Subject: Retrospective: Metropolis (1927)

From: [email-masked] (David M. Arnold)
Date: 1 Apr 1998 05:29:13 GMT

Metropolis (1927)
Directed by Fritz Lang

INTRODUCTION

One of the real tragedies of film history is that there is no 
longer an original, authoritive print of Fritz Lang's seminal
film "Metropolis".  This review offers some observations on 
this very important silent film, and includes comments on the
various versions currently available on video.  

The closest to a truly authoritive film version today is probably 
the recent Filmmuseum Munich version, restored by Enno Patalas; 
unfortunately, that version is not yet available on video.  

"Metropolis" has been released under a number of video labels.  
Videos released by Third Coast and by Allied Artists are out of
print, and the author would appreciate any information about these
releases.  Currently, the following versions are available:
The Kino Video version, available from Kino[1] and a number of other
suppliers; Giorgio Moroder's version, out of print but still fairly
easy to come by from used video dealers[2]; and a new DVD release 
by Classic Media Holdings, available from the XOOM Website[3].

METROPOLIS:  HISTORY AND CRITIQUE

Fritz Lang produced "Metropolis" in 1927 at the German UFA studios.
This was a hugely ambitious project, involving the proverbial
cast of thousands.  The expense of this project nearly bankrupted
UFA.  

The film suffers from a rather disjointed story, which is 
complicated by the fact that different versions with different 
intertitles exist.  These different versions change details of the
story, although the framework of the narrative is the same.  The
whole point of "Metropolis" isn't about the story, anyway, it's
about visual style.  Like "Star Wars" or "Blade Runner", "Metropolis"
defined a visual style.  Many of the shots in "Metropolis" are 
still jaw-droppingly beautiful.  In 1927 they must have been nothing
short of amazing.

The story, in a nutshell, is about a city in the future with two 
populations:  A ruling class who live above ground in splendor, 
and a working class who live below ground in squalor.  By accident, 
Freder (Gustav Froehlich), the son of John Fredersen (Alfred Abel), 
the Master of the City, pursues Maria (Brigitte Helm), the daughter 
of a worker, into the depths.  Here, Freder becomes allied with the 
working class, and takes the place of an worker who drops from 
exhaustion at his machine.  Freder attends an assembly presided 
by Maria in which she preaches to the workers that they should 
exercise patience and wait for a Mediator, a Messiah who will 
forge a link between the ruling and working classes.

Meanwhile John discovers strange drawings in the possession of 
workers and requests that the mysterious scientist Rotwang (Rudolf 
Klein-Rogge) decipher them.  In his lab, Rotwang reveals to John 
his latest invention: A robot (in the form of a woman).  Rotwang 
determines that the drawings are plans of ancient catacombs beneath 
the city.  John and Rotwang descend into the depths and witness 
Maria's meeting.  John instructs Rotwang to kidnap Maria and give
her likeness to the robot (which Rotwang does in an absolutely 
brilliant sequence of silent-film acting and special effects); 
then, to send the robot to the workers to disrupt their organization.
John's motives for this are not really made clear, and differ from
version to version.

The robot, in Maria's form, incites a riot.  The workers destroy
the city's generator room, causing their underground residences to be
flooded.  Meanwhile, Freder rescues the real Maria and the workers'
children, saving them from being drowned.  Once the workers realize
there homes have been destroyed, the turn on the robot, and burn it
at the stake; this action reveals the robot for what it is.  Freder
pursues Rotwang to the roof of the cathedral, they fight and Rotwang
falls to his death.  Freder becomes the Mediator who bridges the
gulf between the rulers and the ruled as they both realize neither 
can function without the other.

"Metropolis" is a silent film, and Silent Film is a separate art form
from Modern Film.  The acting is closer to mime than in sound films, 
and is, by necessity, more melodramatic than to what modern audiences 
are accustomed.  Nonetheless, Klein-Rogge, playing the part of Rotwang, 
gives a brilliantly subtle performance.  For example, in one scene, 
Rotwang is about to lead John into the Catacombs.  In one gesture, 
Rotwang nods toward the door.  This gesture speaks volumes:  Rotwang
is contemptuous of John but must obey his master.  He doesn't really
want to go into the depths, but he must and he will.  

Brigitte Helm brilliantly plays the dual role of the true and false
Marias.  As Maria, the worker's daughter and the workers' teacher-
preacher, she is the demure girl-next-door.  As the false Maria,
the evil Maria, she looks more lascivious, more voluptuous, less 
virginal.

The real stars of the film are Lang's sets, the special effects,
and Lang's incredible sense of visual composition.  Lang was trained 
as an architect, and he designed a future city that was as organic 
as any real city.    His special effects director (Eugen Schuefftan) 
invented new techniques for integrating models with live action, and 
produced magical results.  Interiors, such as John's office, are 
marvelous interpretations of the future, overlaid with Art Deco 
elements, and they foreshadow developments such as computer displays 
and two-way video conferencing.  The climatic flood scenes as the 
workers' riot destroys their residences remain powerful today.

