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Metropolis
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Metropolis (1927) More at IMDbPro »

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Metropolis (1927) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Thea von Harbou (screenplay)
Thea von Harbou (novel)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Metropolis on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 March 1927 (USA) more
Tagline:
There can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.
Plot:
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
2 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(61 articles)
User Comments:
So old…and yet so futuristic! more (282 total)

Cast

  (in credits order)
Alfred Abel ... Joh Fredersen
Gustav Fröhlich ... Freder, Joh Fredersen's son
Rudolf Klein-Rogge ... C. A. Rotwang, the inventor
Fritz Rasp ... The Thin Man
Theodor Loos ... Josaphat
Erwin Biswanger ... 11811
Heinrich George ... Grot, the guardian of the Heart Machine
Brigitte Helm ... Maria / The Robot
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fritz Alberti ... Creative human - man who convinces Babel (uncredited)
Grete Berger ... Working woman (uncredited)
Olly Boeheim ... Working woman (uncredited)
Max Dietze ... Working man (uncredited)
Ellen Frey ... Working woman (uncredited)
Beatrice Garga ... Woman of Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
Heinrich Gotho ... Master of Ceremonies (uncredited)
Dolly Grey ... Working woman (uncredited)
Anny Hintze ... Woman of Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
Georg John ... Working man who causes explosion of M-Machine (uncredited)
Walter Kuehle ... Working man (uncredited)
Margarete Lanner ... Lady in car / Woman of Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
Rose Lichtenstein ... Working woman (uncredited)
Hanns Leo Reich ... Marinus (uncredited)
Arthur Reinhardt ... Working man (uncredited)
Curt Siodmak ... Working Man (uncredited)
Henrietta Siodmak ... Working Woman (uncredited)
Olaf Storm ... Jan (uncredited)
Erwin Vater ... Working man (uncredited)
Rolf von Goth ... Son in Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
Helen von Münchofen ... Woman of Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
Helene Weigel ... Working woman (uncredited)
Hilde Woitscheff ... Woman of Eternal Gardens (uncredited)
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Directed by
Fritz Lang 
 
Writing credits
Thea von Harbou (screenplay)

Thea von Harbou (novel)

Fritz Lang  screenplay (uncredited)

Produced by
Giorgio Moroder .... producer (1984 restoration)
Erich Pommer .... producer
 
Original Music by
Gottfried Huppertz 
Abel Korzeniowski 
Giorgio Moroder (1984)
Peter Osborne (1998)
Bernd Schultheis 
Wetfish (1999)
 
Cinematography by
Karl Freund 
Günther Rittau 
Walter Ruttmann 
 
Art Direction by
Otto Hunte 
Erich Kettelhut 
Karl Vollbrecht 
 
Costume Design by
Aenne Willkomm 
 
Art Department
Otto Hunte .... set designer
Erich Kettelhut .... set designer
Walter Schulze-Mittendorf .... sculptor (as Walter Schultze-Mittendorf)
Karl Vollbrecht .... set designer
Edgar G. Ulmer .... set designer (uncredited)
 
Special Effects by
Ernst Kunstmann .... special effects
Konstantin Irmen-Tschet .... special photographic effects sequences (uncredited)
Erich Kettelhut .... trick photography (uncredited)
 
Visual Effects by
Jeff Matakovich .... restoration
Eugen Schüfftan .... special visual effects
Erich Kettelhut .... painting effects (uncredited)
Ernst Kunstmann .... assistant compositing effects artist (uncredited)
Willy Muller .... model maker (uncredited)
Hugo O. Schulze .... assistant trick photography (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Karl Freund .... camera operator
Günther Rittau .... camera operator (as Gunther Rittau)
Robert Baberske .... assistant camera (uncredited)
Horst von Harbou .... still photographer (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Hermann I. Kaufmann .... wardrobe (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Berndt Heller .... conductor: original score: restoration
Berndt Heller .... score reconstruction: original score: restoration
Otto Harzner .... conductor: original score (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Robert Gray .... English translation: restoration, Kinograph
Martin Koerber .... restoration director: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation
Enno Patalas .... restoration director
Rudi George .... key production assistant (uncredited)
Erich Holder .... production assistant (uncredited)
Erich Kettelhut .... technical consultant (uncredited)
Gustav Püttjer .... production assistant (uncredited)
Hans Taussig .... production assistant (uncredited)
 
Thanks
Rusty Lemorande .... special thanks (1984 restoration)
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Runtime:
153 min | Germany:147 min (2001 restored version) | Germany:210 min (premiere cut) | Germany:80 min (Giorgio Moroder version) | Germany:93 min (re-release version) | USA:114 min (25 fps) (1927 cut version) | USA:123 min (2002 Murnau Foundation 75th aniversary restored version) | Spain:118 min (DVD edition) | USA:117 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital (1995 restored version) | Silent (original release)
Certification:
Germany:12 (video rating) (re-release) | West Germany:16 (theatrical re-release) (1962) | Germany:18 (original rating) (1927) | Germany:o.Al. (DVD re-rating) | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Norway:12 (1986) | Peru:PT | Portugal:17 (original rating) | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:T (DVD rating) | Sweden:11 (re-release) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating)
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Film included more than 37,000 extras including 25,000 men, 11,000 women, 1,100 bald men, 750 children, 100 dark-skinned people and 25 Asians. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: Fritz Lang shot more than one version of this movie. There are differences between the version on the Madacy DVD and the Kino DVD. In the Kino DVD, Freder exits the Moloch machine hall in chapter 7 (at 15:55). The shot of Freder descending the stairs is missing two motorized utility carts. These appear in the Madacy Video DVD in Chapter 3 (at 14:24). more
Quotes:
Maria: "We shall build a tower that will reach to the stars!" Having conceived Babel, yet unable to build it themselves, they had thousands to build it for them. But those who toiled knew nothing of the dreams of those who planned. And the minds that planned the Tower of Babel cared nothing for the workers who built it... more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Charlie's Angels (2000) more
Soundtrack:
Machines more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is "Metropolis" based on a book?
How did they shoot the rings around the machine when it was transforming into the guise of Maria?
more
40 out of 49 people found the following comment useful.
So old…and yet so futuristic!, 25 August 2005
8/10
Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

Fritz Lang's groundbreaking landmark remains one of the biggest mysteries in the world of cinema. How can a movie that'll soon turn 80 years old still look so disturbingly futuristic?? The screenplay by Thea Von Harbou is still very haunting and courageously assails social issues that are of all ages. The world has been divided into two main categories: thinkers & workers! If you belong to the first category, you can lead a life of luxury above ground but if you're a worker, your life isn't worth a penny, and you're doomed to perilous labor underground. The further expansions and intrigues in the screenplay are too astonishing to spoil, so I strongly advise that you check out the film yourself. It's essential viewing, anyway! "Metropolis" is a very demanding film-experience and definitely not always entertaining. But, as it is often the case with silent-cinema classics, the respect and admiration you'll develop during watching it will widely excel the enjoyment-aspect. Fritz' brutal visual style still looks innovative and few directors since were able to re-create a similarly nightmarish composition of horizontal and vertical lines. Many supposedly 'restored' versions have been released over the years (in 1984 and 2002, for example) but the 1926-version is still the finest in my opinion, even though that one already isn't as detailed and punctual as Lang intended it. "Metropolis" perhaps is THE most important and influential movie ever made. "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Star Wars" and "Blade Runner" owe their existence (or at least their power) to it.

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