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Space and Environm ent: Cinem atic Spaces Film Review

M etropolis, 1927D irected by Fritz Lang and released in 1927, 'M etropolis' is a Germ an expressionist science-fction flm . In

the dystopian city M etropolis, w here the upper class bourgeoisie rule over the w orking class literally

oppressing them into the depths beneath the city, the flm ollow s the son o Joh Frederson, Freder. H e m eets

the beautiul M aria w ith a group o working class children, and ollow s her into the depths where he see

w orkers struggling to run the m achines that keep the upper city in unctioning. W hile in the m achine room

he w itnesses a huge explosion, injuring m any o the w orkers. D uring this sequence the m achine turns into

the A m m onite god M oloch, to w hom the workers are seen to be sacrifced, representing their sacrifce to the

Figure 1. Metropolis

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m achine. Later, Freder sw aps places with one o the w orkers, 11811, unaware that his ather has order the

T in M an to track him . M eanw hile Joh Frederson visits Rotw ang, the inventor who introduces him to his

latest invention the m achine m an. Rotw ang then take Joh dow n into the catacom bs where they witness

M aria prophesying the arrival o the w orkers' saviour, a m ediator to bring the hands and head together.

Rotw ang then terrorises M aria in the catacom bs and kidnaps her to com plete his plan to give his robot her

appearance. In perhaps the m ost iconic scene in the flm , M aria's appearance is stolen and given to the

m achine. T is double then unleashes chaos in the city, causing m en to com m it m urder out o lust or her.

T e doppelgnger preaches to the w orkers, causing them to revolt and leave the depths and destroy the

H eart m achine w hich causes the workers city to ood. U nknow n to the workers, Freder fnds the true M aria

and together they save the w orkers children rom the ood. As the w orkers realise w hat they've done, they

destroy the robot M aria. Rotw ang recaptures the true M aria and tries to run away w ith her, over the roo o

the cathedral. Freder clim bs to save M aria leading to a battle betw een him and Rotw ang w ho alls to his

death. T e fnal sequence o the flm sees Freder becom e the m ediator betw een Joh, the head, and a w orker,

G rot, the hands.

U ntil 2008, all that survived o the original flm were incom plete negatives and copies. It is believed that over

a quarter o the original flm w as m issing. H ow ever, now there are versions o the flm that are alm ost

com plete, including scenes such as Joh Frederson fght w ith Rotw ang that w ere previously lost. Kino's T e

Com pleteM etropolis contains nearly a hundred instances of restored footage, ranging from brief reaction shots

to entire sequences. A dam s

Lang's im possibly vast skyscraper-ziggurats (inspired, it's said, by his rst view of the M anhattan skyline) are

Figure 2.Moloch Figure 3. Still from Metropolis

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the blueprint for nearly every science-ction m ovie city of the past 30 years. H alter.As one o the m ost

inuential flm s in history, 'M etropolis' is still relevant to flm m aking today. T e m achine m an rom the flm

w as a direct inuence to the creation o 'Star W ars' C3PO .

W hen w atching the flm , one o the aspects o the aesthetic o 'M etropolis' that stands out is the contrast

between the upper city and the depths. W hile the depths represent uniorm ity and oppression, the city

show s the reedom o the upper class. Everything rom the workers hom es and uniorm , to the way they

m ove as a unit contrasts with the upper class. For exam ple, during the opening o the flm a race takes place

at the Club o the Sons, representing the individuality o the higher class com pared the unit orm ation o the

w orkers.

T e ow er o Babel eatured in the city o M etropolis w as inuenced by the painting rom Vienna by Pieter

Bruegel. W hile M aria represents purity and goodness, her doppelgnger represents evil and sin. For exam ple

Figure 4.Machine Man

Figure 5 Figure 6

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in the fgure 7, the evil M aria is seen to be riding on the back o a m ultiple-headed dragon, representing the

W hore o Babylon.

Featuring literally a cast of thousands, w ith a budget that could have funded dozens of lm s, M etropolis

creates a reality so com plex and artistically unied the viewer gets swept away to this future world. Jardine.

As the biggest budget flm ever produced by G erm an flm studio U FA , 'M etropolis' nearly bankrupted the

studio thanks to its lavish sets, enorm ous cast and long production process.

Figure 7

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