The film is usually considered an example of the German Expressionist
sub-genre.  Expressionist artists endeavored to invoke a mood or
emotion at the expense of realistic representations, and no one did
it better than the post-W.W.I Germans.  "Metropolis" definitely has 
Expressionist elements, although Lang kept the sets and the characters 
more realistic than in highly stylized Expressionist films like "The 
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari".  The only strongly Expressionist character
in "Metropolis" is Rotwang.  Expressionist films carry their own set 
of codes and symbols.  Some of the stilted acting style in "Metropolis" 
is simply a realization of the Expressionist codes.

"Metropolis", as originally released ran nearly three hours.  The studio
immediately demanded that it be cut, and cut again.  The result
is that many original scenes are lost forever, and that no authoritive
print remains.  A complete discussion of the various versions, and
of the somewhat conflicting plot interpretations between the film's
screenwriter (Thea von Harbou) and Fritz Lang, can be found elsewhere 
on the Web[4].

THE KINO VIDEO VERSION

Today (early 1998), the most widely available version of "Metropolis" 
on video is from Kino Video.  It is probably the closest to an 
authoritive print as is currently available on VHS tape.  The film 
runs for 90 minutes, and looks like it was mastered from a back and 
white print that includes a jazz orchestral score on an optical 
sound track.  The film appears to have been mastered at 24fps.  
Since the original film was intended to be shown at somewhere 
between 18fps and 20fps, the action in the film is 20% to 30% too 
fast.  

The intertitles in the Kino version establish that John assigned 
Rotwang the task of creating the robot in order to create a race of 
mechanical workers that would never tire, would never need pay raises, 
and would never revolt; and, that John also commanded the robot to 
incite the insurrection that destroyed the workers' subterranean city.

The soundtrack is monaural and contains gaps and breaks that 
appear to be the result of splices in the film master.  The sound
quality is roughly equivalent to AM radio.  The video quality is 
good, if not excellent.

I strongly dislike the musical score included in the Kino print:
It is a dark, lugubrious, ugly-sounding jazz score that casts 
an overall gloomy tone to the entire film.  The score is punctuated 
with dark electronic tonalities that, in my opinion, add little 
to the enjoyment or understanding of the film.  

GIORGIO MORODER'S VERSION

In the early '80's, Oscar-winning composer (for "Flashdance")
Giorgio Moroder came across a negative for "Metropolis" in the 
archives of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  He 
funded the preservation of this negative by having it copied
from nitrate to safety stock.  He then proceeded to adapt the 
film, to add a modern, pop score, and to give his version a brief
theatrical run.  The video of this version is now out of print,
but it is still fairly easy to come by from used video dealers, 
and it also can be found (rarely) as a laserdisc under the Vestron
label.

Moroder's version creates strong feelings in the film's fans.
They either love it or hate it, there seems to be no middle 
ground.  The film's advocates believe that Moroder resurrected
a gem and made it accessible by updating the film and adding
a score that the modern audience can relate to.  The film's
detractors believe that Moroder is guilty of crass commercialism,
and that he butchered a piece of Art.

The Moroder version differs from the Kino version in three main
areas:  
 
1)  Color.  Moroder claims to have restored Lang's original
tinting schemes.  By the time "Metropolis" was made, common
practice was to add an element of color to otherwise black and
white films through the use of tinted filmstocks[5].  It's clear
that Moroder could not resist the temptation to go beyond
merely restoring the tints:  He added a number of visual
effects (such as moving clouds, and the robot's gleaming eyes) 
that aren't found in other prints; these additions cast doubt 
on the authenticity of his tinting efforts.

2)  Score.  Moroder commissioned a number of tunes by
well-known and less-well-known pop and rock artists of the 
early '80's.  These artists include Pat Benatar, Adam Ant, 
Freddie Mercury (from Queen), and others.  The result is a score
of rock vocals, heavy with synthesizer and drum machine beats.  
To some viewers, this makes "Metropolis" play like a long music
video, and I have been told by a practitioner of the art of 
silent film accompaniment that Moroder's score violates every 
rule of that craft[6].  This may be true, but Moroder's score 
appeals to me in a way I can't quite explain.  And, trust me, 
I'm no fan of any of the featured artists.

3)  Story.  In Moroder's version, John (called "Joh" in this
version) and Rotwang were once rivals for the same woman, Hel.  
Hel wed Joh, and then died giving birth to Freder.  Rotwang, 
in his madness over losing Hel, created the robot in an effort 
to recreate his love.  Joh then takes the robot from Rotwang 
(who has now lost his love twice).  The robot runs amok, eventually 
(if indirectly) destroying its creator:  This is the Frankenstien 
plot. Moroder's story more or less follows an East German 
reconstruction of the film done in 1969[7], and Moroder recreates 
some lost scenes, including a clumsily-done still of a monument 
Rotwang built to Hel.

