Subject: Retrospective: Metropolis (1927)

From: Gary Jones <[email-masked]>
Date: 14 Dec 1999 01:31:50 GMT

Metropolis  (7/10) 

I suppose like many people, I knew Metropolis less as a movie than as
the source of some iconic images, so it was interesting to see the whole
film, even if it was the hour-and-a-half international release version
which was crudely cobbled together from Lang's original cut.

Metropolis was first released in 1927 and depicts a futuristic city in
which armies of oppressed workers slave in huge underground power plants
to support the easy lifestyle  of the surface dwellers. The owner of the
power plant incites revolt among his own workers to provide a pretext
for further repression. He does this with the help of a crazed inventor
and his robot-woman creation (played by Brigitte Helm).

Silent films were never silent, and this showing featured an original
score performed live by Bristol band Angel Tech. This versatile three-
piece filled the small Arnolfini stage with keyboards and electronics
but also used guitar, bass and drums to provide an accompaniment
reminiscent of Orbital, Pink Floyd and Nine Inch Nails. The music
properly treated the film as a serious piece telling a serious story,
and never sought to trivialise the film as a quaint relic. 

It is impossible now to see the film as its original audience did,
regardless of which version is available. The political ideas in the
film now seem hopelessly naive and what prompted audiences to gasp in
amazement seventy years ago now often seems tacky and wildly
unconvincing, but there is plenty of cinematic invention to enjoy and
some of the power of the film remains - the depiction of the mechanical
underworld in particular is still very impressive.

-- 
Gary Jones <[email-masked]>
Homepage: www.bohr.demon.co.uk
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