figure 3: Electrical arcs, glowing rings of light Figure 4: Mad scientist props
Metropolis production and set design play a big part in how you receive the story, as the sets tell
you a lot about the city and the divide between the people that live above and the people that live
below. As Hall mentions the producer shows the laborers living in tall buildings underground,
while the families of the wealthy enjoy the fresh air and sunshine atop a great skyscraper. (Hall,
1927), there is a dramatic difference in the look of the city above ground and the city below. The city
above is full of big lights, tall skyscrapers and luxurious looking buildings (see figures 5 and 6),
compared to the underground city which is made up of basic looking, square buildings (see figure 7)
and huge machinery that runs the city (see figure 8). This obvious difference in the set design for the
two cities, immediately tells the audience that there is a strong divide between them, and that the
people of the cities lead totally different lives. Also, as mentioned by Rose, Metropolis is above all
an overwhelming visual experience. The scope of the film is staggering: from the Babel-like
skyscraper city to its subterranean ghettos, via laboratories, cathedrals, factories, pleasure gardens.
(Rose, 2013) The cities sets are very complex and detailed for a film made in 1927, which is why it
was the most expensive movie ever made at the time a massive gamble whose failure practically
bankrupted German cinema. (Rose, 2013) So although the sets are so spectacular and complex, the
film was so expensive to produce it bankrupted German cinema. But, considering that Metropolis is
one of the most influential sci-fi films of all time, most people would agree that the high costs of its
production was worth it.

Figure 5: Big lights, luxurious looking buildings Figure 6: Big lights, tall skyscrapers
set in the city above ground found in the upper city

Figure 7: Basic looking, square buildings Figure 8: Huge machinery that is

that the workers live in run by the workers, which
power the city.
Illustrations List

Figure 1 Metropolis Movie Poster (1927) [poster] At: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/poster-

from-the-film-metropolis-1927-anonymous.html (Accessed on 1 October 2017)

Figure 2 Metropolis Movie Poster (1927) [poster] At: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-

esq/metropolis-movie-poster-valuable-seized-bankruptcy-40740 (Accessed on 1 October 2017)

Figure 3 Still (1927) [film still] At: http://metropolis1927.com/#about (Accessed on 1 October 2017)

Figure 4 Richard White (2008) [youtube video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcReykfvqi4

(Accessed on 1 October 2017)

Figure 5 Still (1927) [film still] At: http://metropolis1927.com/#gallery (Accessed on 1 October 2017)

Figure 6 Still (1927) [film still] At: http://metropolis1927.com/#gallery (Accessed on 1 October 2017)

Figure 7 Still (1927) [film still] At: http://metropolis1927.com/#gallery (Accessed on 1 October 2017)

Figure 8 Still (1927) [film still] At: http://metropolis1927.com/#gallery (Accessed on 1 October 2017)

Bibliography

Rose, S (2013) Top 10 Silent Movies 6. Metropolis In: The Guardian [online] At:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/nov/22/top-10-silent-movies-films (Accessed on
1 October 2017)

Ebert, R (1998) Great Movie Metropolis In: Robert Ebert [online] At:
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-metropolis-1927 (Accessed on 1 October 2017)

Hall, M (1927) A Technical Marvel. In: The New York Times [online] At:
http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A05E2D8143BE13ABC4F53DFB566838C639EDE&mcu
bz=1 (Accessed on 1 October 2017)