Moroder's version clocks in at 80 minutes, and is also mastered 
at 24fps.  Moroder added animated intertitles (which WERE common
in silent films).  He also converted many intertitles into 
subtitles, and re-edited many of the scenes.  His version includes
the sports arena scene at the beginning of film, which is missing 
from the Kino version.  Since the film master is so close to the
original negatives, the video quality is excellent.  Enno Patalas, 
responsible for the newly restored Munich version, served as a 
consultant for Moroder's efforts.  It is obvious that much of 
Moroder's print shares a pedigree with the Kino print as the two 
films contain many of the same blemishes.

The audio quality in this version is excellent.  The sound
track is recorded in high-fidelity stereo and includes some
sound effects.  Viewed on high-end home theatre equipment that 
includes a big screen, this video is really quite striking.

Although I agree with Moroder's critics on an intellectual 
level, on a visceral level I enjoy his version very much.  
Moroder's version reaches me in a way the Kino version doesn't.
I discovered visual details that I had missed in viewing the 
Kino version, and I felt more involved and engaged in the film.  
I can only attribute this to Moroder's use of color and to 
his score.  The Kino score kept me distant from the visuals, 
while Moroder's score drew me in.  It's a phenomenon that 
I'm at a loss to explain.  

Had there been an intact, original version of the film, then 
I agree that Moroder would be damnably guilty of Desecration of 
Art.  The bottom line is, that lacking that authoritive version, 
Moroder's reconstruction is as valid (or, as invalid) as 
anyone else's, and that someone outside the Ivory Tower of 
Academia would be audacious enough to attempt this is really 
guilty of nothing worse than causing a bad case of sour grapes.

THE METROPOLIS DVD by CMH

Classic Media Holdings, Ltd[8] is offering Metropolis on a new
DVD.  This disc is an example of how the new, digital video
technology is a sword that cuts in two directions.

The good news is that DVD technology is indeed ready for
Prime Time.  It is also a technology that lowers the entry
barrier for video producers and distributors to create 
videophile-quality recordings that are very reasonably priced.
A glance at the LaserViews[9] newsletters reveals many more
DVD labels producing product than there are Laserdisc labels.
Eventually, DVD technology will be available to nearly anyone,
even in small production runs, much as Compact Disc technology
is today.

The bad news is that DVD technology is accessible to producers
with little or no real experience addressing the videophile 
market.  Contrast this with Laserdisc manufacturers:  There 
are only a handful of plants in the world capable of producing
laserdiscs.  The expense and difficulty of making a laserdisc 
that must retail for $40.00 or more per copy has meant that
laserdisc producers have sought out the highest quality
original material for mastering purposes.

CMH's DVD of "Metropolis" was mastered from what looks like
a 16mm black and white print that is many generations removed 
from the original negative.  It is a very badly worn print 
at that.  The high quality video reproduction that DVD is 
capable of ends up reproducing all the scratches and gouges 
in the film with extremely high resolution.  Unfortunately,
the resolution of the image itself was lost long ago during 
many generations through the optical printer and many trips 
through the projector.  The result is the video equivalent
of releasing old, worn, scratched 78RPM phonograph discs on
CDs without bothering to clean up the sound.  It may be 
that CHM's DVD is intended not for the videophile but for
computer multi-media applications utilizing DVD-ROM drives 
on PC's.

This version of "Metropolis" includes a mono orchestral score
that sounds like it is from a soundtrack on the film.  I like
this score better than the one on the Kino version.  The 
intertitles are animated and have an old-time look that is 
more authentic than the static titles in the Kino version.  
The film runs for 95 minutes, is probably derived from the 
original US release cut, and does include the sports arena 
scene missing from the Kino version.

CONCLUSION

Film enthusiasts looking for a high-quality, definitive version 
of "Metropolis" on video are out of luck, at least until someone 
ponies up the big bucks that the holders of the video rights to 
the Munich version want.  The video versions that are available 
all leave something to be desired, but they all do give the viewer 
a glimpse of this great film.

NOTES:
(All links were valid as of 3/98.)

[1]  Kino Video, 333 West 39th Street, New York, NY 10018.
     http://www.kino.com
[2]  I purchased my copy from http://www.bodawg.com
[3]  http://orders.xoom.com/dvd/metro/metro.html
[4]  http://www.paulist.org/doug/metro/about.html
[5]  Monaco, James, "How To Read A Film", Oxford University
     Press (1981), pp 91-92.
[6]  http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=320462992
[7]  http://www.paulist.org/doug/metro/versions.html
[8]  Classic Media Holdings, Ltd.  930 Tahoe Blvd, 
     Suite 802-336,  Incline Village, Nevada   89451
[9]  http://www.laserviews.com/dvd-news.html

Review copyright (C) 1998, David M. Arnold.  All rights
reserved.
 
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David M. Arnold                            [email-masked]
   
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